A/N – Thanks for the comments. I guess I stopped getting any notifications so had no idea that people from fanfiction were replies since November, so I'm just reading your comments now. Crazy. Anyway, I also appreciate the feedback. I have surgery on March 21st, so my goal is to finish this story by then. We are hitting the home stretch.

Chapter 50

Francis jumped backward as some kind of projectile hit the parapet.

Nikolas's eyes widen and his arms start to flail as the stones begin to crumble beneath his feet.

There was nothing Francis could do but watch as tears spring into Nikolas's eyes and he screams Emily's name as he begins to plummet.

Francis only looked away right before Nikolas hit the rocks. He had been given instructions to kill Nikolas if need be, but given he had done away with Helena, Sonny may have changed his mind.

"Francis!" Milo yelled from the hallway.

He sighed as he got up and ran toward the door. "What?"

"What the hell just happened?" It had shaken the floor and he thought for sure that Francis was a goner.

"Nikolas took out Helena and our guys took out him. They are dead."

Milo is surprised but relieved. "We need to find Liz."

"Let's go."

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Sam fired but jerked at the last second when she realized it was Ryan.

"I didn't come all this way to get taken out by friendly fire," he said moving forward.

Tears sprang into her eyes. "You have to help him."

He spotted Carly and the doctor and then moved forward. "Is that Jason?"

"Yes. He's barely alive."

Men moved into the room with a stretcher and then stabilized Jason, giving him oxygen and a saline drip.

Ryan helped Sam stand and then hugged her. "You're okay."

She doesn't feel okay, just numb.

"Who's the guy on the floor?"

She pulled back. "It's the asshole that tortured Jason."

Ryan grabbed the walkie. "Cody? What's going on?"

"We still have some gunfire coming from the far East corner. We're pouring fire on them right now."

"Good. I need to get a helicopter in here."

"Give me five."

They pause when they hear a loud voice over an intercom.

"Helena and Nikolas are dead. Surrender or die."

Ryan smirked. "I like Cody." He pressed the button again. "Sonny?"

Sam gasped.

"I'm here."

He held it in front of Sam. "Hi. It's me."

Sonny plopped onto a chair. "Sam?"

"I'm okay. I found Jason. It's bad."

Ryan took over. "A helicopter is en route."

"Copy. Liz?"

"Not yet. I'll check with Francis."

"Copy that."

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Harry saw a boat coming toward him and smiled. He stepped onto the deck with his hands up. As it pulls closer, another one of Ryan's guards chuckled.

"What the hell, man?"

"Sorry. She tossed my phone overboard."

He picked up his walkie. "I have Harry."

Ryan is surprised. "He's in one piece?"

"Yes."

"I'll talk to him later. Tell him she's with me."

Harry gulped.

The other man grinned. "You have some explaining to do."

Harry shrugged. "It was nice breathing while it lasted."

"Follow me over there." He pointed.

"Okay."

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Francis and Milo go room by room before hearing Elizabeth scream.

"Shit," Milo said as they ran down the long hallway.

They stop in front of a door and then slowly try to open it, but it won't budge.

They get out their picks and luckily the maid is too distracted to notice.

Once they had it open, they flung open the door, and when the maid reached into her pocket. Francis shot her in the heart.

"Help me!" Liz yelled.

Francis ran to her side while Milo radioed for a doctor.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm in pain. Something isn't right."

"Shit."

"Helena?"

"She's dead."

Liz is shocked but pleased. "And Nikolas?"

"He killed her and then was taken out."

She isn't sure how to feel. He may have helped rid the world of that evil bitch, but people were hurt because of what they had done.

A contraction ripped through her body.

Francis is worried because her breathing is so erratic.

"I'm scared to ask how Jason is."

"I honestly don't know."

"The baby may be breech," she said before grimacing in pain.

He turned a ghostly pale.

"We may not make it if you don't do something."

His eyes snapped shut and he took a deep breath right before Milo and a doctor rushed into the room.

"I'm Lee."

"Liz. I think something is wrong with the baby."

Milo guarded the door and let Ryan know what is going on and where they are while Francis wiped Liz's face with a wet cloth.

Another man from the medical team joined them.

"Jason?"

The man eyed Francis who nodded.

"He's critical but alive."

A tear ran down her cheek. "Francis?"

"Yes."

He moved beside her as the other two men worked together. A saline drip was started, and then they prepared for the delivery.

"If something should happen, please save her."

"Elizabeth… You're not going to die, not under my watch."

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Ryan and the men made it out of the catacombs unscathed, picking up Stefan along the way due to Sam's directions. When they made it back to the front of the house, he motioned to one of the guards. "Take her to Francis."

He nodded and then led Sam into the house and upstairs. When they got there, Liz is screaming and then passes out due to the pain.

"What the hell is happening?" Sam said as she ran into the room.

"The baby may be turned wrong," Lee said.

Sam moved up near Liz's head. "Is she okay?"

"I just checked her pulse. It's elevated, but I think she'll be okay."

Sam's eyes widened when she saw Liz's body clench and then her eyes opened.

"Sam?"

"Hey."

"Make sure they save the baby, okay? You'll have to help him. He'll be upset and won't want to function."

Tears ran down Sam's face. "You're going to be fine. Please fight."

"Tell me that you'll help him."

Sam gripped her hand. "I'll help you both, but you can't die. Please…"

Liz is struggling to stay awake. For some reason, she is very dizzy.

Francis pressed the button on the walkie. "Ryan, has the helicopter left?"

"It's landing now. Is she okay?"

"No. She's having the baby and there are complications."

Ryan cursed under his breath and then motioned to the guard next to him. "Someone is calling for the second one. Tell her to hang in there." It will be a miracle if Jason survives, but if that baby loses both her parents…" He almost shuddered at the thought. "Let me know when she's ready for transport."

"Copy." His gaze fixes on Lee and Mario. "Can we move her?"

Lee sighed. "It's better to have to deliver here rather than a helicopter, but if the baby is turned, it takes some skill to fix that. I'm not trained." They are army field doctors. While they can deliver a baby, it's not their specialty nor do they have the tools to deal with complications.

They checked her again.

"She's probably around 6 cm and has about two to four hours to go. Her blood pressure is low."

"Let's get her out of here then," Francis said, hoping he doesn't regret the call.

Milo yells for some more guards. It took a few minutes to get her situated and then they called Ryan.

"Is Jason gone?"

"Yes."

"Have the other chopper land."

"Got it." He's going to have to go with them because the police will probably be notified due to Jason's condition. "Sonny?"

Sonny chimed in. "I'm here."

"Jason is on his way in. Elizabeth is having complications. Stefan is bad off, but he'll make it. I'm about to ride to the hospital and I'll bring Sam. I need guards there."

He's surprised by the Stefan news. "Done." The guys heard him and all but one took off. "I'll head there."

"See you soon."

Sonny made a call.

"Hello?"

"Alan, it's Sonny. Jason should be at the hospital any minute via helicopter. Elizabeth is next."

"Condition?"

"Jason is critical, but I don't know the extent. Elizabeth is having complications. There's one more person who is on the helicopter with Jason."

"Who?"

"Stefan. He's hurt badly, but he's in better shape than Jason."

"I'll get everything ready. Thanks."

Sonny ended the call as he hurried to the town car.

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Alan and other staff meet Jason's helicopter. Monica is waiting out of the way with another team including Kelly, to help Elizabeth. She had already let the family know what is happening.

Jason's heart stopped when they got him out and the staff rushed toward him and started CPR.

Alan watched helplessly as his son is brought back to life. They have no idea what they are working with, but failure isn't an option. He glanced at his wife whose barely hanging on and then followed the group of doctors and nurses trying to save Jason's life into the elevator.

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Sam and Ryan hopped out of the helicopter and Elizabeth is whisked away quickly to be taken to the ER.

"What can you tell me?" Monica asked as they rode down in a separate elevator.

"Francis said the baby may be breech," Sam said. "Her blood pressure is low and causing her to pass out."

Kelly's assistant is listening. "When was the last time she was conscious?"

"She woke up briefly when we were loading her into the helicopter and hasn't woken up since."

"If you find out anything else, let us know."

When the line went dead, Monica slipped the phone into her pocket.

"Jason looked very bad, but I don't know what they did to him. All I could tell is that his body was bruised and cut," Sam said. "They were drugging him heavily. He looked high and slurred his words."

Monica dialed her phone and let Alan know. It's going to make treatment very difficult. She focused on Sam. "How did you find him?"

Sam glanced at Francis and as soon as the elevator opened, Monica motioned for them to follow her and they went into an empty room where she shut the door.

"Whatever you tell me is between us. I'll put off telling the police about Jason as long as I can. Mac already thinks that the same person took them. Now, what aren't you telling me?"

"Carly was there when I found him."

"What?"

"I think she was trying to have sex with him."

Not much shocks Ryan, but that threw him given Jason's condition.

"That bitch!" Monica said loudly. "Tell me you stopped her."

"I did. She'll never get near him again."

Realizing the weight of her words, Monica hugged her. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

"She deserved it. I just hate that Jason and Elizabeth suffered."

Monica retreated and then looked Sam over. "Do we need to check you out?"

"No, I'm fine."

Monica's brow rose making Sam smirk.

"Really. She only got one hit in before I kicked her ass."

Monica smiled. "I bet that felt good."

"You have no idea."

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Alan passed on the information to the staff who did a blood panel. Leo and two other emergency doctors are trying to access Jason's injuries.

"Multiple electrical type burns on his torso and back that seem to be caused by some kind of prod," one doctor said.

"There are cuts on his stomach, but they are pretty clean."

"His body temp is too low."

"We may need to put in a vent. He's in respiratory failure. He may have several broken ribs and they may have perforated his lungs."

"I think they did a lot of soft tissue damage."

Leo nodded. "Just enough so they could still keep him alive but cause maximum damage."

Suddenly, Jason's eyes jerked open.

"Jason. You're safe."

Ryan is standing outside the room and starts hearing a commotion, so he and Sam ran into the room to find the doctors struggling with a disoriented Jason.

Ryan quickly assisted them in putting Jason in restraints as Sam whispered comforting words to him.

No one can understand his slurred speech.

"Jesus, how much did they give him?"

Leo checked the inside of his arm and then the outside. "They were injecting him."

Ryan stepped backward. It's hard to see Jason in this state.

"I don't understand how he is alive." Anyone else would have overdosed.

Alan couldn't stop it. A tear flowed down his cheek. A hand pressed against his back, and he was surprised to see Sonny. "It's bad."

Sonny sighs.

"He's drugged out of his mind, but we need to do surgery."

"Do you have to wait?"

"We're going to see what they gave him. The results are being rushed."

Sonny's eyes went from Jason to Sam, who is trying to comfort the enforcer. He wonders if she realizes that she is crying. He figured that she'd be with Elizabeth, but guesses that either she was kicked out of the room, or Elizabeth asked Sam to check on Jason for her.

Sam pulled back so a nurse could get past her. Jason's breathing is worse from all the movement, but he passed out again due to the pain.

Ryan put his hand on her shoulder and pointed and she started to cry and then ran to Sonny and was swallowed up in his arms. It was like her exhaustion set in and he had to pick her up before she fell and he sat on a chair, holding her on his lap.

Her sobs filled the hallway as she let out her emotions. Ryan moved further away and made a call.

"Ryan?" Johnny asked. "Are they alive?"

"Yes. Jason is bad. They want to do surgery to fix his ribs, but Helena's doctor gave him too many drugs. He's fucked up, Johnny. I feel like I should have moved in faster."

Johnny feels crushed knowing that Jason must have suffered horrible pain. "It's not your fault. If you went in there half-assed, they may have killed him before you could get there.

"I didn't get there. Sam did."

"What?"

"She found out Carly was on the island and went in all Rambo style on her own. They fought."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah, but she took out two people."

"Who else?" He figures that Carly is one.

"The doctor. When I came into the room, she had managed to untie Jason, and almost shot me."

Johnny's eyes close. "She saved him."

"Yes."

"And Elizabeth?"

"She's in labor. I'm headed over there now. Jason's mom is with her. We found Stefan too. It's not good."

"Can you have someone let me know how it goes?"

"I'll call you myself."

"Thanks. You weren't hurt?"

Ryan made a noise, making his brother chuckle. "Do you know me at all?"

"You're not invincible, Ryan."

"That I know. Later."

"Later."

Emily moved into the room. "What happened?"

Johnny told her what he knows.

"I'll text my mom in a bit."

"Okay." With Helena dead, they'll need to make sure that there are no other threats before they come home.

"They are alive. Now, we pray even harder."

"That, I can do."
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Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open.

"You're safe," Monica said softly.

"Baby?"

"Still in your belly. They are about to do a Caesarean."

Liz groaned.

"I know, but they think there was a premature separation of the placenta, so you're bleeding. Don't worry, the family will help you get back on your feet. It's nice having a household with doctors in it. I'll take a leave of absence if necessary, and you know that Audrey will help too."

"Here?"

"She's on her way."

There is a sound from the doorway, and then Audrey rushes into the room.

"I got here as soon as I could. How is she?"

"They need to do a Caesarean."

Audrey kissed Liz on the forehead. "You're going to be fine. Jason?"

"He needs surgery, but if anyone can make it out of this, it's him," Monica said.

Liz's eyes welled with tears. "That bad?"

"I don't want to lie to you. Yes. It's bad."

"I need to know."

"They may need to do a rib fixation which will help him heal faster. The problem is that he was heavily drugged. That's all you need to know right now. You need to concentrate on having that baby."

A contraction ripped through her body, making her cry out again.

An anesthesiologist joined them and explained what will happen and then Kelly entered the room.

"We're moving you to another room to do the delivery. We'll bring you back here shortly."

Audrey kissed her again and Monica squeezed her hand.

"Can I come with her?" Audrey asked.

"She'll be completely under. We don't want to risk anything given the stress they have been under."

Audrey understood the seriousness of the matter. She is happy that they had got Elizabeth stabilized, but the baby is still showing distress. "I'll see you afterward."

The drugs are injected, and she was out by the time she got to the OR.

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Leo calls Alan into a room where another doctor is waiting.

"We got the results."

"What is he on?"

The doctor held the paper out.

"Holy shit," Leo muttered.

Alan couldn't believe his eyes. It's a lethal combo, so Jason is even luckier to be alive.

"It's a miracle, but at least his liver numbers aren't outrageous." If they were, it would make it harder for the liver to process the anesthesia. "It still complicates the surgery though."

They called the head of anesthesia and a specialist that performs these types of surgeries and brainstormed on what they should do before deciding. If they don't go in, more damage will probably be done. Jason is in distress.

"He'll need a CT."

"We just have to keep him sedated," Alan said.

"I can do that," Brad, the anesthesiologist said.

"Once we have that, we can see how bad it is and if he needs the rib fixation."

Barry, the surgical doctor nodded. "There has been a lot of advancement. It makes things a lot easier. We can probably do the surgery within two days. That will give us time to make sure he's more stable and get all the plates shaped correctly to fit the breakages."

"That will also give some time for the drugs to wear off," Alan said.

"How long has he been on them?"

"Around three days."

"Probably constantly though," Leo said.

"We'll have to monitor him, but he'll be sedated until then. We'll keep him stable," Barry said.

"Alright, let's get him vented."