Written in 65 minutes.

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Kelly’s: Alley

I’m pregnant.

He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even form a single word. His mind had emptied and his entire world had narrowed down to Elizabeth standing in front of him and those words on repeat. Pregnant. She was pregnant.

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it, then shook his head on a quick, short release of air. “What?” He had to hear it again. Had to be sure that there wasn’t a mistake—

Elizabeth tried to tug her hand back, but he held firm. Her eyes were a bit too wide, and her lips trembled. “I’m pregnant. I—I took a test this morning. Three of them, actually, and they all—oh—” She gasped when he suddenly jerked her forward and kissed her. He framed her face, his thumbs stroking the line of her jaw.

“I just needed to hear it again,” he said when he drew back, then rested his forehead against hers. “We’re having a baby?”

“Y-yes. Yes.” Her trembling fingers touched his shirt near the collar and she licked her lips, smiling tremulously. “You’re not mad?”

“Mad? Mad?” Jason shook his head. “No. No. I could never be—” He kissed her again, and she slid her hands into his hair, clinging to him as he backed her against the brick wall of the diner. When they broke apart, he cleared his throat. “I know the timing isn’t great—”

“Story of our lives,” she said, but she was smiling.

“—but this—all of it’s temporary. The problems with Sonny—I’m fixing them. I’m going to fix them,” Jason said, more confident than he’d been this morning. “A-and Courtney—” he hesitated now, because whatever she’d done, she’d still had a miscarriage and had been told she couldn’t have children. “But all of that—it’s temporary,” he repeated. “And this…this baby—” He couldn’t stop himself from smiling when he said the word. “That’s what matters.”

“I—I just didn’t expect—I don’t know what I expected,” Elizabeth admitted, her fingers stroking the side of his neck. “Maybe mixed feelings—”

“I love you,” Jason said, and she closed her mouth, her eyes flying to his. “I meant that. The woman I love just told me we’re having a baby. There’s nothing mixed about that for me. Is—I mean, for you—” He paused. “Maybe it’s different—”

“No. No. It’s not. Which is what’s insane to me. I mean, God, it’s all such a mess. You were engaged until last night, and I’m still not divorced—but when I realized this morning the possibility — I was so happy.” Her eyes were soft, the hint of tears in the way her voice thickened. “I thought I was crazy to feel that way, but I love you. I spent so long messing it up, but I do, I love you, and this wasn’t the plan, but, oh, as soon as it was real, it was all I could think about, and you feel the same? Is it this real life? Are we both crazy?”

“If we are, then I’m okay with that.” He slid his hand down to cover her abdomen. She was carrying their child. Right now. How could he wrap his mind around all of that? “It’s going to be okay. Whatever happens next, we’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

He tucked her hair behind her ears, kissed her again, then slid his hand down her shoulders to take her hands. “But you need to get back to work, and I have to start solving those problems I talked about. I’ll come back after closing.”

“Okay. Okay.” Elizabeth kissed him one more time, then went towards the door, looking back to smile at him. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“I’ll be here.”

She disappeared through the back door, and Jason let out of a rush of breath, scrubbed his hands over his face. Okay. Okay. He had to focus. He had to get his life together because he was going to be a father again. First, he had to fix Sonny, and that was easier said than done.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Courtney dragged the suitcase down the stairs, the bottom thudding against each and every step. She looked around the living that she’d decorated so carefully and lovingly, her chest tight at the thought of Elizabeth coming in here and taking it apart. Making it her home. She didn’t care what Jason thought, Courtney knew she’d loved him, and damn him for making her feel too guilty to even lean on her best friend right now.

She twisted the ring from her finger and flung it towards the sofa, hearing the plink as it hit the hardwood floor. Good. Let him find it one day and think about her — think about what he’d thrown away.

Courtney lifted her suitcase and headed for the hallway, taking a step back when she saw her brother on the other side of the door, his hand poised to knock. “S-sonny.”

“Hey, I was coming to see Jason—” Sonny squinted at the suitcase in her hand. “What’s this? You going on a trip?”

“I’m—I’m going to stay with Carly.” Courtney edged around him, headed for the elevator. Sonny followed.

“That’s a lot of clothes, though. Jason’s okay with you moving in with Carly for a few days? I mean, I appreciate it, but I don’t—” He scratched his chest. “I don’t want you to mess up your life because of me. I—I’m going to get this sorted. Yesterday — it’s not going to happen again.”

“For Carly’s sake, I hope not,” Courtney muttered. She jabbed the elevator button. “And don’t worry about Jason. He won’t be lonely.”

Sonny tipped his head, his mouth pinched. “What does that mean?”

She pursed her lips, then looked at her brother. To hell with it. “Jason broke up with me and told me he never loved me.”

“What? What the hell happened—”

Courtney stepped onto the elevator and pressed the buttons to close the doors. As they slid together, she said, “Ask Elizabeth Webber.”

Warehouse: Office

Wanting to get the problems fixed didn’t exactly mean Jason knew how, and he’d been a little uncertain of that even before the distraction that was currently taking over his brain. Instead of thinking of ways to get Sonny help, Jason was thinking about the state of his will, and that it would need to be updated. And what he and and Elizabeth would discuss later — she’d spoken of taking space and time — that he’d needed more time before they could talk about their future, and he’d seen the wisdom in that. But now things were different — weren’t they? And she’d kissed him back—

Every time he tried to haul himself back into the current reality, he drifted again. There would be doctor’s visits, and Elizabeth definitely didn’t get health insurance from Kelly’s. There was her divorce to consider — how to get rid of Ric would have to be on the list of priorities —

Jason glanced up when one of the guards knocked on the open door. “Yeah?”

“Bobbie Spencer is here to see you.”

Bobbie. Bobbie would know what to do about Sonny, wouldn’t she? She’d have ideas. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

Carly’s mother came in a moment later and the guard closed the door behind her. “I’m sorry to interrupt—”

“No, I wasn’t—I wasn’t getting much done.” Jason got to his feet, gestured for her take a seat. “Is Carly okay?”

“She’s at the house, resting.” Bobbie set her purse on the chair instead of sitting down, and studied him. “You’ve been under so much stress  this last year. The trial, Carly’s kidnapping, and how close we came to losing Emily — now all of this with Sonny. I wanted you to know that I’m here. Whatever you need to do to help Sonny, I want to help where I can.”

“Yeah. Yeah, maybe you might be able give me some advice. Some discreet doctors I could talk to or something. Because I can’t—I have to get this settled.” He didn’t want to be called across the hall in the middle of the night when he had a newborn—and would Elizabeth want to live in the penthouse? He didn’t think he wanted to be there, but maybe he was already six steps ahead, because what if she didn’t want to live together at all— He realized Bobbie had said something and he missed it. “Sorry. Sorry. Can you—can you repeat that?”

“I could. But you might just tune me out again which isn’t like you.” She tilted her head. “Are you getting enough sleep, Jason?”

“Probably not. I’m sorry. I’ve just got a lot on on my mind.”

“You know, it’s been a long time since you and I were close, but not that long. You’re part of my family, too, Jason. I hope you know that. What you’ve done for my daughter, and it goes without saying, you’re the best uncle Michael could have.” She paused. “I couldn’t help but notice that you seemed…a little relieved that Courtney had already left earlier. Are you two fighting?”

“We—” Jason rubbed his mouth. “No. We broke up. Last night. But it should have been weeks ago. Carly—she doesn’t know. About any of it. And I don’t want to upset her or—”

“Trigger her into helping, I’m sure. Well, I’d say I’m sorry to hear it, but now that it’s over, I have to say, I never liked the two of you together,” Bobbie said. “I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”

“I don’t.”

“I won’t tell Carly, though she probably wouldn’t be surprised. She mentioned things seemed a bit off. That you’d basically called off the wedding. I did…” Bobbie pursed her lips, hesitated, then continued. “I did notice you talking to Elizabeth at the counter. And she disappeared not long after you left. It’s none of my business—”

“She’s pregnant,” Jason found himself saying, because he wanted to say it out loud and he thought, of all the people in his life, maybe Bobbie would understand. “We’re having a baby.”

Bobbie opened her mouth, then closed it. She pressed two fingers to her lips. “Okay, so that wasn’t in my top five, but okay. Okay. Is she—how long have you known?”

“She told me this morning. In the alley. After I ended the engagement. It’s not an affair, not like that, Bobbie. I love her.”

“I know.” Bobbie cleared her throat. “Are you happy?”

“I am. Maybe I shouldn’t be—” And Elizabeth had seemed a little overwhelmed by his reaction, too, but Jason couldn’t help the way he felt, and he didn’t want to. “I know all the reasons why this shouldn’t be good news, but I can’t pretend to feel something I don’t. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

“Then don’t.” She reached for his hand, squeezed it. “Congratulations. I suppose we need to get Sonny and Carly sorted out so you can focus on your family. Let’s get started.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

The rest of her shift flew by, and Elizabeth barely felt her feet touch the ground the rest of the evening, moving through the dinner rush almost entirely through muscle memory. She’d never expected Jason to be angry about but the baby, but the joy and excitement — she hadn’t wanted to hope for it, and she hadn’t let herself feel either until she’d seen it in his eyes.

But he was happy. Ridiculously so, she thought, and couldn’t ifght her own smile, sorting through her receipts and tips. It was absolutely insane for all the reasons she’d listed, and all the rest of the ones they hadn’t talked about yet. Jason’s job, his problems with Sonny, Carly’s innate dislike of her, the drama that Courtney would almost certainly cause when she found out—and that didn’t even begin to describe Elizabeth’s worry for Ric’s reaction. He’d completely lost the plot when Elizabeth had miscarried their child, kidnapping Sonny in retaliation. How would he handle Elizabeth being pregnant by Jason, the man Ric loathed nearly as much as his brother?

All of that was on her mind, but it wasn’t at the top of the list. Not after the way Jason had reacted. Temporary problems he’d called them, and he was right. None of that had to last forever, and at the end of it—they’d have a baby. Their baby.

What would Jason want to talk about tonight? Her studio definitely featured, she thought, and she knew she’d have to bend on that. She needed an actual bathroom. A bed. A kitchen—

So absorbed was Elizabeth in her imaginary argument with Jason about moving to a new apartment that she didn’t hear the jingle of the bell over the door, but she recognized the man who walked through it, passing the handful of tables still remaining an hour before closing.

Elizabeth set her receipts down as the man approached. “Sonny. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“It sure has.” Sonny stopped at the counter, flicked his eyes around. “I thought you’d left this job.”

“I did, but that was when—when I thought I’d have a different life. Fortunately, Mike had a spot for me. Can I get you some coffee?” Elizabeth asked, half-turning towards the row of hotplates behind her.

“You can tell me why my sister says Jason broke up with her. Why you’re the reason.”

Elizabeth’s fingers twitched on the handle of a carafe, then released it, turning back to Sonny. “That’s a question for Jason. Not me. I don’t owe you any answers,” she said carefully, noting that the guard who had come in behind him was slowly stepping towards the courtyard, his hand going for the inside of his jacket. Calling Jason? She hoped.

“You don’t owe me any answers?” Sonny lifted his brows. “You lived in that house for three weeks while my wife was being held hostage in your walls. You defended that scum while she screamed her throat hoarse.” His tone softened, adopting an edge she’d never heard directed at her. “We both know you owe me at least a few answers.”

“I owe you apologies. You and Carly. Which you don’t have to accept,” Elizabeth said, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. “Whatever anger you have for me, the disgust I feel for myself is worse. I was a gullible, stupid girl who could have done so much more to stop it.”

Sonny squinted, took in those words, nodded. “All right. So if you want to make it right, you tell me right now what my sister was talking about.”

“I think Jason—”

“I think Jason isn’t here and you are. You’re so sorry, Elizabeth, then you can do this favor me, can’t you? After all, haven’t I always been there for you?”

She licked her lips, saw the guard was in the courtyard now, the phone at his ear. She’d never be able to distract Sonny long enough for Jason to arrive. She flicked her gaze back to Sonny. “Emily. The night she almost died, Jason and I were there for each other. You now how much she means to us both. It helped us remember that we were friends once. All of us. You, me, and Jason. I could always go to you, Sonny, and you were there for me. I’m so sorry that you came to me last spring—that Jason came to me— and I didn’t do that for you. I wasn’t a very good friend. And I’m sorry.”

“You slept together,” Sonny said flatly. “That’s why my sister left. Why Jason told her he never loved her. That’s what happened that night.”

“I—” Elizabeth bit her lip, looked at the other customers who weren’t even pretending not to be listening. “I think this isn’t a conversation we should be having right now. We can call Jason—”

“If the answer was no, you’d say that. So it’s yes.”

“It’s—I don’t know what Jason told Courtney or why. That’s why you should talk to him.” She reached for the phone. “Why don’t we call him and ask him to come down?”

“I’ll get to him. But I’m not finished with you yet.”

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