Part One
One Moment in Time

Elizabeth stumbled a little, her hand reaching out for the wall to steady herself, but the hand on her arm jerked her along. "Wait, wait," she breathed, "let me get my balan-"

"You're getting out of here, hurry up."

She somehow managed to keep her feet under her as the masked man dragged her along the hallway. She tried to look back, to see if anyone else was following them. "But why me? There are other people in there who-"

"Just you," the harsh words startled her and she stumbled along behind him, "that's all."

There were a pair of doors just ahead with a blinking sign above it.

EXIT.

"But, Emily and-"

He shoved the door open and she stumbled out into the cold night air. She had no idea where they were. None of the buildings looked familiar. She turned back to the masked man. "I don't understand-"

The flash of headlights blinded her and she threw up a hand to block the light and stepped back as the brakes of a car squealed to a halt and when she looked up the flash of a Mercedes logo glowed in the half light of the exit.

"Elizabeth? Get in the car."

She was startled to say the least and turned toward the sound. Two flashes of light followed slightly by the unmistakable double roar of gunfire.

Elizabeth heard a thud and turned. The masked gunman who had brought her outside was sliding down the exit door, leaving a slug-like trail of blood on the metal behind him. "What? Who? Ow!"

A hand grabbed at her arm and pulled her toward the car, shoving her into the backseat. A moment later the car was in motion.

Eight hours before General Hospital

Epiphany set the phone down in its cradle and flagged Elizabeth as she moved toward the nurse's station. "Elizabeth?"
Smiling at her supervisor, Elizabeth stopped at the station and set down her clipboard. "Hey, Epiphany."

Nodding toward the elevator the older woman smiled. "You're going to take your break now and go see Dr. Lee."

Elizabeth's shoulders slumped. "Epiphany, I told you not to worry, that-"

Epiphany touched Elizabeth's hand in a sudden and unexpected show of affection. "No one else seems to be looking after you and from what you said earlier, you need to see Kelly."

Nodding, Elizabeth let go of her chart and turned toward the elevators. "I'll go and see her and when she says there's nothing wrong... I'll use the rest of my break to go get some tea."

Smirking, Epiphany went back to her charts.

the Corinthos Morgan Office

Jason sat in his office, the door locked and his mind busy. Busy with anything, BUT business. Of all things he was thinking about Cameron Webber. He remembered the moment in the courthouse when he felt Elizabeth's son move inside of her, his hand pressed tightly against her belly. Something deep inside of him had held onto that memory so tightly that even know his palm fairly tingled with it. Opening his hand he looked at his bare palm and sighed.

Knowing she was pregnant... even if it was with Lucky's child... he wanted to be there. He wanted to see the joy on her face with every kick and flutter of movement. He wanted to rub her feet and cook for her. He wanted to be there and rub her back or whatever else she needed during labor. He wanted to help knowing that Lucky wouldn't be much help with anything, except giving Elizabeth stress.

General Hospital

Kelly clutched her chart to her chest as she moved closer to Elizabeth, her sweetest expression on her face. Elizabeth was instantly worried. "What's wrong?"

Reaching out a hand, Kelly gave Elizabeth's hand a squeeze. "Your blood pressure is crazy and if what Epiphany said is true, we need you to slow down."

Elizabeth waved off her friend's concern. "My eyes were just a little tired, that's all."

Looking at her chart, Kelly shook her head. "Blurred vision, sudden weight gain-"

"Hey, " she argued, "I had a few extra brownies, sue me!"

"Even your increased nausea... we have to do some tests, Liz... you could be suffering from preeclampsia."

"It's just stress," the young nurse insisted, "with all the secrets and lies and Lucky's addiction, I can't get two minutes to rest and-"

"Liz," Kelly cut her off, her eyes dark and serious, "you can't keep this up. It might not just be the stress, but it can't help. You have to come back for the test results tomorrow."

Elizabeth looked over at the vials of blood that Kelly had drawn and the sample jar from her urine test. "Oh goody... I've always hated tests."

"You also have to think about Cameron." Kelly could see her words startled Elizabeth. "If you have preeclampsia... who will take care of him if you die?"

The room went quiet. Deathly quiet. Elizabeth stared at her friend and saw the truth in her eyes. Death. Cameron an orphan. Kelly wasn't just trying to scare her... she meant it.

Slowly Elizabeth nodded and trembled slightly. "I get it... I really do..." Hugging her arms across her chest she took in a deep breath. "I'll come in tomorrow, Kelly... I promise. And whatever the tests say, I'll deal with it then... but right now I have to go and get ready for the Hospital Thing at the Metro Court."

Kelly watched Elizabeth scoot off the exam table with a wistful smile. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

20 minutes before the start of the Hospital Benefit

Elizabeth walked down the sidewalk toward the Metro Court hotel with her cell phone in her hands and her purse under her arm. Her fingers moved swiftly over the keys as she wrote out a text message. She didn't want to put too much information in it... there were still too many people that might use her life against her. Still, she'd been thinking about what Kelly had said to her and she'd come to a decision.

Send to - Jason
We need to talk about something.
Heading to Metro Court for GH function.
Please call me tomorrow so we can meet.
This is very important.

She hit the send button and waited for the little beep that confirmed it was sent before dropping the phone into her purse. There was a little lightness to her step even though her ankles were beginning to swell again. She had finally made the decision that she was going to tell Jason the truth... and then, they'd figure out what to do... together.

Elizabeth opened the door of the Metro Court and joined Emily and Nikolas on one side of the room. Emily greeted her in her 'new' usual way. A hug, a kiss on her cheek and a gentle rub over her pregnant belly. "How is baby doing?"

"Well," Elizabeth's expression sobered a bit, "I had an appointment with Kelly today and-"

Gunfire erupted in the room and everyone turned to see a group of masked gunmen spreading through the lobby of the Metro Court.
Elizabeth's hand wrapped protectively over her belly as she moved behind Nikolas. Her heart leapt into her throat and she whispered a prayer. "Jason."