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Chapter Seventeen

Elizabeth stood inside the buiding on the private airfield two hours from Port Charles and chewed on her bottom lip. The last call had said that the jet was twenty minutes out, but it felt like it had been hours already. Starting to pace, she glanced at the clock again and winced. She needed to see Jake with her own eyes and hold him in her arms. Then there was Johnny. He needed surgery and she was concerned because he still was not responsive.

"Stop pacing, darling. You are making me nervous," Jerry commented as he touched her arm. "They are about ten minutes out. Just hang in there, Elizabeth."

Wringing her hands, she stopped walking and stared out the window as Jerry snorted and shook his head. She was a nervous bundle of energy and making him on edge with all her movements.

Seeing the plane in the distance as it started to descend, Jerry and Enzo moved in closer to her. Zander and John had been left at the safe house with Cam and Emily, so it was only them there with Elizabeth. Seeing that she was starting to tremble, Jerry wound a supporting arm around her waist. "You have to get control, Liz, or you are going to pass out as soon as you see Jake," he warned her.

"I know. I just can't believe that he is coming home."

The trio started making their way toward the doors when the large jet finally landed. Leaning weakly against the man that until a couple days ago that she had despised, Elizabeth gasped as Nik exited holding her little boy. Breaking free of his hold, she shot out the doors.

"Jake!"

The little blonde haired boy shot up and he struggled in Nik's arms until he was placed on his little feet. "Mommy! Mommy!" he screamed in delight as they met each other on the run.

Elizabeth snatched Jake up in her arms and crushed him to her. "Oh, my sweet baby boy! I have missed you so much, Jakey! I love you!" She kissed him on the cheek as tears flowed from both their eyes.

"Mommy, I love you, Mommy!"

"Oh, baby, I love you too! Mommy and Cam have missed you so much." She ran her hands over his figure and winced at the feel of his ribs but was thankful that it was no worse. Kissing the top of his head, she closed her eyes. "Jake, I have missed you so much, baby."

"Missed you," he confessed in a low voice. "I never go away again."

"No, baby boy, never again. You are staying with Mommy and Cam."

Jason stood next to Nik and watched the reunion with a lump in his throat. It was obvious that Jake was not leaving her anytime soon. He had latched onto Elizabeth with a death grip and it had not wavered. Wishing that he dared to walk over and hug them, Jason stayed where he was. He wanted to make this as easy on them as possible.

Glancing up as she heard the metal stretcher being brought off the jet, Elizabeth stopped and took a deep breath. Pulling Jake up higher and placing him on her hip, she started forward. Nik quickly moved in front of her.

"Jake, come here, buddy. Let's get you a drink from inside. Mommy will be right behind us."

As he reached for Nik, she tightened her hold until Nik shook his head. "I will be right inside with him, Liz. Go see Johnny before they leave for the hospital." Kissing Jake's head once again, she reluctantly moved him into Nik's waiting arms.

Approaching Johnny's still form she trembled at seeing how pale he was. Brushing the hair from his forehead, she leaned down and kissed him "Please, Johnny, you have to make it. I lost Francis, I can't lose you too. I love you, Johnny! Thank you for bringing Jake back," she whispered as tears fell from her eyes.

When he let out a groan, she felt herself start to collapse as strong arms caught her gently. "Johnny," Elizabeth whispered against his ear. "Come on, baby. We need you." Her eyes widened as his lashes fluttered slightly before he settled back down.

The doctor moved forward and motioned for the medics to load him into the ambulance. "Miss Webber, we are taking him to General Hospital. A Dr. Drake has already been called along with Dr. Julian. He is stable, no vital organs were hit. However, he needs a blood transfusion and more antibiotics. Mr. O'Brien should be fine." He smiled slightly as she swayed. "I checked your son out on the plane. I would suggest a full workup, but all I could see was some slight dehydration and malnutrition."

"Thank you," she told him weakly.

"You are very welcome, Miss Webber," he told her before climbing into the waiting squad.

"Johnny is strong, Elizabeth, and determined to come back to you," Jerry told her softly as he led her back to the building. "He will be back in no time."

Back inside the building, Elizabeth took Jake back when he whimpered slightly and reached for her. "Oh, baby, I missed you so much," she mumured against his ear. Looking up at a somber Nik and Jason, she offered a watery smile. "Thank you both. I can never thank you enough for bringing him home."

"I only wish that it had been sooner," Jason told her as he watched them.

Nik smiled sadly. "It was the least we could do, Liz. I am just glad that he was there to bring home."

"Elizabeth, we need to take Jake to the hospital for a checkup. We also need to contact Commissioner Scorpio," Jerry added with a small sneer. "I am sure that he will have questions."

Jason nodded at the unspoken question. "Everything is cleaned up. Alcazar's men stayed to take care of it."

Feeling Jake relaxing in her arms, Elizabeth looked down and saw that her little boy's eyes were fluttering as he tried to fight sleep. "It's ok, Jake. Mommy will be here when you wake up, baby boy. Go ahead and sleep."

"I loves yous," he slurred before snuggling into her and giving into the urge to sleep.

Hearding her toward the SUV's, Nik nodded at her arms. "He is exhausted from everything that has happened. All he did the ride back was sleep and eat." Gathering them into his arms, Nik kissed the top of her head. "I am going home to check on Spencer, and then heading to update Emily and everyone at the house. Call me if you need me."

Watching him get in the vehicle with Enzo, she sighed as he drove off. She turned and saw Jerry watching her and Jason.

"I think that you two need to talk," Jerry said while helping Elizabeth into the backseat of one of the remaining vehicles. He smirked at Jason. "Since I know that you won't talk in front of me, Morgan, I will follow you guys."

"Jerry..."

He shook his head at her. "Elizabeth, you need to clear the air. He helped bring him back and Jake is his son too. I will follow you to GH." Turning back to Jason, he tossed him the keys. "Use the drive wisely. It may be the only time that you get."

The silence in the vehicle was thick as they started back toward Port Charles. Elizabeth tightened her hold on Jake and rested her head on his while thanking God that he was back home and safe. All the months of hell had been a lie. Determined to never lose him again, she closed her eyes and ran a comforting hand over his back when he whined slightly in his sleep.

Watching them in the mirror, Jason was relieved that their personal hell was finally over. He cleared his throat and caught her gaze in the mirror when she glanced up. "Elizabeth, I am so sorry about everything."

She shook her head. "I can't rehash everything, Jason. I won't. We both made mistakes, but I don't know if I can ever get over the fact that you went back to Sam after knowing everything that she had done. However, Jerry was right. You are Jake's father, and it is common knowledge now anyway."

"I want to know my son," he stated softly.

"I know and I think you should. But Monica and Sam, if she is ever heard from again, are NOT to be anywhere near Jake or I will stop all contact. I refuse to endager him anymore."

"If Sam is ever found, she will be taken care of."

Elizabeth snorted softly. "Sorry, Jason, I have heard that before." She watched as he winced. "We will have to tell him and let Jake adjust to you at his own speed, Jason. He has been through so much. It might take awhile. Cam will be told about John too after everything settles down."

"What if I want more?" he asked quietly. "What if I want you back? I never stopped loving you. We both made mistakes, Elizabeth."

"Yeah, we both made big mistakes in the past. But yours, well, I can't move past them. You made it so that John had to leave me. You tried to kill Johnny. You took Sam back and protected her from everything that she had done. You left Jake unprotected."

"What about you? You are Lorenzo's daughter and never told me."

"I found out the day that he died, Jason. I'm not denying that I messed up in the past. I know I did. I am only saying that I can't just forget everything that happened. I am not being unfair, just stating how I feel. If you could never forgive me, I would understand. The regrets don't make up for the damage that was inflicted. We are both at fault to some degree. We need to be able to co-parent Jake. Focus on him. You and me are done in the romantic way. In time, maybe friendship will be possible, but right now, I am hurting over everything that I have learned."

"And O'Brien?" he questioned.

Elizabeth looked at him through the mirror. "I love him," she said simply. "I have for a long time. He was there for me when I needed someone and it slowly evolved to more. When he came back and John returned, it really wasn't even a choice. Johnny never purposely left me or hurt me."

Knowing that she had really moved on hurt and he lowered his gaze to the road. She was right. Too much pain had been inflicted by his actions. While she had made her share of stupid moves, they really didn't compare to his. The only big secret that she had kept through the years, he had helped create by putting John Zacchara into hiding. It still stung though. Losing her was something that he had never wanted. Glancing back at Jake cradled tenderly against her small frame, he took solace in at least having his son home. "I am sorry," he told her.

Tears gathered in her eyes. "I am too, Jason, more than words can express. Thank you for bringing OUR son home."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hospital was in an uproar over Jake's return. All of Elizabeth's ex coworkers were elated from her. The checkup with the pediatrician resulted in easing Elizabeth's mind. Some good meals and loving care and her little boy would be physically fine again in no time. Only time would tell about the emotional trauma. She made an appointment with Dr. Keenan to see Jake in two days. She wanted him to adjust for at least a day before reliving the nightmare that he had been through.

Walking into Johnny's room while carrying her sleeping baby boy, she smiled in relief when his bright green eyes opened and focused on her. "Oh God, Johnny! I was so worried."

He squeezed her free hand when she rested it on his after sitting beside him. "I wasn't going to leave you," he told her. "I just got you back."

"When I heard that you were shot, I just about lost it. I couldn't lose you." She rested her head against the top of Jake's. "Thank you for bringing him home, Johnny."

Licking his dry lips, he winced at the pain in his chest from shifting slightly. "I would do anything for you, baby. Once we heard that he was alive, there was no way that I wasn't going to make it so that you were holding him."

"They said that you are going to be fine. No major damage. You were unresponsive because of blood loss."

He smirked slightly. "Told you that I wasn't going anywhere. You and the boys are stuck with me." He paused and caught her sapphire eyes attention. "I love you, Elizabeth. I promised you that I would get Jake and come home. We did just that. I'd take another bullet to bring your son back to you, sweetie."

"I love you too, Johnny, more than I thought possible."

Johnny looked at her and the small tyke that she was holding against her chest. She looked over and caught him watching her. "I'm going to miss Frannie," she stated sadly.

"I know, sweetie. I will too. He came back to help you and protect you. Francis knew exactly what he doing, Elizabeth. He knew there was a chance that he may not make it, just like I did. You were a sister to him, his family. Trust me, Francis will always be with you." He cleared his throat and slowly readjusted his position. "Jerry stopped in earlier while you were getting Jake checked. He told me about forcing you to talk to Jason. Are you alright?"

"I am. I am thankful that he helped bring Jake home and that he got you on that jet. But there is still too much pain in the past. Some I caused, some he did. I couldn't go down that road if I wanted to. I love you. While I still care about him, I don't really like him anymore," she admitted softly. "It's sad. I thought that he was a different person than he really is. But that is neither here or there. We will co-parent Jake and maybe one day be friends again. That is all."

"I'm sorry that you got hurt."

"You warned me years ago and I refused to listen. Besides, I got Jake out of the deal, and I wouldn't trade him or Cam for the world."