one year later

Liz sat on a stool staring at the sculpture in front of her. She was finally finished. It was mixed media piece of mainly metal and pipes, but when they came together it was the woods of Port Charles. It was her and this city. At odds, but surviving.

Ava would be happy that this last piece was done. It was only the day of her first show. She wiped the dirt on her pants. She washed her hands and looked up to see what damage she had done to her face. Always full of paint and dirt. She saw herself in the mirror and thought about how much she had changed. Her hair was still short but now with some purple dye in it, it had more spirit. Gone were her scrubs, replaced by paint covered tattered overalls and torn tee shirts. Gone was the conservative perfect Elizabeth Webber.

That Elizabeth was gone. She didn't have a choice, entirely. She had been stripped of her nursing license 6 months ago. The day she got out of the looney bin. She thought it would break her. But she was still standing, wasn't she?

It had been her art that had gotten her through it. She had gotten into Franco's art therapy group and something had clicked. Something that talk therapy hadn't done, couldn't do. She didn't have to be Liz the perfect nurse, Liz the perfect mom, or Liz the anything. She could disappear and reappear in herself in the motion of art.

She was living in the studio mainly. She spent weekends at home with Lucky. They had somehow perfected co-parenting that way. She knew Cameron and Aiden wanted her to be the old her, making cookies and always around. But it was store bought cookies from now on, and she was just taking it day by day.

There were moments with watching Lucky be a full-time dad with the boys that made her think about him and her. She didn't believe in meant to be, but maybe they had the last chapter in them. Or maybe she should let him continue to steer the ship.

She even got to visit with Jake, with supervision. That still burned. But at least now she wasn't lusting over Jason. It hit her one day out of the blue. She looked at him preparing lunches for Danny and Jake during her visit, and she felt nothing. It was domestic bliss… but it wasn't hers.

Of course, Sam and Jason had married again, and Sam was pregnant. She didn't like Sam and Sam didn't like her. But at least no one was pretending. She remembered seeing Sam the other day and couldn't help but think that the way Sam was throwing back dumpling, she wasn't going to lose any of the baby weight this time. That made her smile. Liz ran every morning now. It was part of her regiment. She wasn't going to have another child. She was done. Let other people breed.

She was finally herself, or at least some version of it that felt... right.

She had slipped into her dress and the last item had shipped to the gallery.

She just couldn't get the zipper.

"Need a hand?"

She turned and saw Lucky standing at the door with flowers. She didn't lock the door when she was awake. Since Shadybrooke, she was over feeling locked in.

She smiled and nodded. She watched him trying to figure out what to do with the flowers, finally settling on laying them in the sink. Possibly the cleanest area in the space. She was pretty sure her new dress might get dirt and paint on it just by being in the room.

She turned to face the mirror and felt him behind her. He gently pulled up her zipper. She felt the heat of his body behind her, and the coolness of the metal zipper move closed over her back. She caught his eye in their reflection.

It had been a while since they'd been this close. She felt flushed. She smiled.

"Thank you," she said.

"You look great," he said, "like starlight,"

She turned and faced him, and twirled a little. She had been going for that look. When she had bought it, the shimmering navy fabric reminded her of the night sky. It was short and showed off her legs too.

She couldn't help but get a little lost in Lucky's eyes. He always had that smile and-

"Where are the boys? Weren't you picking them up and bringing them-"

"I brought them to Monica's for the pirate hunt sleepover party,"

"And you-"

"They know were we will be all night at the gallery and have all the numbers," said Lucky, "I've got it handled,"

He did have it handled she reminded herself. It was now the one signing permission slips and doing drop-offs and pickups. He even had a job.

"I'm the man in the chair?" said Lucky.

"The man in the chair?" said Liz, "like you are a man who sits in a chair, or owns a chair,"

"You'd get this if you had come to see Spiderman with me and the boys," said Lucky.

"Yeah, no. And please explain," said Liz.

"You know how Dad is traveling the world, basically being Indiana Jones for hire. Well, I'm his home base. I'll take his calls and get him the information he needs and credentials and everything else he needs, and for that, I have part of the take-"

"Take, and tell me again how legal this is?" said Liz.

"Well, when we sell or find something with a reward I get a nice portion." said Lucky, "It's been paying the bills so nicely. I think I might be able to get that mini-van I had my eye on,"

"God you're boring," said Liz.

"You mean Fatherly amazing," said Lucky.

She felt like she didn't have to worry so much anymore. She could do this without feeling guilty. She could be an artist.

"The flowers are nice," said Liz, "Possibly too nice for this place,"

She picked them out of the sink and unwrapped them and placed them in an empty mason jar with some water in the base. The carnations looked cheerful. Most people hated carnations, but she loved them. They lived the longest of all the cut flowers.

"We should go and get there," said Lucky, "You don't want to be late for your own opening."

"Nobody will be there, everyone in town thinks I'm the devil," said Liz.

"Worst case people will at least come to see you out and about," said Lucky, "People are curious how you are,"

"People mostly just want to see me fall," said Liz, "And stare."

"People like a good come back story," said Lucky, "And I'll be there. My mom will be there,"

"Hopefully someone buys a piece that's not either of you," said Liz, "Even if it's to burn it at home later."

"Carly promised that she wasn't going to come. Spencer family promise" said Lucky.

She remembered the first day she saw Carly, and the slap she got. At the time she had just taken it. But if she tried it again, Carly was going down. She shook the feeling off and gathered her purse. She took a final look at her reflection. She could do this.

She sold every piece. She couldn't believe it. Ava had said it was the best opening she had ever had. Franco had given a speech. Anyone who wasn't on shift at the hospital had shown up. She hadn't thought they'd cared. Robin and Patrick had even come down from California. They pulled her aside and gave their forgiveness of everything that had gone down last year.

Jason and Sam hadn't been there. She didn't see any of Sam's family. Other than Ava of course, but she didn't think they were close. It was good they didn't come. She didn't need people watching them expecting there to be drama.

It was perfectly drama free, as long as you didn't count Nicolas coming in. He had bought her most expensive and largest sculpture to install in Wydemere. She had been in Shadybrooke and had ridden out the trial there. Ric Lansing had represented her and gotten her off on all charges, the plea had been insanity. Nicholas has hired a whole team of lawyers from New York City nd gotten off off all charges. People hadn't liked Hayden, but they hated seeing injustice and saw Nicolas as worse than her. At least someone else had been the focus of the drama.

She sat on the gallery desk drinking her glass of champagne. It was mostly empty and Ava and just asked her to lock up.

She could feel Lucky starring at her.

"Don't you have to be up early for drop off?

"No, my mom is taking the boys for the week," said Lucky.

"The week?" said Liz.

"I think it's time," said Lucky, "Time you come back home fulltime,"

She was shocked.

"No it's better this way, and it's more your home than mine now. I was thinking of just moving all my stuff to the studio, and I don't want to displace you with the boys and-"

"No, I'm not going anywhere, and you are coming home."

"Lucky, we are divorced and it doesn't make sense to live together like that. You have custody of the boys-"

"I never filed that. We share custody, and maybe we shouldn't be divorced," said Lucky.

"Was that a proposal?" said Liz.

"Yes, no, maybe, it's complicated. But I want to be a family with you again," said Lucky.

"I'm not the girl you married anymore. I don't think I can be, and I don't want to be that again" said Liz.

"I don't want anyone but you," said Lucky.

"I don't know if I can just jump in and marry you again and be the boy's mom the same way I was," said Liz.

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to do, and you can be any mom you want to be," said Lucky, "The boys are thriving,"

"Thanks to you," said Liz.

"And you. You know that they wanted to come to support you tonight. Even Jake. They are proud of you. You should have heard them at Monica's before I left. Their mom was a big deal artist at a grownup museum," said Lucky.

"They didn't," said Liz.

She felt the warmth spread in her chest.

"They did."

Lucky sat down next to her and held out his hand.

"Liz, I don't care if we get married again, and I don't want things to be like they were. They didn't work then. But I want to live with you again. It's just a step in a direction, and we can just take it one step at a time. And maybe it could work."

She smiled and took his hand.