TEN
The two lapse into silence as Grace maneuvers the car onto the road to head back to the city. Lizzie taking a small bite of the granola bar and a small sip of water every now and then.
"So, I'm not sure what happened back there," she remarks.
"It's a long story. Um, I'm sorry I called you Jennifer. You look like a friend's daughter."
"You close with this 'friend'?" Grace asks.
Lizzie eyes her for a moment before she gasps out. "You are her. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. You've changed your hair."
Grace nods, wanted to know how this woman knew who she was. "I guess that's what happens when you are trying to hide who you really are. How did you know?"
"My name is Elizabeth Scott," Lizzie gets out.
"Wait, the FBI agent that's been all over the news? That Elizabeth Scott?" Lizzie nods. "Wow. They said you disappeared from a Baltimore warehouse. That true?"
"Yeah. I was with my partners. We were tracking someone down. We went our separate ways to cover more ground. I ran into someone unexpected before he shot me, twice, and then just walked out of there with me."
Grace nods her head and the two lapse into silence once again. She checks her phone, but there was still no service.
"You said I looked like your 'friends' daughter." Lizzie nods. "How close are you and this 'friend'?"
Lizzie sighs. "Listen, you seem like a bright girl. But can we just cut to the chase? My 'friend' is your father. I think you could have deduced that pretty easily." Grace nods, as her hands grip the wheel a little tighter. "There is a lot of stuff that you don't know. What has your mother told you about him?"
"Very little until I was old enough to understand. He's a bad person, my father. He's done unspeakable things."
"Yes, I'm not afraid to admit that he's done unspeakable things. But he's not a bad person. The reason you guys' lives were uprooted was because he was involved with something, he didn't want to be involved with in the first place. He can tell you the specifics better than I can."
"How close are you two?" she asks.
Lizzie sighs before a smile crosses her face. "He's the love of my life."
Grace picks her phone up once again and checks it. She smirks before swiping her thumb across the screen and hands it off to Lizzie. Lizzie's hands were shaking so bad she could barely handle the phone. Grace takes the phone from her. "What's the number?"
Lizzie relays Ray's number and Grace listens to it ring. "Hello?" a deep voice asks as the line gets picked up.
"I'm looking for Ray," she says to the strange man.
"Who is this?"
"My name is Grace. I found someone that I think belongs to you. We are heading to the hospital in New Orleans."
"Elizabeth? You have Elizabeth?" the man asks again.
"Yes. She sort of stumbled onto my ATV path."
"Okay. What's your ETA?" the man asks again.
"Um, I'm not sure. I was just here for a friend's bachelorette/bachelor party. Half an hour maybe."
"Okay, well, we will meet you there." Grace hangs up, before placing the phone on her lap.
"That was one strange man," she remarks with a shake of her head.
"Dembe," Lizzie mutters. Grace looks at her quickly. "His name is Dembe. He is Ray's right hand man, body guard, chauffer. He is an amazing man. Listen, Dembe will know who you are the minute he sees you. Ray will too, but might be too focused on me to really see you. I can't wait to see my baby girl," she breathes out.
"You're what?" Grace asks looking in Lizzie's direction with wide eyes.
"I have a daughter. Well, we have a daughter. Her name is Nora. She is perfect, smart as a whip. Your sister. You have a sister."
"Sister? I have a sister?"
Lizzie nods her head but doesn't say anything more. She had to let Grace work this out on her own. Lizzie tries to relax, to get comfortable in the seat, but she couldn't. She didn't know the state of Nick, and that scared her more than words could say. He knew where she lived. The people in her life. She couldn't wait to be in Ray's arms once again. That was the only time that she felt safe.
She lays her head back and places her hand over her stomach. She was starting to feel a little crampy, but she didn't know if that was good or not. She turns to look out the window watching the scenery fly by. The trees were starting to separate and as they got closer to the city, they started disappearing all together. Grace pulls into the hospital parking lot and Lizzie jumps out of the car before it came to a full stop, tears rushing down her face as she spots Ray holding Nora.
"Mama!" Nora cries pushing against her father's chest. Ray turns, handing Nora off to Dembe as he rushes to Lizzie. She cries out as she rushes into his arms, burying her face into neck. She lets out a sob, as she feels Ray's arms wrap around her tighter.
"Ray," she gasps out.
"It's alright, sweetheart, I got you. I'm never letting you go again."
"Mama! Mama!" tears continue to fall down her cheeks as they both turn to see Nora struggling in Dembe's arms. Lizzie turns away, burying her face into Ray's neck once again.
"Take me in, please. Something's not right. The baby," she gasps out. Ray takes no chance and swoops her up into his arms. She wraps her own arms around his neck as he walks into the hospital. A doctor sees them and rushes over.
"What's wrong with her?" the doctor asks as he waves his hand and a nurse brings over a gurney.
"Her name is Special Agent Elizabeth Scott. She was kidnapped a week ago. She just got free. She was…is," he corrects himself, "pregnant."
"Pregnant? Agent Scott? Can you hear me? Do you know how far along you are?" he asks as he wheels her towards a room.
"I think about four weeks, maybe five," she reaches out for Ray's hand. "It was the weekend you surprised me by coming home early. Nora was at Ressler's, although I didn't know why he and Sarah had offered to babysit."
Ray gives her a soft smile. "I remember sweetheart."
The doctor rushes Lizzie into a room while looking over his shoulder at the nurses rushing along with him. "Someone page OB and get them down here stat. We need to know what we are dealing with here." One of the nurses turns to a phone on the wall.
"Ray," Lizzie calls out. He comes to her side and takes her hand. Tears leak out of her eyes. "I'm so sorry."
He looks down at her with sad eyes. "Sweetheart, you have no reason to be sorry. None of this was your fault. I love you so much. No matter what happens. Just remember that." Another doctor walks in and she smiles at them politely.
"So Agent Scott, how are we feeling?"
"Pain," Lizzie gasps out.
"Can you tell me how far along you think you are?"
"About four weeks, maybe five weeks," Lizzie answers grasping Ray's hand as another wave of pain shoots through her abdomen.
"Alright, well, I've got an ultrasound machine coming in. We'll see where we are. You were taken, correct?"
Lizzie nods. "Yeah, he kept me drugged. But I started spotting after a few days. He found out I was pregnant and adjusted the drugs so it wouldn't be harmful to the baby." The doctor looks over at Lizzie confused. "He's a surgeon."
Ray leans down and places a kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to find him. Don't worry about that."
"I'm not sure what you're gonna find. I stabbed him a few times. That's how I got away." Their gaze gets pulled away from each other as the sound of a heartbeat fills the room. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't even realize an ultrasound machine was wheeled into the room, and the doctor had started.
"Looks like your baby is doing okay. Heartbeat is a little high. I'm going to admit you for a few days. Get your fluids up and flush out whatever medication he gave you. We'll see if your little munchkin slows its heartbeat down after that."
"And if it doesn't?" Ray asks looking concerned.
"Then there is something else going on. But let's get the medication out of her system first," she turns back to look at the ultrasound machine. "And it looks like…" The door swings open to reveal a harried looking Ressler. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt that was inside out, making it seem as if he had gotten dressed quickly. "Who are you?" the doctor asks noticing the gun clipped to his side.
"That's my partner," Lizzie remarks giving Ressler a smile. He crosses the room to her side. Ray moves from her side for a moment so Ressler could give her a hug.
"What's going on? Are you okay?" he asks with concern. He notices the ultrasound machine. "Are you…?"
"Yes," Lizzie beams at him.
"How far?" Ressler takes a step back and allows Ray to take his place by her side once again. Lizzie takes his hand and the two turn to look at the doctor once again.
"Okay," she says with a smile who looks at the screen in front of her. "I'd say you are measuring at about six to seven weeks." Ray starts laughing and a blush blooms over Lizzie's face. She drops her face into her hand, muttering.
Ressler looks between the two. "Should I be worried?"
"No, I'm farther along than I thought. And, well, I know where we…" she waves her hand as she trails off sheepishly.
"Conceived," Ray boasts.
"Do I want to know?" Ressler asks even though he really didn't want to know.
"Probably not," Lizzie mutters.
"The Post Office," Ray grins.
A look of disgust crosses Ressler's face. "Do I want to know…?"
"No!" Lizzie exclaims. Ray starts laughing as Ressler pretends to gag.
"I'm glad that you two are okay," Ressler says. "I just want you to know that I'm not here in an official capacity. But Cooper will need to talk to you. He might have me get your statement."
"I know. Can you give me a few days? They are going to admit me. They want to flush the drugs out of my system."
"Absolutely. I also think there is someone out in the hall who wants to see their mama. She is not happy."
"Oh, Ress, bring her in. I completely ignored her, but now that I found out the baby is okay, I want to see her."
Ressler heads toward the door, and waves Dembe in. He pauses noticing someone sitting next to the bodyguard. His eyes go wide as he recognizes the face from the pictures Liz had shown him. Dembe walks past him and he nods as he walks past the agent and into the room.
"Mama! Mama! Papa!" Nora cries out as she sees her parents. Ray takes Nora and tries to calm her down, but she wasn't having it. She holds her hands out to Lizzie, who takes her into her arms. Nora wraps her arms around Lizzie's neck and gives her mother an open mouthed kiss.
"Oh, sweet girl," she mutters into her daughter's hair.
"Dembe, my brother. Lizzie is about to give me another child," Ray grins.
"I am happy for you," Dembe gives Ray a hug and the two turn to look at the screen on the ultrasound machine. "Having a family looks well on you."