Closing time – time for you to go back to the places you will be from.
Closing time – this room won’t be open ’til your brothers or you sisters come.
So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits – I hope you have found a friend.
Closing time – every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end
— Semisonic, Closing Time

——-

Alexis Davis-Ashton’s heels clicked loudly in the hospital corridor. She strode briskly away from the ICU, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to process that her daughter was deathly ill and she needed something that would cost Alexis ten years worth of secrets and lies.

Her husband bolted up from his chair. Ned Ashton’s eyes were concerned and alarmed as he took in Alexis’s drained expression. “Alexis…what’s going on?”

Alexis sank into the chair and leaned her elbows on her knees. “She’s going to die.”

Ned blinked. “No. We’ll get the best doctors–the best medicines–”

“It won’t be enough,” Alexis whispered, her voice empty. “Christie is going to die.”

“Why?” Ned demanded. “What could possibly make you say that?”

Alexis looked up at him then, her eyes full of unshed tears. “Her only chance for survival is a bone marrow transplant. And Eddie’s not a match, I’m not a match, you won’t be one–the doctors said that her father would be her best hope since the rest of us aren’t. He wants to test you–but Ned…you won’t match and we both know it.” Alexis seemed to collapse in herself and started to cry. “I’m going to lose her–I lied and now I’m going to lose her!”

Ned crouched in front of Alexis and pulled her hands into his, trying to inject some warmth and comfort. But he’d never felt so cold in his life. He’d raised Christina as his own daughter–he’d tucked her in, sang her lullabies, taken her temperature when she was sick…he’d been her father in every way except the one that mattered in the end.

—-

Elsewhere in the hospital, a nervous and irate Jason Morgan paced outside of the emergency room. He’d stalk ten steps, pause, swear under his breath and run his hand through his dark blonde hair. He’d turn and repeat the process.

Carly Corinthos sat in a chair, her dark eyes following her best friend’s every move. She glanced at her husband but Sonny seemed lost in his own thoughts. She shifted in her chair and glanced to other side of her. Her eldest child, Michael, was leaning away from her, his elbow on the armrest and his chin resting in his hand. His own blue eyes were following the pacing figure in front of them.

Carly uncrossed her legs, shifted and re-crossed them. They’d been sitting in the emergency room for nearly an hour now. She closed her eyes briefly, shuddering at the reason they were here. Sonny, Carly, Jason and his wife, Elizabeth had been taking Michael out to dinner at the No Name to celebrate Michael’s graduation from high school. He was two years ahead of schedule and a brief smile flitted across her troubled face, feeling the pride creep in a little. Her little boy had grown up so fast–it seemed like only yesterday he’d been a little child. Now he was a young man of sixteen.

They’d been about to eat dessert when Elizabeth had suddenly crouched over in pain. She was six months pregnant with her third child. They’d rushed Elizabeth straight to General Hospital and she’d been in the emergency room for an hour.

Carly shifted again before standing. “Jason–” She put her hand out to stop his pacing.

“Mom,” Michael said. He stood and pulled her back. “Let him pace. It’s about the only thing he can do.”

Carly sighed and nodded. “I know.” She turned to Sonny. “I’m going to get some coffee. You want any?”

Sonny shook his head wordlessly and Carly set out for the coffee machines. There was very little she could do here.

—-

Alexis wiped her eyes and stood. “We don’t have a choice.”

Ned stood and sighed. “Yeah I know.” He looked towards the ICU. “How do you want to handle it?”

Alexis wrapped her arms her abdomen and shook her head. “I don’t know. But we have to do it as soon as possible. I won’t allow Christie to suffer any longer than possible.” She pushed her brown hair out of her face. “I need some coffee. Will you go sit with her until I get back? We’ll finish this discussion tomorrow.”

Ned nodded and turned away to walk towards Christina’s room as Alexis headed for the coffee machines.

—

Alexis and Carly literally bumped into each other. Through the last few years, an uneasy truce had fallen over the woman. After Carly had given birth to twins seven years ago, she’d accepted that Sonny would never know Christina. She’d thrown her support for Alexis as DA knowing that Sonny would be safer that way. Carly had a feeling that despite her words to the contrary Alexis would never send Christina’s biological father to jail unless there was no choice. And Sonny had never given the authorities any reason to investigate him. Things had been oddly peaceful as the five families had formed an alliance and it had only served to strengthen the hold on Port Charles. Alexis hadn’t turned a blind eye to the crime. She’d prosecuted whenever possible.

“Hello,” Carly murmured, slipping her quarters in. Her quick eyes took in Alexis’s disheveled appearance and red-rimmed eyes. “Christina’s not any better?”

Alexis shook her head. “No. She needs a bone marrow transplant.”

Carly sighed. “I’m sorry–I hope you find a match…” Carly hesitated as if she were going to go further but decided that now wasn’t the time for this discussion.

Alexis knew Carly was giving her an opportunity but she chose not to think about it. Instead she focused her attention of Carly’s presence. “Why are you here?”

“It’s Liz,” Carly replied. She removed her coffee from the machine and sipped it. “There’s something wrong with the baby.”

Alexis looked away and closed her eyes. The heartbreak never seemed to end. Reopening her eyes, she took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. Please…tell Elizabeth and Jason I’m praying for them.”

“I will,” Carly said. She hesitated a moment longer before walking away.

—-

When Carly arrived back at the emergency room, only Michael was waiting for her. She frowned. “Where’s Jason and Sonny?”

Michael took a deep breath. “They’re on their way to recovery with Liz. She, um, she lost the baby.”

Carly sucked in a breath. “How is she?” she asked.

“She’s fine, I guess.” Michael shrugged. “Jase looks destroyed.”

“We’d better head up there.”

—-

Sonny stood outside of the curtain that separated Liz’s bed from the rest of the room. He could hear her soft crying inside and Jason’s voice, but he wasn’t really listening. He was remembering a time when he’d lost a child. It’d been twelve years since that day but Sonny still couldn’t forget it and he thanked God that Jason hadn’t had to make the same choice.

Carly and Michael walked off the elevator and made their way over to them. “Is she all right?” Carly asked quietly.

Sonny shook his head. “No. She’s not.”

Michael shoved his hands in his pockets. “How long is she gonna be here, Dad?”

“A few days,” Sonny replied. “Why?”

“Well, Jase isn’t gonna leave her,” Michael replied. “And I think someone should let Lu know what’s going on.”

Carly nodded. “Yeah. We should bring Dee and Davie to the penthouse until she goes home. I want to keep this as easy on them as possible.”

“Yeah, we should head home soon anyway,” Sonny said. “There’s nothing we can do here.”

“Do you want to tell Jason?” Carly asked.

“He won’t even notice,” Sonny replied. “Come on.” He slipped an arm around his wife’s shoulder and the trio headed towards the elevators.

—-

Jason smoothed Elizabeth’s brown hair away from her face as she lay curled in a fetal position. She’d cried herself to sleep over an hour ago. Twenty minutes ago, they’d moved her to a private room to recover.

Recover. What a ridiculous word to use. How does a person recover from losing a human life they were carrying? Six months, she’d been pregnant. She’d been showing and they were already decorating the nursery and discussing names. They’d decided that this child would be their last for a while–that they’d concentrate on raising the three they already had.

He trailed his fingers down his wife’s face and wondered what had gone wrong. She’d done everything she was supposed to. Kept the stress as low as she could–given his job anyway. She’d eaten right, slept a lot…why had she miscarried?

Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered open and she focused on her husband at her side. “Hey,” she murmured. She stretched her legs out and rolled onto her back.

“Hey…you all right?” he asked, leaning forward in his chair.

She nodded wordlessly and looked around. She sighed. “I didn’t dream it, huh?”

Jason shook his regretfully. “Elizabeth–”

She rolled over and curled back up, her shoulders shaking slightly. “Go home, Jason.”

“I’m not–” Jason stopped and sat back in his chair. “Sonny and Carly took the kids to the penthouse. I’m staying until–”

“I don’t want you here.” Her words were quiet but firm. “Go home.”

“Elizabeth–”

“Go.”

He stood and braced his hands on the edge of the mattress. He leaned over so his lips were next to her hair. “I am not leaving. I’m staying here, with you, until you’re released.”

She rolled back over and met his eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot and were still filled with tears. “Why?” she whispered. “What I did do wrong?”

Some of the tension left his shoulders and he relaxed. He dropped back in his seat and rested his elbows on his knees. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Elizabeth. These things…they just happen sometimes.”

“Things?” Elizabeth snapped. “These things?” She pulled herself into a sitting position to glare at him. “This isn’t a thing…this was a baby…this was our child…Jason, or doesn’t that matter anymore?” She demanded.

“Come on, Elizabeth, you know that’s not true,” Jason argued. He clasped his hands together and looked down. “I hate that it happened, but it did. We can’t do anything about it.”

“Go home,” she said. She twisted her wedding ring on her finger. “Davie and Dee need you.”

“They’re fine,” Jason said. “They were sleeping when Sonny and Carly got there and they’re sleeping just fine in the guest room at the penthouse. They don’t even know I’m not there. If I thought I was needed with them, you know I’d be there.” He let out a frustrated breath. “Don’t do this, Elizabeth. You hate when I shut myself down–well I hate it just as much when you do it. So don’t do it.”

She bit her lip and looked her hair, her brown hair falling across her face blocking his view. She’d grown it out and left it curly more often than not. “I just…it’s not fair,” she whispered. Her shoulders started to shake as she began to cry again. Jason stood and kicked his shoes off. He pulled himself onto the bed and pulled her into his arms. She leaned her face against his chest and within moments his shirt was soaked with her tears.

—-

Lucky Spencer stumbled to his apartment door, rubbing his eyes. He opened the door, ready to knock out whoever was bothering him at this hour of the night. He focused on the pretty brunette in front of him and tensed. “Lulu? What are you doing here?”

Seventeen-year-old Lesley Lu Spencer rolled her eyes and pushed past her older brother, irritated. “We’ve discussed this. Don’t call me that.”

Lucky shook his head in wonder and closed the door. “All right, Lu. What’s up?”

Lu headed for his kitchen and pulled a can of soda out of the fridge. She popped it open and took a healthy swallow. “I was baby-sitting for Liz tonight.”

Lucky leaned against his door and folded his arms across his chest. “Yeah.”

Lu frowned. “You’re not going to do that thing? That look of disapproval where you still can’t believe she married him?”

Lucky rolled his eyes. “Lu–what’s your point?”

Lu shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. “Anyway, the kids are asleep and I’m waiting for them to get home. You know, because they were out with Carly, Sonny and Mike to celebrate graduation.”

“Lu–”

“But they never came home. Sonny and Carly came by and picked up the kids.” Lu set her half-empty soda can on the counter and leaned against it. “Liz lost the baby tonight.”

“Oh.” Lucky straightened up. “That’s too bad–I know how much Elizabeth loves her kids–she must be devastated.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Lu murmured. “Well, I just thought you might want to tell Emily. You know, Liz might not be too receptive to her comfort–with the pregnancy and all.”

Lucky frowned and shifted. “Emily’s not speaking to me right now.”

“Why not?” Lu picked the soda up and took another swig. “What did you do?”

“I pressed the marriage thing again.” Lucky shrugged. “I don’t know the problem. I love her, she loves me. She’s six months pregnant with my kid.” He joined her in the kitchen and grabbed a box of cookies out of the cabinet. “Hell, she won’t even move in with me, much less marry me. Women.” He shoved a cookie in his mouth.

“You know, it’s late. I’m gonna let that one slide. Look, Emily just doesn’t want that kind of commitment. She’s career woman now. If she doesn’t want to get married, she doesn’t want to. You’ll have to suck it up and deal.”

“Yeah I know. But I want my kid to have some reassurance about me. What’s he gonna think when his parents aren’t married? He’ll think I’m a loser.”

“You are,” Lu chirped. “Anyway, then Emily will sit the kid down and explain her reasoning. You can even volunteer that you asked her to marry you and she turned you down.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Lucky ran a hand through his hair. “Was there anything else?”

“Nope. Can I crash here? Mom and Dad are off in the Orient somewhere,” Lu said.

“Sure. The guest room’s open.” Lu headed down the hall but he called her back. “Lu…what was the real reason you just had to tell me about Liz?”

Lu paused and turned around. She crossed her arms and studied her brother. “Just testing you.”

“Testing me?” Lucky echoed. “You know Liz and I are over.”

“Uh huh,” Lu replied. She leaned against the door. “I know that in Liz’s mind you are. But sometimes I’m not so sure about you. I know you love Emily, Lucky–but I also know you hate the fact you fell in love with Liz all over again only to lose her to Jason.”

“She’s not a thing, Lesley Lu,” Lucky snapped, her eyes flashing in anger. “I didn’t lose her to Jason. She loved Jason–I knew that. She denied it, tried to forget it and I was willing to let her forget about it with me. But she loved him and he loved her and I should have known I was setting myself for the fall. But that’s over. I love Emily.”

“I think that’s why Emily won’t marry you,” Lu said, clasping her hands behind her back and leaned against them. “I think that…despite her strong career woman of the new millennium image…I think that Emily is still very scared that you’re only with her because you can’t have Liz.”

“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” Lucky said.

Lu raised an eyebrow. “Is it?” When Lucky didn’t answer, she smirked and pushed the guestroom door open. She closed it behind her, leaving her older brother to his thoughts.

| Chapter One →