Jason, Johnny, and Francis were at their wits' end when they finally catch a break. Standing just don't the street from them, buying supplies, is the man from the photograph that Elizabeth's boss provided for them. Their first instinct is to grab him and make him tell them where he's keeping Elizabeth, but Jason's logical side kicks in and they wait.

They follow him as he does his errands, buying various items through the market. He stops frequently, talking with various locals and vendors. With Jason's patience running thin, he wished he'd just go back to wherever the hell he came from so they could get to Elizabeth already.

What they didn't know was that Lorenzo was onto them. He made those various stops, having spotted them from the moment they started following him. In a small town, like the one he lives in, strangers stand out like a sore thumb. He was simply biding his time so that he can get a head start and lose them in the crowd.

"Dammit!" Jason exclaims, rushing forward. "After him!"

"We're right behind you!" Francis shouts, trying to get past the locals.

Lorenzo makes it up to the safe house, knowing that he didn't do that great a job of losing the men following him. The safe house was only safe because it was in a part of town that locals wouldn't dare venture to and it wasn't connected to his family in any way. It would do no good for three men coming after him.

"Get back in the room." Lorenzo orders Elizabeth, going for his guns, not at all pleased to have to use them.

"Wha...what's happening?" Elizabeth looks at him confusedly. "Lorenzo?"

"Just do it, please!" he looks at her, practically begging her to do as he asks. "Please, Elizabeth, just do it."

"Okay." she says, rising to her feet, using the cane to brace herself. "Okay. I'm going."

She could see that something was terribly wrong, her hand going over her growing abdomen as she limps her way over to the bedroom. She fears for him, getting the feeling that he was genuinely a good person, wishing that she could help him somehow.

"Lorenzo..." she calls to him, fear gripping her.

"Its gonna be okay." he tries to reassure her, keeping his voice soothing. "Just stay hidden...no one knows you're up here."

"But..."

"No matter what you hear, you stay hidden." he says seriously. "Promise me!"

"I promise." she says, fighting off the tears. "I promise, okay?"

"Go." he turns his attention back to the front door, bracing himself for the hell that will undoubtedly fall upon him.

In spite of her fear for him, Elizabeth retreats into the room, locking the door as she braces herself against it. She shuts her eyes as she listens to the room just on the other side of the door, hoping that things would be okay. That he can somehow stop whatever intruder is coming and that he'll be safe.

Jason, Johnny, and Francis burst into the safehouse one by one, their guns trained on Lorenzo, but he doesn't back down. He couldn't. Elizabeth depended on him and he couldn't let them kill him now. He was the only hope she had at getting back to her family. Not to mention his family that needed him to survive this.

"Drop it." Johnny's voice is low and firm, the other two to angry to utter a word. It was one hell of a run to that damn place.

"I'll drop it when I'm dead." Lorenzo counters, holding both guns in his hands. "And, trust me, I'll be taking you all along with me."

"Where is she?" Jason's voice is low, struggling to maintain his composure.

"Who?" Lorenzo feigns stupidity, his protective instincts kicking into overdrive.

"Don't play stupid with me!" Jason bellows. "You know exactly who I'm talking about! Where is she?"

Elizabeth had been straining to hear the voices on the other side, but there was no mistaking the last voice she heard. Jason. He came for her. And in that same thought, another hit her just as hard. Lorenzo. Yanking the door open, she places herself between Lorenzo and her guys, as fast as she can manage anyway.

"Elizabeth." Lorenzo says pleadingly, eyeing her intently.

"Liz..." Jason's features soften at the sight of her, their baby clearly forming for all to see.

"Its okay." she says to Jason before looking over her shoulder at Lorenzo. "They're okay."

"Are you sure?" Lorenzo looks at her intently, moving to lower his guns.

"I'm sure." Elizabeth turns back to her guys, a stern look on her face. "Tell him you're not going to hurt him."

"Liz..." all three men say at once, glancing between each other before looking at her again.

"Jason...please, he saved my life." she takes his free hand to rest over her stomach. "He saved our lives."

Her guys didn't have time to think because she ended up falling back into Lorenzo's arms. It was clear that she had been through enough and was trying her hardest to use whatever strength she had to ensure that they didn't kill each other.

Lorenzo doesn't give any care to the three men as he carries Elizabeth to the couch. Jason felt a wave of hurt as he watched him take care of Elizabeth, propping her up so that she was comfortable. He didn't know what was going on between the two, but it was clear that they forged some kind of connection.

"Jason..." Johnny starts to say, eliciting a glare from Jason.

"She's alive, that's all that matters." Jason snaps, walking over to kneel by Elizabeth while Lorenzo walks over to the kitchen to get a damp washrag. "Hey...how're you feeling?"

"Weak." she admits, taking in a shaky breath. "I'm just starting to regain my strength."

Lorenzo was about to walk back over to her when Johnny and Francis block his way.

"Jason." she says seriously, gesturing to Lorenzo.

"Stand down you two." Jason says plainly, keeping his focus on Elizabeth.

Reluctantly moving aside, the two watch on as Lorenzo makes his way to Elizabeth, scooting Jason aside to set the washrag down on Elizabeth's forehead.

"Thank you." she says softly, relishing in the cool feel against her forehead.

"Sure." Lorenzo replies, kneeling down before handing her the water. "I told you to take it easy."

"You're welcome." she smiles slightly. "I mean, that was a thank you for returning the favor, right?"

"I would've taken my chances." Lorenzo says seriously. "I won't condone something happening to you or your baby just because you wanted to save my life."

"I heard his voice." she says simply, looking at Jason fondly before looking back at Lorenzo. "I knew I would be safe, but you wouldn't be."

"Still..." Lorenzo sighs, shaking his head. "Thank you...now try to relax. I'm gonna put the stuff away."

"Jason...Jason!" she forces him to look at her and away from Lorenzo. "Help me into the bedroom...we need to talk."

With a nod, he lifts her into his arms, relishing in the fact that she clings to him. It gave him hope that she didn't hate him completely. Closing the door behind them by kicking it shut, Jason carries her over to the bed to lay her down. If nothing else, he's thankful that she has been comfortable since leaving the hospital.

"Liz..." he's about to say, but is immediately cut off by her lips as they come crashing down on his.

She knew they had to talk, pointing it out herself, but she just couldn't help it. She needed to feel his lips against hers, she needed to know that he still felt the same way, that he still cared about her. The absence of a ring on his finger had given her hope, but he could have easily have put the wedding off when he found out she had gone missing.

"Whoa..." Jason pulls away, completely out of breath. Any doubts in his mind having vanished by that point. "Wh..what was that for?"

"You found me." she says simply, smiling up at him. "I wasn't sure if you knew I was missing or not...but hearing your voice earlier...there's no words for what I felt in that moment."

"I'm sorry that you almost died because of me." Jason kneels down in front of her, taking her hands in his. "Sonny...he was the one that did this...that had you taken and...you know."

"Why would he do that?" Elizabeth looked at him confusedly. "What did I ever do to Sonny?"

"Not you...me." Jason sighs, he didn't want to tell her like this. "He overheard me telling Johnny that I wanted to marry you...and that I was going to ask you to marry me the next time we saw each other."

Elizabeth was stunned into silence, sitting completely still, trying to take in his words. He wanted to marry her. He was going to ask her to marry him and Sonny got in the way. As many times as she replayed his words in her head, she could grasp it. Couldn't believe it. He was going to ask her to marry him. She, Elizabeth Webber, was going to be proposed to by the man she loved almost desperately.

"What about now?" she finally asks, fearing he'd pull back after everything that happened.

"What?"

"What about now?" she repeats herself. "Are you still going to ask me?"

"Do you want me to ask you?" he counters, sliding one of his hands over her stomach. "I handled Sonny...and that puts me in his place..."

"I don't care about that." Elizabeth says seriously. "What I care about is whether or not you want to marry me still...do you?"

"With every fiber of my being." he says with conviction. "I just want to be sure you want it, too."

"I do." she says seriously. "I really do, but we are going to have to really talk about this when we get back home."

"I need to ask you about this guy..."

"Lorenzo...he's a good guy, Jason." she says with conviction. "He didn't need to take care of me, but he did...all he wants is to make sure I'm okay before he leaves back to his family."

"How did he even get mixed up in this?"

"The same reason you did...his family." she says softly. "His mother was blackmailed and he's just trying to protect those he loves."

"Okay." he answers her unasked question. "Okay...we'll leave him alone."

"Thank you." she wraps her arms around him, needing to feel his body against hers. "God, its so good to be in your arms again. I never want you to let me go."

"I know the feeling."

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, we hope you keep up with them.

-ROCkER & The Jackal's Vixen-