Parental Surprises by khyricat

[JRK Archiver]

If you would like to contact the author of this story, here is her email address. [e-mail]


Authors Note: This story started out as a change a major piece of GH history challenge a few years back- change one thing and how would it affect todays storyline. The first chapter makes it clear what was changed. Jason won't even appear until chapter 4 or is it 5 in this- so don't ask for him. he was something I added in later to make things work how I wanted them too in other ways.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 1

Liz and Lucky were still dealing with the aftermath of her rape and what he saw as his parents’ betrayal (Luke had raped Laura). One night as they were sitting at Audrey’s, they were talking about parents and betrayal. Lucky said, “At least you know who your parents are, even if they aren’t here now… They have never hidden anything this big about themselves from you.”

Liz looked up at him in shock, “I’d give anything to have parents like yours… they may have made a secret of one awful night in their past, but at least they have been there for you and for Lulu whenever you needed them. Mine could care less what happens to me. I’m not their perfect daughter. I used to dream that I had been adopted and that was why I didn’t look like any of the rest of them. But that is just a dream, had I been adopted, they would have told me years ago.”

Audrey walked in as Liz ended her rant, and sighed, “Liz, honey…”

“What Gram?”

“Didn’t they tell you? They promised me they had told you. They were supposed to do that when you were little. I just assumed you knew…”

“Knew what?”

“You are adopted.”

“I’m WHAT!?!?!?!?”

“Adopted. I don’t know anything more then that, but I do know your mom couldn’t have another baby after Sarah and she wanted another little girl, so they adopted you. It was a long time ago, but if I recall correctly, they knew who your birthmother was. They even met her and helped her out financially during her pregnancy.”

“Why would they do this to me? I could have understood their not telling me as a kid, but now that they have abandoned me, why didn’t they tell me now? No wonder they feel like they can ignore me. If I ever have a child, adopted or not- it will never be treated this way!”

“I don’t blame you Liz, and I’m so sorry about this. If you want, I will help you deal with this in any way you want.”

“I want to know who I am. But I want nothing more to do with Jeff and Veronica. Can you please call them for me? See if they can give you any information on my birthmother?”

“Of course.”

Lucky sat next to Liz and held her as she broke into tears, wondering at people’s gall. How could they do this to a child? His parents or hers… No wonder they were both so screwed up. He noticed Liz had calmed down a lot and looked down to see she had fallen asleep, he carefully shifted so as not to wake her and settled down to wait until she awoke.


Audrey came into the room to find the teens asleep on the couch, she gently covered them and left them for the rest of the evening. When she came down for breakfast she gently woke them both up. As they yawned and stretched, apologizing for falling asleep, Audrey laughed softly, “Don’t worry about it… I know you both had emotional days and needed it, and I’m glad that you were here to help Liz deal with this Lucky.”

Liz suddenly jumped up, “Gram did you find out my birth mothers name?”

“Yes, Holly Sutton.”

Lucky looked up at this, “Why does that name sound so familiar to me?”

“Because she was the woman your father was involved with while he thought your mother was dead. While everyone thought your dad was dead, she was deported. She almost married Robert Scorpio to stay in the country, but decided it wasn’t fair to him and left town instead. No one knew what happened to her after that. But either she was cheating on Luke, or you two are brother and sister. I double-checked dates last night when I found out who Liz’ mom was. Liz was only born 7 months after Holly left town.”

Lucky and Liz jumped apart at this, then looked at each other. And moved slowly back together. Liz spoke softly, “We haven’t done anything wrong, and if it turns out we are siblings, then at least I know I won’t get pushed down a flight of steps like you did Nikolas. We are already friends which will help…”

“That’s true enough. Thanks… You’re right- we haven’t done anything wrong, its just kinda weird to realize my best friend may turn out to be my half sister.”

Audrey interrupted them, “Guys, I know Lucky won’t like this, but I just asked Luke and Laura to come over. If Luke is Liz’ father, he has the right to know, and the fastest way to find out would be to talk to him and do a DNA test.”

Luke and Laura arrived soon after, and after he confirmed that it was possible that Liz was his child, they went to GH for blood tests (a little creative liberty here). The results were back while they waited and it turned out that Liz was Luke’s daughter. Lucky and Liz just looked at each other. In a state of shock, Lucky spoke first, “I fell in love with my sister.”

Liz jumped a bit, uncomfortably, “I think I was leaning that way too…”

Laura jumped up at this as the news sunk in and turned to Luke, “How dare you get mad at me for Nikolas, and treat him like the town pariah when you had your own little secret!” (Authors note: I can’t recall if Laura knew how intimate he had gotten with Holly, but I’m writing it as if she didn’t know).

Nikolas had just stepped off the elevator on his way to visit his Uncle Stefan when this last comment was made, “Mom, what’s wrong? Can I help?”

“There isn’t anything you can do to make my husband’s daughter go away! He berated me so much for you, and the entire time he had his own secret child…”

Luke interrupted Laura’s rant, “Had I known she existed, do you think I would have let her go through life the way she has? I would have searched high and low for her, and brought her back to live with us. I didn’t have a clue. I don’t think anyone did.”

“And that’s supposed to help me?? I couldn’t bring my son to live with me because his grandmother threatened the lives of my other children, and my mother and husband, and yet you have never let me live it down, and treated him like an outcast since he saved OUR daughter’s life. And now you expect me to just sit back and accept that you had a child that was conceived during that same period of our lives as my son. A time I’d rather forget then anything. How can I do that?”

Liz jumped up, “Laura- don’t let my existence destroy what you and Luke have, you have both been so there for me when my adoptive parents weren’t, I love both of you and would never forgive myself if my parentage is what destroyed you.”

“Oh Liz, it isn’t you’re fault, or even your existence, its just the hole your father dug for himself with his behavior…”

Nikolas looked back and forth between everyone confused. Lucky stepped forward and took him aside, “It appears that I have a second unknown sibling, Liz was adopted, and it turns out that dad is her birth father.”

Nikolas looked over at Liz and smiled, “sorry to hear that. Hope he takes your existence better then he took mine. But if Lucky tries to push you down a flight of stairs, I’ll kill him myself.”

“Aw bro, you’re no fun!”

Liz laughed at the brothers’ antics, coming out of her state of shock. And looked over at Luke who just had a shocked expression on his face. He was just letting Laura rant at him and not defending himself at all. “Luke, are you ok?”

“She’s right you know? I don’t deserve this, any of it… I did all the things I accused her of doing and worse… but I couldn’t see it until now.”

“So you made poor choices back then, haven’t you more then lived up to her standards since?”

“Not when it came to Nikolas, I saw his father and my jealousy of him, every time I looked at him. I think I’m finally realizing that a child shouldn’t pay for his parents sins.” With those words, Luke walked over and hugged Nikolas, and Liz, “Welcome to the family kids!”

Lucky and Laura both looked at Luke with their jaws hanging open in shock.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 2

Bobbie was walking by and heard her brother say “Welcome to the family kids!” She walked over in shock and confusion. “What’s going on over here now?”

Luke looked up at her and smiled, “Say hi to your niece! Liz, say hi to Auntie Bobbie!” His arms were still draped around both Nikolas and Liz, who looked as shocked as Bobbie felt.

“What…. How… “ Bobbie stammered out in shock and confusion.

Laura walked over and took her arm, “Bobbie, it seems today has been full of surprises for everyone. Please take a seat and we’ll explain everything.” Bobbie sat on the couch, Laura next to her, and Lucky on the other side of Laura. Luke pulled Nikolas and Liz with him to sit on the coffee table opposite the couch so they were facing each other.

Liz looked over at Audrey, “Gram, come join us.”

“I think I’ll sit over here and let this all sink in instead.”

“Just know, no matter what happens, you’re MY gram and always will be!”

“Thanks sweetheart.”

Liz turned back to everyone else sitting in the waiting area, and looked at Bobbie. “It appears that I found my birthfather the same day I found out I was adopted.”

Bobbie blinked a few times and then looked at her brother, “Luke???”

Luke sighed a bit, and then started his story, “Apparently when PC thought I was dead, and Holly split town, she was pregnant. Somehow, she hooked up with the Docs Webber and they helped her through her pregnancy and adopted our daughter. They never told her she was adopted, but they told Audrey they had done so, so she let it slip last night. At Liz’ request, she called the Docs Webber and asked them who Liz’ birthmother was. When she heard the name, she put two and two together, along with Liz’ birthdate and told the kids this. Then she called Laura and I up and had us come over and told us the same story. We just had a DNA test. Seems I’m a proud poppa again.”

Bobbie sat back in shock. “Woah! Welcome to the Spencer family Liz! I just hope you take this better then Carly did. I don’t know if we could survive a second newfound daughter’s rebellion in just a few short months.”

Liz laughed, “Thanks for the welcome Bobbie. I don’t think anyone could survive two Carlys’. But I can’t see behaving anything near the way she did no matter what was to happen. Though the thought of being her cousin is scary!”

Bobbie smiled, “Are you ok with all this? It must be quite the shock for you. Finding out you were adopted, who your birthfather was, and knowing his history and yours makes it all the harder probably.”

Lucky looked up at this and reached across to Liz, “Oh God! Liz, are you ok?? I’m so sorry I told you about what Luke did to Laura. That had to bring up so many bad memories for you.”

Everyone turned to Liz at this, it was the first time it had crossed any of their minds, but Lucky was right, she knew what Luke had done, and she was far from recovered from her own rape still. Laura reached out a hand and put it on Liz’, and Nikolas reached around Luke to gently squeeze her shoulder. Liz laughed softly. “You know, I never made that connection at all. And Lucky, you know I think that it’s in the past and I told you that if your mother could forgive him you should, guess I’ll take my own advice too now.”

Laura and Bobbie both smiled over at Liz, proud of how mature she was and how well she was handling this, Audrey looked a bit surprised. She didn’t know that Luke had been the one who raped Laura all those years ago. She was concerned about her granddaughter, but she seemed to be taking this all in stride, much more so then she would have expected of her a few years ago. She spoke up, “Liz, I have to ask this, because though I’ve thought it before, Jeff is a son to me, and since you wound up at my house, it wasn’t such a big deal. What Jeff and Veronica have done to you in the last few years qualifies as child abandonment, and had it come to my attention in a medical capacity I would have had to report it. I can do so now, since your birth father is here, and obviously wants you in his life, he could wind up your legal guardian as well. Would you like that?”

Liz looked up at Audrey, with tears in her eyes. “I love you Grams, I don’t want to lose you, but I’d like to get to know the rest of my real family better… “

“Sweetheart, you’ll never lose me.”

Sarah walked up in time to hear this comment, having gotten home after her overnight at a friend’s house to find a note telling her that Audrey and Liz would both be at the hospital. “Why would Lizzie lose you?”

Liz looked up, “Because after everything that has happened, she is going to report mom and dad for abandoning me in CO. I am going to move in with my birthfather and his family.”

Sarah’s jaw dropped, “What?!?!?!?”

Nikolas quickly stood, and walked over to put his arm around Sarah. He gently pushed her in the direction of a chair, and knelt beside it. He softly said, “Liz was adopted, turns out she is my half-brother’s, half-sister. Luke was her birthfather. Audrey just suggested that if she would like it, she could move in with Luke and Laura, since as a nurse she would have had to report her as soon as she had learned of the abandonment when she came to town. Because she is her grandmother she didn’t, but now she can and then Liz can legally go to live with Luke and Laura.”

Sarah sat stunned. Her sister was Lucky’s sister, not hers… If Liz was adopted, was she? Why didn’t she know any of this until today? What other secrets were her parents hiding from her? Was Steven Lars her real brother? Did they really abandon her because they didn’t have a choice? Or did they send her to live with Audrey because they didn’t want her either? Her entire world was turning on end.

Audrey stood and gently squeezed Liz’ shoulder as she walked by, and then went over to Sarah. “Sweetheart, I know this is a lot to absorb so fast, but I can guess at some of the questions running through your mind. You weren’t adopted. Steven is your half brother; he’s Jeff’s son, but not your mom’s. Both of your parents love you very much. Liz will always be your sister, even if it’s not by blood. Your parents sent you here because they thought it was better for you to finish school in the states and not go to a war torn country.”

Sarah just looked up at Audrey with slightly glassy eyes, tears running down her cheeks, and then she quickly stood up and took off running down the hall. Nikolas stood to go after her, but Audrey stopped him, “Let me.” She followed quickly after Sarah.

Nikolas walked back over to the rest of the group, looked around, and said, “Now that everyone that is directly affected by this knows, why don’t we go somewhere private before someone else overhears something and draws unwanted attention to this.”

Luke looked up from where he had been talking softly to Laura and Liz about the ramifications of her moving in, and deciding that she would take the guest room for now, but that he would put an addition on the house with 2 new bedrooms. “Why should we take this somewhere private, I’d like to shout the news to the world!”

Stefan walked by, and hearing this said, “What news Luke?”

Luke looked up, and turned to Nikolas, “Guess you were right, too late now though! Couldn’t you have warned me that Count Vlad was approaching?”

Liz piped up, “Do you have to call him that? He is Nikolas’ uncle.”

“I may have accepted Nikki-boy here as part of my family, but Count Vlad wasn’t part of the deal.”

Liz laughed softly at the “Nikki-Boy” comment, “But he is a big part of his life. If you are going to be accepting Nikolas, you have to include whoever he considers family, and I know that includes Stefan Lu-dad.”

Stephan listened to this confused. “What news Luke?”

“I’ve got another daughter! Beautiful here is my daughter!”

Liz looked up in surprise, “Beautiful?”

“Gotta have a nickname dear, and since Lu is princess already, figured that would work.”

Nikolas and Lucky laughed a bit, Lucky spoke, “It fits... You are gorgeous sis! I’ll be busy fighting the boys off.”

Stefan looked on in shock at this revelation, then turned to Laura, “Lasha, are you ok?”

“Of course, a girl I love dearly is my stepdaughter, and coming to live with us. The only thing better would be for my other son to join us. Luke has agreed to accept him and seems to be doing a good job so far. What would it take for you to let him move in with us?”

Stefan’s face grew dark with anger, “Nikolas live with Luke Spencer? NEVER!”

Nikolas heard this and smiled, “Uncle, if I want to live with my mother, I’m sure Alexis can find a way to make it legal for me to do so. I’d love to live with my brother and sister, and Liz only makes it better. But I won’t move in until I’m sure Luke will keep to his truce.”

Liz smiled at them as she saw a crowd of people walking down the hall “let’s go somewhere more private.”

Everyone stood and started walking towards the elevators, each in their own world of thought.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 3

Luke stepped off the elevator he had shared with the 3 children, 2 of his own, and one of his wife’s and smiled as he almost skipped to the hospital entrance. “Nikolas, can you come to the house with us? That seems to be the best place to continue this discussion, besides, Lulu needs to meet her big sister.”

Nikolas looked at the other 2 teens and took in the still slightly shellshocked looks on their faces. “Luke, why don’t we meet you there in a bit, and I’ll take these 2 somewhere where they can talk and deal with everything going on first for a bit.”

Lucky looked up at his brother, with a face full of gratitude. “Dad, Nikolas is right, I’m not ready to come home yet, but I do think I should be there along with Liz when you tell Lu. Let us meet you in a bit, and spend some time getting to know one another first.”

Liz nodded her head at Lucky’s comment.

Luke sighed a bit, he wasn’t thrilled at the idea of the kids going off together with all the confusion in their lives, but he knew this was for the best. “Ok, but please be at the house by dinner time. We can tell Lu then.”

All three teens nodded, and then headed off to Nikolas’ car.


At the car, they all piled in, Nikolas driving, Liz in shotgun, and Lucky squeezed in back, after a few moments of bickering between the newfound siblings over who should be in front, Lucky was trying to be chivalrous, and Liz figured she should be in back since she was smaller. Once they were in, and pulling out of the parking lot, Nikolas asked if either of them cared where they went?

Lucky sighed, “Dad and mom, and probably Stefan will head for the house, why don’t we go to the club? Dad’s office is big enough to afford us all some privacy, and Claude won’t even know we’re there if we go in the back entrance.”

Liz nodded at this idea, so thats where they went. Once they got there, and were all seated comfortably, Lucky in Luke’s chair, Nikolas on the chair across from the desk, and Liz on the desk, everyone seemed to just get quiet, no one knew what to say. Finally, Liz laughed softly.

Lucky looked up, “What’s so funny?”

“I’m sitting with 2 of my best friends, one of whom is my brother as it turns out, and we’re all so uncomfortable no one knows what to do or say. Had we not found out we were siblings, and been here, an outsider would have been hard pressed to shut us up. To top that off, I was going to ask you to kiss me to see if I was feeling as positive and over the rape as I thought I was, just a few days ago and couldn’t get up the nerve and now… that would be like.. gross.. you’re my brother…”

Nikolas listened to Liz’ ramblings and smiled softly. “Liz, how are you feeling about all of this? I mean your life was just turned completely upside down by today’s revelations. Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Considering everything, I think I’m doing pretty good, just trying to let it all sink in, and not freak that I was falling for my brother.” She turned to Lucky, “How are you handling this little bro?”

Lucky chuckled softly, “Little bro?? Where did that come from? I think I’m in about the same boat you are. Had this revelation not come out, I was thinking about asking you to go out on a date with me.”

“You are the youngest of the three of us. That means you’re the LITTLE brother. I figure I can laugh at that. At least I won’t have to worry about being in love with the same guy my best female friend likes anymore.. OH MY GOD….”

Both brothers jumped at this, “What?? What’s wrong???”

“Emily!!! Someone has to tell her what’s going on. I was supposed to meet her to go shopping this morning, she has to be worried sick!”

Nikolas smiled, “I can do that and leave you two alone briefly. Do you want me to tell her all of it or just that something came up?”

“Why don’t you ask her to join us here, and Lucky and I can both tell her then.”

“Ok.” With that- Nikolas left the office to make the call.

Lucky reached a hand out to Liz, “I can’t believe this is happening. I always knew there was something between us, and I guess my closeness to you could be explained by some sort of sibling bond, but Jeez, we almost started an incestuous relationship.”

“Oh Lucky, I’m just glad that you’ve been there for me. You’ve been a better brother without even knowing it was true then Steven Lars has ever been. I’m just even happier that you found me that night in the snow. Had it been anyone else I’m not sure I would have trusted them at all.”

“Me too, but I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to prevent that from happening. And I’m sorry about the date thing that night too… Can you ever forgive me?”

“Of course… actually I’m glad it didn’t happen now, had we started dating back then, we might have done something seriously wrong by now. This way, we are just friends, and I hope that being siblings won’t keep that from continuing.”

“Of course not.” Lucky looked almost offended that she had asked.

“Well after everything that happened with Nikolas when he first came to town, I wasn’t sure…..”

“Hey! I wasn’t raised to hate your family like I was his. Besides, I got past that. And I care about you too much to give up our friendship over anything so petty.”

“Good.” With that, Liz jumped off her perch and went over and hugged Lucky. She was so happy to have a family that loved and cared about her like this, and the day had been so stressful and emotional that she started to cry.

Lucky patted her back and hugged back as he held her, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just can’t believe everything that has happened today.”

“Oh!”

There was a knock on the door, followed by Nikolas’ head coming around the edge, “Is it safe to come in now?”

Liz looked up and laughed, wiping away the tears, “Of course, you’re always welcome. But why wouldn’t it be safe?”

Nikolas chuckled a bit and pointed at Lucky, “I was afraid he might have started throwing things.”

Lucky looked offended, but then realized that Nikolas was joking and tightened his hold on Liz, “I do not throw things!”

“Maybe not objects, but you certainly threw me a few times!”

Liz giggled, and looked at the brothers, “Truce guys, I think we need to calm down some before Em gets here. She is coming right?”

Nikolas nodded, “as soon as Reginald can drive her over.”

“Lucky, What do we want to tell her? I mean who should tell her what? I don’t want to overwhelm her. It’s hard enough to understand and I’m living through it.”

Nikolas nodded, “Good thinking, I just told her that you had a family emergency and we were all down here. I figured it would be easier to explain in person.”

Lucky nodded, “Thanks Bro. I think I should be the one to tell her. I am her best friend. We ran away together all those years ago and everything.”

Liz nodded, “true, and I can help you explain. And who knows, she was adopted, maybe she’ll be able to help us understand it all better too.” She stood and walked over to Nikolas, “Thanks for the alone time too. I think it helped.”

Nikolas looked down at her, she was so tiny, “Do you need more time? Do you want me to go wait outside for Em?”

Liz laughed softly as she reached up and hugged him, “No, I just wanted to thank you. It feels really weird, but I think I feel more love in this room then I ever did growing up.”

Lucky looked up at them and laughed, “Just don’t start dating, I just had a really weird mental image of my brother and my sister dating.”

Liz smiled, “I meant brotherly love, but hrm.. naah.. he’s not my type…”

Nikolas looked offended for a moment, and then laughed. “I’m glad you think of me like a brother Liz, I have always felt like you’re a little sister to me, and with this turn of events its sorta true. If nothing else, I have to protect you to keep Lulu happy now, you think she’d ever forgive me if I let something happen to her big sister?”

Liz laughed as there was a knock on the door.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 4


Nikolas answered the door and let a confused Emily in. She looked at her friends and saw that Lucky and Liz both looked mildly shellshocked (they had been slowly coming to terms with their new relationship, but it would take more then a few hours to sink completely in). “What was so important guys?”

Liz smiled a bit, “Let me.. “ She looked at Lucky to make sure this was ok with him, and when he nodded continued. “Lucky and I are…..” She paused, Em was about to interrupt when she finally spoke again. “Brother and sister, well half anyway.”

“What? How???” Emily looked back and forth confused.

Lucky spoke up, “Seems dad had a little secret too, though this time he didn’t know it all, unlike mom. He had an affair while mom was on the island. When Holly left town all those years ago after he was assumed dead, she was pregnant. The Webber’s took her in and adopted her baby.” He paused.

Liz picked up, “That baby was me. You’d think that after all that trouble to get me, they’d love me unconditionally, but not them.. at least now I won’t have to deal with them anymore. Grams is reporting them for child abandonment, something she could have done when I first showed up in town, but didn’t. This way I’ll be able to go live with Luke and Laura and get to know my biological family.”

Emily looked at Nikolas, “They seem to be taking this amazingly well, how are you handling it?”

Nikolas laughed softly, “Luke has decided he was wrong all along and to accept me.. If he’s serious, I may move in with mom too, I’d love to be close to Lucky and Lulu, and Liz would just be an added bonus. I think I’m still mostly in shock at that; the rest of it is pretty easy to accept. I’m not the one directly affected, though I am gaining a pseudo sister out of it. That’s probably a good thing.”

Emily nodded, “Guess its all working out, though it’s a bit surprising to hear. Do you guys want me to go so you can have more time alone?”

Liz spoke up, “Naah, you’re part of us.. You are my best friend next to Lucky, who it turns out is my brother anyway, and I know you’ve always been Lucky’s best friend. Guess I can’t be jealous about that one anymore…”

“You were jealous???”

“Yeah.. I was.. I always wanted a friendship like the 2 of you had.”

Lucky looked up, “ours was different, but I think just as good a friendship. And now, well you’re my big sister.”

They all laughed. The phone rang then. It was Luke asking if they could come back to the house. Lulu was asking for her brothers, and he felt that it would be a good time for her to find out she had a sister too. When he heard Emily was with them, he invited her to come over to. They all headed back to the house.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 5

When the 4 teens trooped in the door, they found Luke and Laura sitting on the couch, with Lulu between them, and Stefan off to one side. Lulu looked at them and smiled happily, then looked over at Luke, “Daddy, you said you had big news but I had to wait on big brudders and Liz… they are here now. Please tell me!!!!” She begged and pleaded a bit more while her siblings and Emily settled into various seats in the room, before Luke gave in and told her.

“Lulu, you have a big sister now too. We just found out today. One day when you’re older, we’ll explain exactly what happened, but Liz is your sister now and she is going to be living with us.”

Lulu jumped up and down excitedly, “’Lizabeth is moving in with us? She’s going to be my big sister!!!! Can I share a room with her? Is she going to be sharing a room with Lucky?…..”

Luke interrupted his babbling baby, “Princess, Liz will have the guest room for now, but I’m going to put an addition on so we have rooms for her and for Nikolas when he wants to stay the night here. She is your sister now. Actually, I was always her father, so she was always your sister, but we didn’t know about it. I know you’ve spent a lot of time with her since she was friends with Lucky already, is this a good thing?”

Lulu nodded her head excitedly, then jumped off the couch and ran over to jump in Liz’ lap and give her a hug. “’Lizabeth, will you color with me and play with me? Please!”

Liz laughed a bit at her little sister’s antics. “We will have plenty of time to play and color later, but for now, why don’t you sit with me here and ask any other questions you may have, ok?”

Lulu snuggled into Liz’ lap, and nodded. Then she buried her head in her big sister’s lap, with a thumb in her mouth. She dozed off into an early nap, overcome by the excitement. Liz smiled softly when she looked down and realized what had happened.

Laura offered to take Lulu upstairs and put her to sleep if Liz preferred, but she opted to just sit that way for now. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and it allowed her to hold her new little sister in her arms for longer. Lulu may be shy, but she was an active little one, so who knew when the next time she’d fall asleep in Liz’ lap would be.

Later that afternoon, they moved Liz’ possessions from Audrey’s to the guest room at Luke and Laura’s. While the women were unpacking everything and the boys entertained Lulu, Luke thought about the addition he had mentioned earlier. He knew that no one had taken him seriously, but still, he wanted to get started right away.

A little later, Sonny and Jason came over at Luke’s behest to discuss financing and building options (they did own a construction company), as well as to be informed of the new relationships and living arrangements. When Emily heard Jason come in, she flew into his arms. Liz, Nikolas, Lucky and Lulu all followed Emily downstairs since they wanted to see the visitors. Emily hadn’t been able to see him much at all lately, since Edward had been trying hard to control her life. Jason smiled to see how well Liz, Lucky and Nikolas were getting along, and sighed inwardly, wishing he had that sort of relationship with someone. He hoped Michael would grow up that way.

As everyone was visiting, Jason got a call on his cell from Leticia. She couldn’t find Carly or Robin, and had a family emergency. He calmed her down, telling her to have Reynaldo bring her to Luke’s with Michael, he’d take him from there, and Reynaldo would drive her wherever she needed to go.

Emily looked excited to be seeing her nephew/godson, and Liz smiled, she loved babies and couldn’t wait to get to see one again. Lulu couldn’t wait for her little cousin either. The two teenage girls offered to watch Michael for Jason while he finished his business with Luke and Sonny.

When Leticia arrived, she explained to Jason that she might be a few days, she was going to fly to her mothers, since she had had a stroke and see what she could do to be of help there and how bad things where. Jason reassured her that he would find a way to make do while she was gone, but that her position would be there for her when she returned. She should stay as long as she needed to. Emily and Liz had already taken Michael aside and started to play, and Jason nodded at the girls, indicating that they would help when needed as babysitters too. Leticia felt bad about leaving but Jason calmed most of her fears and sent Reynaldo to take her to the airport. She was to call when she was ready to come back and he’d make the flight arrangements too.

A few hours later, Jason walked up to the guest room and found the girls asleep on the bed, with Michael snuggled in between them. Liz’ arm was draped protectively over him, and he was snuggled into her side like he was seeking protection from everything bad in the outside world. Jason was amazed, because normally the slightest hint of a bad dream had him screaming in his sleep, and it appeared that Liz had been able to keep him quiet and calm through one tonight.

He gently woke first Emily, then Liz, and let them know he was leaving and taking Michael with him. The girls offered to let Michael stay there overnight, but Jason quietly refused. They did make him promise that if Leticia wasn’t going to be back the next day and he needed help he would call them. Then he carefully scooped up Michael, and rested his still slumbering head on his shoulder and walked slowly and carefully out to the car.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 6

The next day Liz was mildly surprised when Laura called her to the phone. Not many people knew she had moved. It was Jason, he needed someone to stay with Michael, and since the little boy kept asking for Liz, he figured he'd see if she was available to act as a babysitter for him.

Liz readily accepted, she loved being around children, and Michael was so sweet and loving, as well as in need of attention. She saw the same things in him that she had experienced herself when younger. She knew Jason tried to be there as much as he could for the little boy, but his mother obviously preferred to pawn him off on everyone else. Besides she was his cousin now. Francis picked her up and took her to the penthouse.

Jason explained that he had several business meetings over the next few days that he hadn't been able to reschedule and Carly seemed to be avoiding the penthouse since she found out that Letitia had left town the day before. He didn't want to leave Michael with Robin who seemed to be forming an unnaturally strong attachment to him, especially since he was finding himself at more and more of an emotional distance from her.

Liz laughed and smiled, happy to be chosen to take care of Michael. She loved him, and had harbored a secret crush on his father for a long time. He was a handsome, slightly older mysterious figure. She agreed to the guards while she was taking care of him, and settled in for a fun day of coloring, along with playing with his cars and planes.

Jason's meeting ran late, but he had warned Liz that it might. When he got back to the penthouse, he found her on the couch in the throes of a nightmare. She still hadn't reached the point of sleeping without terrifying dreams when she was alone, and didn't want to snuggle with Michael again. Jason looked down on her for a minute, and then decided to wake her gently. He sat beside her and reached to take her into his arms, planning to still her restless movements with a gentle hug. Before he could do so, her hand flew up and punched him in the lip.

He cried out in surprise, "Yow". Then he grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards him, calling her name. "Liz, Liz, wake up."

She jumped back in fright, and he let her go, not wanting to scare her further. She pulled her knees into her chest, the fears of her dreams spilling over into reality. She looked up at him with wary eyes, "what happened?" Then as her mind cleared and she realized where she was and who she was with, she got wide eyed. Jason had reached up a hand to touch his hurt lip. "OH My GOD! I hit you, are you ok?"

"I'll be fine, I'm more worried about you. Want to talk about whatever is plaguing you? Is there anything I can do to help? That was one nasty dream, and I know from talking to everyone that sometimes talking about bad things make them go away and less likely to hurt you."

Liz shivered, "I really don't want to talk about it more, I've done a lot of that, I think I'm just going to have to accept that I can't sleep alone without having awful nightmares anymore. Lucky was sleeping on the floor of my room at Grams and last night Em was in the room with me. I didn't want to sleep with Michael, besides I thought I was going to be able to stay awake until you got home, guess things just got the better of me. Sorry about that."

Jason slid closer to her on the couch and pulled her quaking body into his arms for a gentle hug. "Don't be sorry for being yourself. Would it help tonight if you slept up in my room? Luke and Laura knew you'd probably spend the night here, and I'd rather not wake them up at this hour to bring you home, but if that is what you want I can do that too."

"I don't want to get in your way, and after that nightmare I'm probably not going to fall back asleep anyway. Would you mind if I just watched a movie or something?"

"Not at all, and I might just join you, I'm not exactly sleepy right now myself."

After some friendly bantering they decided to watch Titanic. Jason put the movie in while Liz fixed them each something to drink- water for herself, soda for Jason. Then they sat on the couch together to watch. Jason was watching Liz more then the movie, trying to think about what he could do to help her. He was feeling things for her he hadn't felt before. He wanted to protect and help her as much as possible. As the movie progressed, he slid closer on the couch and pulled her against him, so her head was resting on his chest. She didn't fight it and soon thereafter drifted off to sleep amid pleasant dreams.

When Jason was sure she was sleeping soundly enough he reached for the remote, turned off the TV, then picked her up carefully, and carried her up to his bedroom. He put her in the bed, and then slid in next to her, wanting to be there for her if she woke. She slept soundly through the remainder of the night, and when morning came, he left her and slid out to go take Michael downstairs so he wouldn't disturb her, and to fix breakfast.

[JRK Archiver]

CH 7

Two hours later, breakfast long past, Jason realized with amazement that Liz was still sleeping. He was worried for the poor girl, but didn't have the heart to wake her, realizing it had been a long time since she had gotten a good nights sleep. Instead he called Luke and Laura, and let them know what was going on, and that he would bring her home once she woke on her own. Then he settled down to a relaxed day off, playing with Michael and thinking about the woman upstairs. He realized he cared about her a lot more then he had expected to in such a short time. It was slightly disconcerting because she wasn't even 18 yet. (note- if Liz was born of the relationship with Holly- she'd be the same age as Nik, not Lucky, though her being in the lower grade at school could be explained by the amount they moved around and her running away).

He was worried about her getting enough sleep, and wanted to do what he could to help her get past her fears and nightmares. As the day wore on, he laid Michael down for his nap, and sat in his room, watching her sleep. Her features were beautiful, and he found himself drawn to her. He wanted to kiss her, hold her, and make her world safer. This was a girl who was friends with his younger sister, but the idea of her in his bed, and of sleeping as well as he had the night before was starting to take root in his mind. He had feelings for her he couldn't put into words, but he knew they were different and more intense then those he felt for Robyn or Carly. They were as intense if not more so then the feelings he had for Michael, though distinctly not paternal.

As he watched her, he came to a decision. She was too young. The best thing he could do for her would be to step back out of her life again, and stay out of it. If he acted on his feelings, he knew Luke would kill him, and he was sure the rest of the world would frown on his actions. She was just too young. His eyes focused on a point over her head, he thought of how to best tell her this and what to do about it.

Liz woke, and realized she was in a strange bed, and not alone. But she felt comfortable and safe here. She slowly opened her eyes to see Jason staring at the wall slightly over her head, deep in thought. This was the man who had inspired her to have a crush for years, but was always out of reach. Yet last night he had held her and made her feel safer then even Lucky had been able to since the rape. She had slept longer and felt more rested then she had in months. This was the man she wanted to help her get past the fears of her rape. Decision made, she sat up quickly and leaned over, kissing him gently on the mouth.

As Liz jumped back in shock at the wonderful feelings and at her own brazen behavior, Jason came out of his daze as well. He felt the pull between them, something he hadn't felt with either of the other women in his life. His decision may have been made, but his body and heart had other ideas. He spoke softly, "Liz? Are you ok?"

"Fine." She spoke quietly, slightly embarrased by her actions.

"Can I kiss you again?"

"You.. you want to?"

"Very much so, but I don't want to hurt you either. I know you have been through a lot this past few months. You tell me what feels right to you."

"Kiss me." With that, he leaned forward and captured her mouth in a slow, steaming kiss. It started gently, then his lips started moving, and his toungue gently carressed her lower lip, and she found herself opening up to him. When he finally pulled back for air, she gasped in wonder, "That was amazing."

Jason blinked, what had he done. He had just sworn to step back from this to protect her, yet here he was kissing her, finding himself harder after a moments kiss then he had been after some of the best sex of his life. He wouldn't have been surprised to have lost control in his pants had the kiss gone on. He found his body moving of its own volition from the chair to the bed, to sit beside her and hold her tightly in his arms. He realized she had hardly moved since the kiss ended, other then to move a finger to her lips in wonder. "Are you ok? I don't want to hurt you. I know you've had a rough year."

"More then ok. I don't think I've ever felt this way before. But Jason, what does this mean? You are involved. I am still trying to find my place in this newly changed life."

"Shhhh. Don't worry about it right now. I know one thing, I will never do anything to hurt you. Tell me to stop and I will. I also know now what people mean about the feelings of being in love. I know that what I have with Robyn is but a splash of water compared to what I am feeling with you. But we can't do anything about it. You're too young and you need to live and meet people. I can't be the right person for you. I want you to lead a happy, full, safe life, and I can't promise that to you."

"Jase, if I want to be with you, then I will be."

"Elizabeth...."

"Please. Just promise me you will end things with Robyn and Carly before anything else happens."

"Of course. I was going to break up with Robyn anyway, and Carly has removed herself from the picture. But I still think we should both step back. You're so young and you have so much to experience yet."

"Jason, in some ways you are younger then I am. And I want to experience those things with you. You make me feel safe. You make me less afraid. I slept better last night then I have since the night I was raped. That wasn't Lucky, that wasn't me. That was you. You make me feel that way. Please be the person to make me whole again. Please." Liz found tears running down her cheeks at the thought of his walking back out her life. She couldn't believe how much she was begging him, yet she was so afraid that he would do as he mentioned and step back and take her safe feelings with him.

"I would never hurt you. But you need to understand that Luke and others will never accept this."

"Luke will if I want him to. He'll do anything to make me happy. He knows how badly I have been sleeping. Even when Lucky and I share a room, I may not wake screaming, but I still don't sleep soundly. Not like I did after falling asleep in your arms. Look at Laura. She will make sure he understands. I love you. I feel complete when I'm with you, and am afraid of what will happen when I am not with you."

"Elizabeth, that is not love, that is moreof a form of reliance. If that is how you feel, I won't be with you. I want to help you and make you stronger, and no matter what my feelings are, if you are only doing better when we are together, that is not a resolution to the issue, and I will walk away, because you need to heal completely."

"I know that. I know that in my heart, but you have made me feel more in just a few hours together then I have up until this point. Please don't walk away now."

"I won't, but you do need to get changed and go home. Laura dropped some clothes off earlier. They are worried about you, and you need to go back to your own home. I'll stop by tomorrow and we'll talk then, ok?"

Liz nodded through tears. He was right. She couldn't just make him her personal slave to make herself feel better. Besides, he had to break up with Robyn, and sometime Carly would have to come back to the penthouse to see her son, and right now she wasn't up to fighting with her new cousin.