ABC/DISNEY owns GH. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 53
The next game was a baby word scramble. Twenty-five mixed up words. The guests had to unscramble them and submit the paper to be checked. After that they played 'Then and Now'. On a projection screen facts about both Jason and Elizabeth were put up, like birth weights, favorite baby foods, and favorite cartoon growing up. The guests and had to figure out which fact went with which parent. Steven had been a great help in getting information on Elizabeth, so he and Monica for obvious reasons, had to sit that game out.
"Okay two games left. The first is the Baby Name Game." Keesha told the group. "Everyone is getting a piece of paper and a pen. Write down your guesses for what Jason and Elizabeth are naming the twins. Remember we have a girl and a boy. The winner of this game will be announced after the babies are born, because our parents will not tell anyone what they picked. Make sure you put your name on the slip." They honestly didn't expect anyone to win this one, but it was fun.
"The last game is for the guys." Keesha said once more. "Come on up. You too Edward. We are going to play the diaper game."
"I know how to change a diaper." Jason said wondering what the catch was.
"I think we all know how to change diapers." Francis added. Just because he didn't have kids didn't mean he couldn't do it. He baby sat a few times.
"Can you do it blindfolded?" Keesha asked as Emily and Carly walked over and began covering the eyes of the guys. Now that they couldn't see the staff brought out a table with one life sized doll for each guy, and a single diaper for each doll. "When I say go, walk to the table and diaper your baby." She was guessing that at least one baby would be grabbed by multiple hands. "Five minutes. Whoever diapers their baby the best wins. Go!" Keesha yelled without warning.
It was chaos. Steven walked in the wrong direction so he had to be turned around. Milo reached the table first and proceeded to push two dolls onto the floor. Jax, Johnny, and Jason all grabbed the same doll and pulled resulting in limbs coming loose. Matt, Edward, Cody, and Francis made it to the table and each got a doll. Matt diapered his baby backwards. Francis knocked several diapers on the floor. It quickly became clear the race was between Cody and Edward. The older man cool under pressure, diapered his doll as if it had only been yesterday he'd last done the task just beating the former solider.
"We have a winner!" Keesha said laughing as the guys removed their blindfolds and glared at Edward.
The older man just grinned at his competitors. "That gentleman is why the ladies love me." He smirked, and the ladies had to give him a standing ovation.
"Your prize is a kiss from our expectant mom." Keesha watched Jason glare as Edward happily got his prize.
"It's time for gifts." Carly announced. "Elizabeth, you and Jason come to the front of the room." Comfortable chairs were set up. They knew most of what was in the brightly colored boxes. Still there were a few surprises. Like the set of very pretty nursing mother gowns that Elizabeth received from her nurses. Epiphany got them two baby bean bags for napping around the house. Elizabeth hadn't ever seen those before, but loved them. Stan and Zoe got bean bags for Cameron and Jake, which Elizabeth loved as well. There was a baby food making system from Kelly. Elizabeth had inquired about it during a visit to her friend's house. There were a set of gyroscope bowls that guaranteed no spills. It was pointed out that Jake could use those too. There was a smartphone attachment for the stroller and a masculine diaper bag for Jason, who made it clear he had no problem sporting the bear covered one. The thing she really loved were the two baby "cocoons" from a Swedish company; that would keep the babies snug and warm.
Once all those were opened Diane presented her gift. She handed over two outfits for the babies and announced that the rest of the clothing was being delivered as they spoke since the room was finished being painted. Also a closet system had been installed in each room to make it easy for mom and dad to find all the items that the Corellis had purchased. The kids were going to be the best dressed babies in the history of Port Charles. Elizabeth couldn't wait to see what Diane had purchased.
No one was surprised that by the time all the gifts had been opened Elizabeth was a teary mess. Jason just held her close and let her cry on his shoulder. "Thanks everyone, for coming out and helping us to celebrate our newest arrivals. Our children are going to grow up with a lot of friends and family." He said rubbing Elizabeth's back.
He was showing Elizabeth back to the table when Milo called out. "My water broke." He managed to only blush a bit saying it.
"Fantastic." Keesha handed him an envelope. "You get a gift card to the swimwear shop down town. We are going to go over the results of the games and start handing out prizes."
"Right now, it's time for cake!" Emily announced. The rear door of the ballroom opened and an elaborate four tiered cake was pushed into the room. The bottom tier was baby blue, the second tier was pastel pink, the third tier was pastel green, and the fourth tier was pale yellow. The first three tiers had teddy bears in various poses with white piping. The top tier was blank but sitting on the very top of the cake were two smiling teddy bears about four inches tall. Around the base were rattles, baby blocks, booties, and a stack of diapers all made of fondant.
"Oh look!" Elizabeth said smiling through her tears. "How lovely."
"Let's get some pictures of the two of you with the cake." Carly suggested. Her pastry chef had out done himself. This would surely be requested a lot in the future at baby showers at the hotel. With that done the confection was wheeled away to be cut up, as the dessert table was also opened. There would be something for every taste, and guests were encouraged to fill bags and boxes with the treats to take home for later.
Emily had gone down the hall, and she returned with the kids so that they could enjoy dessert with everyone else. Elizabeth waddled over to where her hostesses were standing. "Thank you. I had the best time."
"See, I told you." Emily said giving her sister a hug. "Thanks for letting us do this."
"The babies, say you're welcome." Elizabeth laughed letting them feel the babies kicking.
"How are you doing?" Carly was watching the clock. It was just past four. Looking over she saw Kelly watching. The doctor pointed to Liz.
"Starting to feel it." Elizabeth admitted, which meant dessert was going to have to wait for later.
Emily waved Jason over.
"Getting nauseous?" He guessed.
"Yeah, you stay here with our guests and I'll go lie down." Elizabeth suggested.
Jason paid her no mind. "Tell everyone where we went, and make sure they don't worry." Kelly was already walking over. "Come on Keesha told me earlier which room we can use."
"I'll go up too." Kelly wanted to see how bad it got.
Johnny was over as well. "We'll get everything in the truck for transport to the house. If you give me the keys we'll take it over." The guys were ready to head out.
Jason handed them his house keys. "Milo knows the code. There is a bedroom upstairs, with lavender walls, just put everything in there."
"Sounds good." Johnny signaled to the guys and they started grabbing items.
Not even caring that everyone was watching Jason lifted Elizabeth off her feet and carried her out of the room. Carly went to tell their guests what was going on before people started to worry.
"Go with the guys." Elizabeth told Jason once he got her settled. There was no point in him watching her sleep.
"I'll stay." Kelly assured him.
"Okay, call if you need me." Jason gave her a soft kiss. "I love you."
"Love you too." Elizabeth said feeling worse than when she was downstairs. "Okay this sucks." She said curling up some after her husband walked out of the room. "What do your other moms suggest?"
"I have a list in my purse." Kelly liked to be prepared. "You can go down it and try the home remedies to see if any will work for you. Will you be able to sleep?"
"Depends on how bad it gets." Elizabeth answered. "Your guy was pretty quick with that diaper." Maybe conversation would help.
"He'll be quicker after getting beaten by Edward." Kelly laughed. She was lucky, Cody was about as hands on as you could get.
"I'm looking forward to using the food system. I made Cameron and Jake's food, but didn't have any fancy toys to do it with." Elizabeth remarked rubbing her tummy.
"The freezing trays are what really make it handy. You can make enough food for a few days in a matter of hours." Kelly rubbed her friend's back as Elizabeth turned a sickly shade of pale white.
"What is Brady's favorite thing to eat?" Elizabeth was thinking she would be throwing up soon.
"Yams. He and his dad both are big fans." Kelly got the trash can in position just in time. "Feel better?"
Elizabeth nodded and threw up again. "Ugh."
"Well said. Let me get you some water." She grabbed a cup from the bathroom. When Elizabeth's mouth was rinsed Kelly urged her friend to lie down again. The doctor pulled up a blanket and watched as Elizabeth drifted off to sleep.
Emily knocked and stuck her head in. "How is she?"
"Just fell asleep." Kelly was tying the liner closed.
"She got sick?" Emily said frowning. She was hoping to avoid morning sickness when she got pregnant.
"Yup." Kelly knew what her colleague was thinking. "With most pregnancies this is a first trimester only thing. Elizabeth is only getting sick once a day so there is nothing to worry about. I'll have to start monitoring her weight, but as long as it stays up this is fine."
"Did you want to go back down?" Emily asked her friend.
"No, I got this." Kelly turned on the television and settled on the chair. "I'll wait here until Jason returns with my guy." Their son was home with Cody's mom who had come for a visit, so she didn't have to worry about him.
"I'll send up some cake." Emily said heading back down to her hostessing duty.
"A big slice." Kelly requested.
"You got it." Emily laughed and walked out of the room.
Elizabeth slept for an hour, and returned to the ballroom. A good amount of the guests had left, but a few were still hanging out. Steven had left with the guys, to help and see the house. Maggie was talking with Monica and Emily, probably about medicine. Edward was talking with Leyla, Melissa, and Keesha. There were other small clusters of guests enjoying the coffee.
"So that's her." Carly walked over and Kelly went to join Monica. She hadn't officially met Melissa yet.
"Yeah." Elizabeth wasn't surprised Carly knew about the issue with Jason's new assistant. Emily would have passed that along.
"Would you like me to kick her ass?" Carly offered with a straight face.
"For what reason?" Elizabeth looked over at her friend.
"Because you can't." Carly grinned knowing she was being outrageous.
Elizabeth had to laugh. "It still boggles my mind that you are one of my best friends."
"Yeah, not getting to know you better was not one of my brighter moves. If I hadn't been so jealous, things could have been different." Carly wondered if maybe Sonny might even still be alive. "I wonder how many times we would have been arrested by now."
"At least five." Elizabeth said laughing harder. "I need to go apologize to Melissa."
"Blame it on the hormones." Carly suggested. It was her fall back when she was pregnant with Joss. "I'm going to go chat with Edward. Signal if you need backup." That wouldn't happen. One of the first things Carly had learned was just how strong Elizabeth was.
She waddled behind Carly until she was over by the small group. "Melissa, may I speak with you?"
"Sure thing." Melissa was a bit surprised by the request. Elizabeth had made no indication that she wanted to talk with her, beyond the initial greeting, during the shower. While Liz had spoken at length to Phillip, she had avoided her. They went out to the patio. "What can I do for you?"
"You can accept my apology, although I wouldn't blame you if you didn't." Elizabeth felt no need to hedge. "I've been less than welcoming since you arrived."
"Would you mind telling me why?" Melissa was curious. Emily had urged her to talk with Elizabeth.
"You remind of my sister Sarah, which is not your fault." Elizabeth took a deep breath and let it out. "You're just so perfect, and so is she."
Melissa had to laugh at that. "Leyla would disagree with that statement. I take it you don't get along with Sarah." Melissa didn't even know Elizabeth had a sister.
"She slept with my boyfriend." That pretty much summed up their relationship.
"Ouch. I'm kind of insulted now." Melissa said grinning. "Did you think I wanted Jason? It should be clear now he isn't my type." Her grin turned wry.
"Not even for half a second." Elizabeth told the other woman. "He loves me, so you didn't present that kind of threat. Sarah is good at everything and she speaks several languages fluently. I first met you on a day I was feeling like a whale, and started making comparisons that I shouldn't have. Especially since I didn't know you. Then you walked into the conference room full of ideas and I felt inferior."
"I thought you looked stunning the night of Gina's party, and I wasn't the only one. Heads turned when you walked through the room." Melissa saw that surprised Elizabeth. She knew Jason found her beautiful, it was others that she knew nothing about. "And that first day in the conference room I was nervous. I didn't know you well and I wanted you to like me so I tried to impress you. It's what I do, when I feel insecure I try to impress people. I'm not good at everything. I can't cook, and I suck at baseball which I understand will be a problem at the company picnic in two weeks." Melissa laughed.
"I'm going to do better." Elizabeth promised.
"Okay." Melissa believed her.
"Thank you for the cocoons, I've never seen those before." Elizabeth mentioned the gift.
"My older sister has four children, and she lives in Sweden with her husband. She's my Sarah." Melissa admitted. "She's the perfect daughter. Mostly because she likes guys. So I get it."
"Is she short with dark hair?" Elizabeth joked.
"No, but her name is Elizabeth." Melissa said with a straight face.
Elizabeth's jaw dropped.
"Gotha!" Melissa said laughing hard. "Her name is Gwen. We do better with distance, but she recommended the cocoons. Said the kids loved them. I'm planning on telling her you hated the gift." Melissa smiled wide. "Otherwise I'll never hear the end of how great her advice is."
"Far enough." Elizabeth rubbed her tummy.
"You should sit down. It would suck to declare a truce then have Jason fire me because I had you standing for too long." Melissa said urge Elizabeth back into the house.
"Ready?" Leyla was happy to see they were both smiling.
"I am." Melissa told her girlfriend.
"We should all have dinner one day next week." Elizabeth really was going to try.
"That would fun." Leyla said linking fingers with Melissa. "We are looking at houses tomorrow so wish us luck. If we find something maybe you'll give us some design ideas."
"Jason said the paintings in his and Francis's office are by you. So ideas would be welcome. That's something else I don't do well." Melissa said poking fun at herself before she and Leyla walked off.
Maggie came over. "Steven called he said Jason is on his way back for you. I offered to drive you over, but he declined."
"Jason is a bit overprotective." Elizabeth loved how he didn't hide how much he cared for her. "I should get ready."
"I'll follow you over." Maggie said going to get her purse.
Elizabeth guessed most of the family would head over. They still needed to check out the clothes Diane and Francis picked out.
Thanks for the reviews!