Chapter One

She raced to the hospital as fast as she could, ignoring the horn blasts and fingers she got from other motorists. Her six-cylinder Acura Legend swallowed up the miles smoothly and efficiently, weaving in and out of the lanes of traffic. Elizabeth maneuvered the car effortlessly, then floored the gas once she hit the open stretch of highway, soaring freely at nearly ninety miles an hour. She'd be damned if she didn't get there soon.

Trust her to be on the outskirts of town when her best friend needed her most.

He revved the bike as quickly as he could, then leapt into motion. The bike jumped forward with a powerful growl and took command of the street. He swerved between lanes, taking a turn at nearly 40 miles an hour. Two minutes ago he had received a call from his mother, saying that Emily's condition had taken a nose-dive for the first.

Now he was flying through the streets, taking all sorts of short cuts to the hospital. He pulled into the garage and made quick work of scouting out a place. He shut off his bike and jumped off, sprinting to the nearby elevator.

Hold on, Em. I'm coming. I'm here.

"Courtney!" Sonny yelled from the hallway, trying to pull on his trench and push the elevator button at the same time.

"Courtney, hurry!" Carly called, emerging from their penthouse and slamming the door behind her. Her purse dragged on the floor and she quickly grabbed it up, pulling her hair into a quick ponytail and tying it back.

"Wait!" came a cry from inside PH 4. "You guys go on without me! I'll grab Marco and we'll go together."

"Fine!" Sonny yelled back. He turned his attention back to his very pregnant wife, offering a hand to her and bracing the other one around her back. "Come on, sweetheart," he murmured, helping her in, then punching a button. "We've got to be there for Jason."

Lucky ran into Jake's. Sure enough, there was Nikolas. He raced up to his brother and grabbed his arm, roughly pulling him to the door with no explanation.

"Lucky, what the hell are you trying to do?" Nikolas demanded, tossing his pool cue to Coleman. He allowed his brother to drag him to a chair, where Lucky grabbed his pullover and threw it at him. Nikolas pulled it on haphazardly, still glaring at the younger blonde.

"Do you want to explain something here, man?"

Lucky looked back at him, his blue eyes wide and sorrowful. "We've got to haul ass to the hospital. Emily."

Without another word, Nikolas made a beeline for the exit, Lucky hard on his heels.

Courtney raced up to her bedroom as soon as she heard the elevator doors close. She flung open the door and jumped towards her armoire, flinging open the bottom drawer.

She pulled it wide open and began throwing out extraneous items. Pads, tampons, bras, panties, thongs. Thank goodness Jason never looked in this drawer. Pulling out a pile of silk camisoles, she finally saw what she had been searching for.

She pulled the small bottle out and shook out four pills. That ought to do it for now. Quickly dropping the painkiller back in place, she piled her slips and lacy undergarments over it.

She jumped up from her crouched position and ran downstairs, her socked feet making no sound on the carpeted staircase. She skittered towards the kitchen, slipping a little on the hardware floor. She had only a minute, at most, before Marco came up.

She quickly pulled a glass out of the cabinet as she turned on the faucet with her left hand. Testing the water with her finger, she didn't wait before forcing the glass under. She quickly shut the tap and popped all four pills in her mouth, washing them down with a gulp of water.

Taking a deep breath, she waited for her breathing and pulse to slow. This was how it always was. She'd get tired or over-excited, and all she had to do was take a pill and she'd be fine. Alcazar's doctor had advised taking no more than two, but she wasn't worried. After all, she was entitled. She was a mob moll who had just gotten back from being kidnapped and losing her first child. She was entitled; she was allowed.

"Miss Corinthos?" came Marco's Spanish accent. "Are you ready to go?"

She placed the glass in the sink and walked calmly out to where he was waiting.

"Not quite," she began, as the guard cocked an eyebrow. "I've got to go to the bathroom."

"So go," Marco replied, waving his hands to the stairs. "Hurry out, and I'll be waiting right here for you, Miss."

Courtney shook her head. "I may be a while, Marco," she lied. "I've been having cramps lately and –"

"No such information needed, I assure you," Marco got out, already wincing at the thought. He really didn't need to know anything about her bodily functions.

"I'm just saying that I might take a while."

He looked at her hesitantly. "Mr. Corinthos asked me to be at the hospital within ten minutes. Leticia is coming also, and I'm to be her guard for the rest of the afternoon."

"Why don't you go ahead?" she asked, smiling brightly. "I'll catch up in, oh, fifteen, twenty minutes."

"I don't know," he began, hesitating. "I'm supposed to-"

"Marco," she interrupted, raising her eyebrows at him. "I'm not Carly. I can drive. I've never had any moving violations or even gotten a ticket."

Marco bit back laughter at her comment. My, how quickly she forgot. In one ear, and out the other.

She didn't notice his amusement and continued. "I'm perfectly capable of driving to the hospital. I'll be there as soon as I can, I promise. And you know Sonny doesn't care if I drive around alone in the daytime."

Gee, I wonder why, Marco jeered inwardly. "Fine, Miss, I'll go on ahead. We'll be waiting for you." He turned to leave, but then pivoted to turn back to her. "Don't forget the flowers, Miss."

"Got it, Marco. If you'll excuse me." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and raced up the stairs.

"Glad to," he muttered, closing the door behind him.

The elevator doors opened with a ding! and Jason stepped out. He quickly walked to the information desk, dodging wheelchairs and clueless orderlies. Bobby was shuffling papers in her clipboard when he finally made it.

"Bobby," he gasped, out of breath. "Which room –"

"Jason!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad you made it. Room 124. Hurry."

Without another word, he raced off to the ICU. Sprinting down the corridor, he combed the hall for 124. Finally spying it, he hurried towards it and threw it open.

Thirteen pairs of eyes stared back at him. Jason moved quietly into the room, nodding hello to all his relatives and Emily's friends. Alan and Edward smiled sadly at him, while Monica and Ned rose to hug him. Luke, Dillon and Reginald shook his hand, and Lila smiled up at him when he pecked her cheek. Skye and A.J. ignored him, standing together near Alan. A.J. had his hand resting comfortingly on his father's shoulder as he surveyed the rest of the group. Lucky and Nikolas stood close together by the bedside table, Zander on a chair between them. All looked so lost and…. desolate.

AJ patted his father on the back once more before quietly leaving the room, wiping away his tears. Skye stared after him, then turned her attention back to the comatose Emily.

Jason moved silently over to where Sonny and Carly stood. Carly reached for his hand while Sonny clapped him noiselessly on the back, but Jason couldn't keep his eyes off his baby sister's face.

She looked so pale. Like porcelain. Fragile as a doll. Her hair was free and streaming down the pillows, offering a river of chocolate color to the stark hospital interior. An IV was connected to her hand, where a purplish bruise had developed, and an oxygen mask partially hid her beautiful face.

His throat constricted, followed by a sharp pain in his chest. She didn't deserve this. No one did. And if he had it his way, it would have been him on the hospital bed instead of her. It would have been him fighting for his life instead of his baby sister. He was made to fight; she wasn't.

But here they all were; watching her fight and not being able to do a thing to help her. They spoke to her, read to her, sang to her, but none of it seemed to matter. He wondered if they were doing it more for themselves than for her. Trying to make themselves think she was alive.

He shook his head, banishing the thought. Emily was alive, and she would be well. Soon. He just had to concentrate on that, just like everyone else. At least she was here, surrounded by her family and friends.

His blue eyes darted around the room. Speaking of friends…where was Elizabeth?

Elizabeth checked her watch and cursed. Fifteen minutes since Edward had called her, informing her of Emily's condition and imploring her to come as fast as possible. She was in the left lane of the highway, doing an easy ninety five, and yet she felt as if she were crawling.

Come on, baby, she urged the car, pressing down more firmly on the accelerator. Get me to where I need to be.

"Shit!" Courtney cursed as she narrowly missed rolling her ankle. She took the steps more gingerly, smiling when she hit solid pavement again. She crossed the covered lot quickly to her car and unlocked the door, climbing in.

After adjusting the mirror she started her golden Benz and pulled out of her spot, not wearing a seat belt. She quickly flipped the radio station to the oldies channel and began singing gaily along.

"My baby does the hanky-panky! My baby does the hanky-panky!" Bopping her head to the beat she avoided a fender bender with Sonny's prized Bentley by a hair, prompting a massive sigh of relief from the doorman.

She sped out of the garage, not even fully checking both ways for traffic. Fortunately, the streets were considerably empty, much to her slightly disoriented relief.

Elizabeth spied the exit sign and moved quickly, crossing three lanes in a matter of seconds. Her small car expertly handled the rough treatment and dropped 50 miles to catch the ramp at 40 mph. She sailed along the curve, barely managing to stop in time for the signal.

Hold on, Emmie, she thought as she impatiently waited for the signal. Nothing's going to stop me now. I'll be there before you know it.

Courtney moved quickly down Van Buren Boulevard, still bopping away to her own odd beat. Her medicine had finally kicked in, and she was sailing on Cloud Nine. Or was it floating? She didn't care.

She reached down to change the radio station again, not even registering that the red light ahead meant she should stop.

As she rolled through the intersection, well above speed limit, she didn't see or hear the other car until it was too late.

The light changed and Elizabeth felt like crying out with joy. Foot on the gas, she propelled her small car forward. Only a couple minutes from the hospital.

She was in the middle of the intersection before she heard the ominous growl. Confused, she looked to her left and her cry of terror died in her throat.

A massive Mercedes was headed right toward her, the blonde driver apparently not even noticing.

She squealed in fright and gripped the wheel tightly, wrenching both arms to the right in a futile attempt to escape the brunt of impact. The rubber burned on the pavement, and the Benz kept on coming.

It's front bumper connected heavily with Elizabeth's fender and driver's seat, shattering the windshield and sending minuscule particles of glass spraying onto her. Her window cracked and the glass fell onto her lap, and her drivers' side door pulled inward as far as possible, sending her car careening into a nearby lamppost.

Effectively sandwiched between the sheet metal, a dazed Elizabeth looked down at the blood covering her small limbs, blinking away the fluid that invaded her eyes.

Her head turned towards the other driver, as of its own volition.

Courtney?

The world grew fuzzy and Elizabeth Webber, head bent over the wheel, slammed into darkness.