Note: If you’ve not read A Few Words Too Many, this outline will give away major details. I would read the story first. This is just for shits and giggles for those of you’ve read the story.
This is the original plot sketch when I sat down to plan the rewrite in late February. It’s shorter than my usual plot sketches, which meant I had reoutline later. If you’ve read all of A Few Words, you can see where I deviated from my original plans, mostly because the story always takes a different shape once you start writing it.
The ending is different, I changed the name of Elizabeth’s daughter, and maybe the biggest changes are Carly’s role in the story and the Liason relationship. Had I written it this way, you guys would have set me on fire.
So Take One.
Elizabeth learns she is pregnant by Ric. She lets herself into his apartment to tell him the news only to overhear him in his bedroom with Faith Roscoe. She leaves without telling him, and goes back to her studio, upset. She knows Faith is Sonny and Jason’s enemy and wonders if they should know Faith is mixed up with Ric, but fears what might happen with her baby, so she keeps mum. She avoids Ric’s calls, but confides in Emily regarding her pregnancy, without telling her about Faith — just that she’s worried about telling Ric because he’s been different lately. Emily encourages Elizabeth to tell Ric—she thinks he’s good for her, and it’s good that she’s moved on like Jason has. Elizabeth still remains silent.
Ric corners Elizabeth on the docks to find out what’s been happening. She tells him that she doesn’t want to see him anymore, but he’s not taking that for an answer. He asks her if it’s about Jason, she denies it but he can tell she’s not telling him something. He becomes irate, and Jason chases him off. Elizabeth considers telling him about Faith, but stays silent. She thanks him and goes, but he’s concerned that Ric is sliding over the edge.
Ric goes to Emily to try and ferret out what’s wrong with Elizabeth. He manipulates her into telling him just enough to learn Elizabeth is pregnant. Emily is regretful that she told Ric the truth, and forwarns Elizabeth—but she’s glad, because she should have told him in the first place. Elizabeth is panicked and starts working on a cover story.
Sonny tells Jason that Ric has been embezzling money from one of the Five Families, and they’ve got a bounty on his head. Concerned Elizabeth might get caught up in the crossfire, he heads to her place to warn her, maybe offer a guard or sent her out of town for a while. He finds Elizabeth on the docks, and Ric is cornering her, demanding answers about her pregnancy. Elizabeth tries to distract him with news that she knows about his affair with Faith, but he continues to press her about the baby—family is important to him, he tells her. Panicked by his uncharacteristic aggressiveness, she tells him it’s not true, but he doesn’t believe her. Just as Ric grabs her arm, Jason pulls him away and tells him to stay the hell away. He claims the paternity of the baby, and tells Ric that’s why Elizabeth didn’t tell him. But now he knows. He tells Ric that the Family he embezzled from is looking for him. Understanding the threat, Ric goes away.
Shocked, Elizabeth starts to demand to know what he’s about, but Jason takes her back to the penthouse to keep her away from any eavesdropping. He apologizes for jumping in, and tells her that he hopes Ric will just slink out of town, between the threat of the Families, Sonny’s annoyance after the Vineyard incident, and hopefully believing Elizabeth isn’t having his baby. However, if Ric makes a stand and becomes an issue, Jason wants to help.
Elizabeth doesn’t think that Ric is going to be a problem—she agrees he’ll probably head out of town, and wants this claim to stay between them to minimize any damage. Should they discuss what happens if Ric keeps after her? Will Jason press the paternity. Jason agrees to stand by his claims, and tells her that no one should know the truth except for them—everyone should believe the worst, due to what happened with Michael since so many knew the truth. Elizabeth understands, and reluctantly agrees, hoping it isn’t needed.
Unfortunately, Ric does go under radar, but he takes an opportunity of seeing Carly and Courtney at Kelly’s as he’s packing his bags to tell them the good news—which is in the middle of Kelly’s. Soon, practically everyone knows that Jason is supposed to be the father of Elizabeth’s child. Ric heads out, while Carly and Courtney head over to harass Jason. Jason, annoyed at the turn of events, stays true to his word about the paternity, but goes to Elizabeth’s studio to report the new development. Elizabeth is hesitant about continuing, but Jason tells her Ric is too dangerous to mess with. She agrees to keep the charade going.
Courtney is pissed, but Sonny doesn’t buy it. He corners Jason, who remains mum. Sonny gets what’s going on, but stays silent. With Ric as his half-brother, Elizabeth’s child has made her part of the family and he tells Jason he’ll protect her. He hopes Courtney will move on, as she wasn’t really suited to this life.
Emily freaks out on Elizabeth, convinced that this newest development is another sign Elizabeth is a selfish bitch, after sleeping with Zander the the previous summer. Some friend she is that she led Emily to believe Ric was the father, not Jason. Elizabeth is upset, and feels alone with Emily not speaking to her, and Lucky and Nikolas in London with Laura and Luke. At a hospital appointment with Dr. Lee, she meets Nadine, a nurse on the maternity ward who gives her a tour of the area. Nadine overheard Emily’s issue, and feels bad. She buys Elizabeth a coffee and confides in her about her serial killer sister.
After a tense shift at Kelly’s, Elizabeth and Courtney close for the night. In the parking lot, a guard Elizabeth didn’t know about, botches a kidnapping attempt. He calls Jason, who picks up Elizabeth, and Sonny heads off to question the man responsible. Elizabeth is in shock, and learns that the man is one of Faith Roscoe’s soldiers. Jason decides that Ric isn’t giving up his belief in the baby’s paternity, and has teamed with Faith. Ric was obsessive about family before (Sonny situation) and supposes it’s not surprising he’s latching on to this. They’re going to have to step up her protection and his claim to be the father. Elizabeth agrees for the safety of her child, and agrees to move into the penthouse.
This development peeves Carly and Courtney, who aren’t privy to the kidnapping event. Elizabeth asks Nadine to help her move her things, enjoying the company of someone who doesn’t judge her. She tells her the basic details, and Nadine understands—she’s not innocent of the mob life. She used to live in Crimson Pointe, and dated Johnny Zacchara for a while before taking a new job.
The next two months pass in relative peace. Elizabeth and Nadine become closer, she and Jason manage to get into a routine—neither of them mention the baby and Carly is suspicious that Jason is so uninvolved after moving Elizabeth in. She questions Sonny, but he’s not talking. She keeps her concerns to herself, Elizabeth learns she’s having a girl.
With no sign of Ric or Faith, Elizabeth wonders if they’re gone, but Jason isn’t ready to give up the ghost. The Families understand that Sonny is to be kept apprised if anything comes up, and they can’t find him either. He’s so underground that it’s unnerving. Elizabeth struggles with being alone in the pregnancy, and the taunts from Courtney that Jason cares so little about their bastard child that he’s only letting her live with him out of guilt. He never comes into Kelly’s to see her, and bets he never goes to the doctors.
Carly confronts Jason finally with her suspicions. She doesn’t want to know the truth, but if there are people who are supposed to believe that Elizabeth is having his child, then Jason should start acting like it. Doctor’s appointments, getting the penthouse ready for a baby. Acting like he gives a damn about the baby’s mother.
At the same time, Elizabeth’s pregnancy hormones have kicked up her libido. She tells Nadine, who encourages her to talk to Jason about it. Jason tells Elizabeth he needs to be more involved with the baby, which makes Elizabeth irrationally angry—that rather than wanting to be there because they were friends , he has to be told by someone else to do it for appearances sake. She accuses him of only helping her when he feels guilty or obligated. They begin an argument, which ends up with them in bed.
Afterward, Elizabeth is contrite, knowing how much help he is giving her. She apologizes and tells him about the hormones. Jason apologizes for not being there more, he was just unsure of the boundaries. An uneasy truce has been struck, and somehow they fall into the routine of sharing a bed and room, even if they don’t make love every night.
Towards the end of Elizabeth’s sixth month, Nadine approaches Carly about having a baby shower for Elizabeth. She wants to do something fun for her, but doesn’t know a lot of Elizabeth’s friends. Carly, annoyed by the whole situation but clearly knowing what’s going, agrees to help surprise Elizabeth. She gets Jason’s approval, and the day of the party, Elizabeth is overwhelmed by the idea, but is upset when Emily doesn’t show up. After the party, she realizes that the baby stuff now overwhelms the downstairs, and wonders what she’s supposed to do with it. She starts trying to put it in a corner of the penthouse, but Jason catches her doing it. He tells her to pick one of the guest rooms, and they’ll have it decorated. Though Elizabeth knows it’s practical, she’s troubled at the idea that this is going to continue for so much longer.
Courtney tells Emily she’s dating again, and wishes she could reach out to Elizabeth to put everything behind them. Emily has also been feeling regretful, and thinks they should ask Elizabeth out for coffee sometime. Courtney wishes they could do it away from everyone else — it just feels so embarrassing. Emily has seen her at the hospital. Her guards are usually at the elevators, rather than outside the room. Maybe they could try there? Courtney agrees.
Laura gave Elizabeth a book of baby names, which Elizabeth suggests they look through for a name. Jason tells her he doesn’t really have an opinion, and he’s going to meet her at the hospital, since he’ll be late. Taking this as a sign that Jason isn’t really invested in the entire thing, Elizabeth decides she isn’t going to bring it up again.
After the doctor’s appointment, which Jason misses entirely, she begins to have doubts about continuing to live with Jason. Surely he could set up security somewhere else. She confides in Nadine, who encourages her to think about life after the baby is born. She can’t work at Kelly’s forever. She considers enrolling in the nursing program, and maybe sharing a house with Nadine down the road. Nadine is walking her to the elevator, when they pass the emergency stairs. Someone jumps out, knocking Nadine down, and starting to drag Elizabeth towards the stairs. Nadine grabs a fire extinguisher and starts beating the man with it. He lets go, and flees. Elizabeth’s guard hustles the women out.
Jason is upset that his meetings kept him from Elizabeth’s appointment, and she was nearly kidnapped again, but Sonny points out that Elizabeth’s doctor schedule isn’t something just anyone could access. How did they know where Elizabeth is? Jason heightens Elizabeth’s security and tells Nadine how grateful he is.
Emily learns about the attempt from hospital gossip and is stricken, remembering her conversation with Courtney. She can’t possibly believe it might be true, but all the same starts to keep her distance from Courtney.
The last three months of Elizabeth’s pregnancy pass, without another word from Ric. Three weeks from her due date, Jason and Sonny learn Ric was sighted in Puerto Rico. Jason reluctantly decides to go and look into the allegations, trusting Sonny to keep things good at home. Elizabeth keeps it to herself that she’s upset he’s leaving town so close to the baby, but she’s convinced he’s not interested in the baby. She suggest to Nadine about the nursing program and sharing a place. Nadine is in.
Elizabeth, in soap opera form, goes into labor as Jason is flying home. Before he can get to the hospital, Elizabeth has a little girl. He apologizes to her, but she isn’t interesting in hearing it. She’s made her decision about the future.
They take her home, but Elizabeth is having trouble naming her. Carly suggests Audrey or Lila, but Elizabeth wants her to have her own name. Carly asks for Jason’s opinion, but he again has nothing to add. Elizabeth thinks of Sofie, and Carly loves it. After Carly goes home, Elizabeth asks Jason if it’s possible to secure somewhere else for her to live. Jason is troubled, and tries to tell her to put it off a little longer, but she doesn’t want to. The longer they live together, with Jason supposed to be Sofie’s father, the more it becomes apparent how uninterested he is, and she doesn’t want her daughter to spend one more minute with a father who doesn’t love her. She understands it, Sofie isn’t his daughter, they both know it, but the rest of world doesn’t.
Jason has no answer for it, nothing that she’ll understand, so he agrees that they can start searching for somewhere else. A few days later, he comes home to find Nadine baby-sitting Sofie. Elizabeth is at the hospital filling out admissions for the nursing program, and Nadine brought the baby home for her nap. She gives Jason instructions, and then leaves—after all, Jason is the baby’s father. For the first time, he’s alone with the baby. He tells her that he’s sorry, that he thought he could do this, but he can’t bring himself to fall in love her, not after what happened to Michael.
Before he knows it, three hours have passed and Elizabeth isn’t home. Concerned, he calls her cell phone and gets nothing. He calls her guard, who says she got on the elevator with the guard on the evening shift two hours ago.
Panicked, Jason brings Sofie to Sonny’s apartment, hands her to Carly, and they start trying to figure out what happened. Cameras show that Elizabeth got on the elevator, but never got off. Sonny sends their tech guy to figure out what happened on the elevator, but Carly is confused — why grab Elizabeth when she’s no longer pregnant? To get to Sofie.
A day later, Jason calls Nadine to care for Sofie while they’re looking. Emily comes with Nadine, and tells Jason about her suspicions during the last attempt. Jason reluctantly tells Sonny, who questions Courtney. Courtney attempts to play innocent, but finally admits that Faith Roscoe contacted her months ago. Courtney didn’t tell her much, except the thing about the hospitals, and the names of Elizabeth’s guards. Pissed, Sonny puts her on a plane to the island. Suspicion falls on Elizabeth’s guards, and they learn that two must have flipped — her guard on the hospitall, and the one downstairs.
With the word out on the street for the guards, one of them comes to Sonny, giving them the address of a warehouse.
At the warehouse, Elizabeth is pleading with Ric to do the right thing. Even if Sofie were his daughter (and she’s not giving an inch), he could never be any good for her. He waited for her to be born to take Elizabeth, hoping that Jason and Sonny would shift their focus to the search, and loosen the grip on Sofie’s security. Jason sneaks up on Ric, but Ric hears his footsteps. He turns, there’s a shootout that leaves Ric dead, and Jason seriously wounded. Sonny unties Elizabeth, and they start struggling to get Jason into the car for the hospital, but he’s trying to tell her that he’s sorry, that he tried so hard not to love her, but he does, he was just scared…he passes out before he can explain.
At the hospital, Jason is in surgery for hours, clinging to life. Elizabeth goes back to the penthouse, and nurses Sofie. She watches her sleep. Alexis comes in, apologizing, but she has instructions for this kind of thing. She tells Elizabeth that Jason updated his will after Sofie was born, leaving half of his assets to Elizabeth, and the other held in trust for his daughter. She tells Elizabeth that she and Jason also discussed Sofie’s guardianship in the event that something happened to Elizabeth, and that Alexis drew up adoption papers to protect Sofie. He never filed them because he needed her signature. Stunned, but starting to understand Jason’s distance, she takes the unsigned papers and returns to the hospital, having left Sofie with Nadine.
As Jason comes out of anathesia, she tells him that she understands why he hasn’t been involved with Sofie—that no matter what the world believed, he knew he wasn’t her father, and that like Carly, Elizabeth might change her mind, and he’d be out of her life. He was protecting himself against Michael. He knows Elizabeth wouldn’t, but so that they both feel comfortable, if he wants…they can quietly file the adoption papers to make Sofie legally his.
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