Written in 20 minutes. No time for typos.

Sonny’s condition was treated as part of an accidental overdose, and Jason and Elizabeth were able to leave the emergency room without further incident. Jason was quiet on the elevator ride to Patrick’s floor.

“I’m sorry about Sonny,” Elizabeth said, folding her arms.

He looked at her blankly, then shook his head. “It’s—it’s fine. They think he did it to himself because of Carly. But he wanted to warn me. And you’re telling me that someone screwed with the records after Lily was born—this all goes back to the bomb.”

“Why did it take so long to come out?” Elizabeth wondered as they stepped out of the elevator. “Shouldn’t we all have realized something then? I mean, I knew Kelly. I thought she was my friend, and did—did Sam know?”

“Sam?” Jason took her elbow, stopping her in the hall way. “McCall? Sonny’s old girlfriend?”

“She—she’s the mother of the other baby born the same day.” Elizabeth blinked. “Didn’t I say that? Patrick said she’d moved after her daughter was born—” She swallowed. “What if her daughter is ours? What if Lily is alive, Jason? And Steven found out? What does that have to do with Sonny and Carly?”

“They—they wouldn’t have—it couldn’t be them.” Jason exhaled on a sharp, frustrated breath. “They wouldn’t have done this. Carly never would have agreed to anything that involved Sam. Sonny’s affair with her was the last straw for them. She never forgave Sonny for that.”

They resumed their path towards Patrick’s office, and found the doctor immersed in records and files. He glanced up at their entrance. “Hey—what happened down in the ER? Elizabeth said Sonny was on his way in.”

“I found Sonny almost passed out in the penthouse,” Jason told him. “In my penthouse. He wanted me and Elizabeth to get out of town. He lost consciousness on his way here, and the doctors—” He took a deep breath. “The doctors said it was an overdose and he might not wake up.”

“Well, I don’t know if this helps anything, but I’m convinced something is screwed up. Because Baby Girl McCall has a full autopsy report in her file that says she died from loss of oxygen from placenta previa,” Patrick told them. “And there’s nothing in Lily’s file that suggests she ever died at all.”

Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat as she absorbed that. “They switched her. Our—” She looked at Jason, saw the blank shock in his eyes. “They switched our little girl. Who—”

“Ric paid Sam to go away,” Jason told her softly. “He knew where she was. And he paid her seven months before the car bomb. She was pregnant. Ric paid her to get an abortion.”

Elizabeth clenched her fists in her lap. “But—but she didn’t. Obviously. But—why would Ric—” She closed her eyes. “He was so angry when I got pregnant—when we were planning for Lily. He tried to kill her, kill us, but when it didn’t work—”

“He wanted you to suffer anyway.” Patrick shook his head. “I can’t believe Kelly would have agreed—”

Jason’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and took a deep breath. “Spinelli has her address. Let’s go ask her.”

—

Elizabeth had worked closely with Kelly Lee during her years at General Hospital. They’d gone drinking together, and Kelly had been—if not a close friend—a good one. She’d gone to Elizabeth’s wedding, attended her bridal shower—

And right up until Kelly opened her door, Elizabeth wanted to believe there was some sort of tragic misunderstanding—

But Kelly opened the door, saw them, and slammed it shut. Elizabeth’s heart started thudding. “Oh my God.”

Jason’s jaw clenched, and he pounded on the door. “Open up!”

“Kelly, please!” Elizabeth said, tapping her palm against the window. “Please!”

“Go away,” her voice came, muffled through the mail slot. “It’s not safe—”

“Did—is my daughter dead?” Elizabeth demanded. “I’ll break this goddamn window, Kelly, if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on!”

Kelly cracked the door slightly, her face pale. “Yes,” she said softly. “But I can’t say anything else. I told Steven. I told him I couldn’t. They’ll kill me. They won’t stop—”

“Kelly, is she with Sam? Is that my baby—”

“I have to go—” Kelly slammed the door again, and Jason nearly lost his fingers trying to keep it open.

“Damn it. She’s alive—” Elizabeth turned around, clenched her hands in her hair, wanting to scream. “Why can’t anyone just tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Spinelli is looking for Sam,” Jason told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure this out—”

“Not if Sam gets warned. She’ll disappear with her, and we’ll—” Elizabeth’s voice broke. “We’ll never saw her—I can’t do this, Jason—” She turned to him, clenching her hands in his shirt, her eyes wild wit grief. “I can’t lose her again, not after finding out she might be alive—”

Jason drew hard against him, wrapping his arms around her as if he could shield her from the world. All this time he’d thought he’d been the reason they’d lost their daughter—

“I’m not letting anyone take Lily from us again. Not when we’re this close,” he told her. “Let’s go meet with Justus, and figure out the next step.”

Just before they reached their car, a voice called out to them from a few cars away. Elizabeth blinked, turning towards it. “That sounds like—”

“Get away!” Came the cry of Steven Webber as he ran out from behind a set of bushes and hurled himself at Elizabeth, throwing her to the ground.

Behind them, Jason’s SUV exploded, and Elizabeth—

Elizabeth couldn’t find Jason.

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Smoke seared her lungs as Elizabeth struggled to think, struggled to make sense of what was going—the smell of gasoline seeped into her nostrils, and thne she became aware of arms dragging her away, dragging her across the grass lawn.

“No, no, no!” she slapped at the hands, tried to crawl towards the car. “Jason! Where—”

“We have to get out of here!” her brother’s voice filtered in through her panic, her terror. Not again. Not another bomb. Not another explosion to blow apart her life—

“Not without Jason!”

“I’m—” She heard his voice—heard Jason’s coughing as he limped towards them—he’d been blown clear of the car—the force of explosion had sent him away from Steven or Elizabeth, on the other side of the lawn—

“We have to get out of here before they realize you’re alive!” Steven hissed at her. With Jason in her sight, this time, she let her brother drag her to her feet and half-carry her back to the bushes—around the house, and to a back driveway where an ashen Kelly Lee was already in the driver’s seat of the SUV.

“Jason—where—”

“I’m right behind you,” he assured her, his voice barely audible through the rasp. Steven shoved her into the back seat, and barely allowed for time to Jason to climb in after her before he was screaming at Kelly to go.

Kelly backed out of the driveway just as fire engines and sirens rolled down her street—they sped past curious and panicked neighbors, past the broken hulk of the SUV they’d driven to the house only minutes before—

“What the hell is going on?” Elizabeth demanded. “Steven, where have you been? Who—how—”

“I’ll explain everything as soon as Kelly gets us out of town—” He glanced over at the doctor who nodded, and without question, took a turn that put them on the highway out of residential Port Charles and the town entirely.

—

Ten minutes later, Kelly took an exit that brought them into a heavily wooded area—down a back road where they pulled up in front of cabin. Elizabeth was shaky as she got out of the car, holding a piece of her jacket to Jason’s arm, bleeding heavily. He’d been more injured than he’d let on, and was struggling to keep alert.

“Just a few more minutes,” she told him. “Steven—STeven, you need to—”

“I got him, Bits. Go in with Kelly. Don’t worry—no one can find us here.”

“How—” Elizabeth swallowed her protests, then nodded. It could wait. It had to wait.

Kelly seemed to know where everything was—which made Elizabeth wonder what the hell was going on with the doctor and Elizabeth’s brother. She grabbed a first aid kit, and was already unpacking it when Steven laid Jason out on the sofa.

“You’re okay?” Jason asked, grabbing Elizabeth’s arms. He swallowed hard, his eyes drifting closed—then he jerked them open. “You didn’t get—”

“I’m fine,” she promised, looking over as Kelly started to clean the wound on Jason’s arm. Steven winced at the mess of Jason’s leg. “I’m fine. We’re okay. Just—just relax, okay? It can wait—”

“It can’t,” Steven said grimly. He looked at his sister. “You’re on to them. They’re probably already moving her.”

“Her.” Elizabeth’s heart felt like it was flipping in her chest. “You mean—”

“Lily.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes. “She’s—she’s really—”

“She’s alive,” Steven said grimly. “I didn’t—I had my suspicions from the beginning, but I couldn’t prove it. I still can’t. But I know it.”

“How—” Elizabeth looked at Kelly.

“I didn’t—I didn’t know. I thought both babies—” Kelly cleared her throat, focused on cleaning Jason’s arm, then searched the kit for the needle kit so she could stitch the gash. “I thought they’d both died. That wasn’t a lie. I didn’t know for months that you’d been told she was still born.”

“That was Devlin,” Steven bit out. Elizabeth blinked, shook her head.

“Ian? Ian told you—”

“He was on duty in the ER,” Steven said. “He took you in—he created the electronic records. He must have made the switch.”

“This—I can’t follow any of this. How do I get my daughter back?” Elizabeth demanded.

“I don’t know,” Steven admitted. He met her eyes, and she could see the anguish in them. “I should have told you—I was trying to protect you. I knew someone was trying to kill Jason—I didn’t want—”

Jason propped himself up on one elbow, and with all the energy he could muster. “You were out of town when I got shot in Cairo,” he managed. “Where—”

“I was trying to find you,” Steven admitted. “I caught up to you, but I think—I think I led them right to you. I’m sorry. I didn’t—” He looked at his sister. “It’s all my fault.”

“No.” Elizabeth shook her head. “No. Of course not—”

“Steven, let’s get him to one of the bedrooms,” Kelly murmured. “You can finish stitching that leg with more room and you can start at the beginning. We’ve pieced enough together.”

“Yeah.” Steven exhaled slowly. “Yeah. Jason, can you—”

“I can make it.” Jason grunted as Steven helped him to stand, then slowly the four of them went down a hallway to a bedroom.

“What is this place?” Elizabeth asked, frowning as she looked around.

“I bought it two years ago,” Steven told her. “Kelly and I have been using to compare notes and plan. They don’t know about it—”

“You keep saying they,” Jason cut in. “Who is they?”

“Ric,” Steven said. He cut away the bottom half of Jason’s jeans. “He was behind the car bomb. He meant to kill Jason. He wanted to leave Elizabeth alone.” He looked at his sister. “But then you decided to take the SUV to the appointment. And Ric must have scrambled. He couldn’t kill Jason, but you’d survived. So he—”

“He took our daughter,” Elizabeth said faintly.

“He hoped that would drive you apart until he could take another shot,” Steven continued. “I think. I don’t know for sure. He keeps everything close to his chest, but he set up Sonny and Carly to take the fall. Sonny ordered the explosives, and Carly—” He closed his eyes.

“Steven, what happened the night Carly died?”

Steven looked at her, tears in his eyes. “He caught us. In bed. We were having an affair. I heard footsteps, so I tried to get away. I didn’t—I left by the back stairs, I thought we got away with it—but then they found her the next morning—her neck was broken—”

“Oh, God.” Elizabeth pressed her fist to mouth. “Steven—”

“Sonny must have killed her, because then he tried to kill me. In my apartment.”

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Jason shook his head. “No. He wouldn’t have killed Carly—” He struggled to sit up, wincing as Steven finished stitching the cut on his leg. “You said—you said you left.”

“He tried to kill me,” Steven said, his jaw clenched. “He came downstairs — raging — I didn’t even know she was dead. I got home and he was less then ten minutes behind me. He threw me against the wall, tried to choke me — I managed to push him. He fell, hit his head—” He cleared his throat. “And I left.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Elizabeth murmured. “I went to your place—it looks like you’d just left. There’s nothing out of place—”

Jason looked at Elizabeth as she stopped talking, and they seemed to realize it at the same time. “Someone cleaned up.”

“You think it was Ric?” Kelly asked. “I mean, he’s done everything else—”

“We think he’s done everything else. I know you think Carly was framed for picking up the bomb, but—” Elizabeth grimaced. “Sonny still ordered them.”

She dragged her hands through her hair. “It’s—we keep running from theory to theory and we still don’t know anything for sure. We know Carly’s dead. We know Sonny ordered the bomb and Carly picked it up, but how we do even know it was the bomb in the SUV?”

Steven frowned at her, got to his feet. “What?”

“How do we know the bomb Carly picked up was in the car? Because the explosives guy died after Jason talked to him? That doesn’t prove anything. The guy might have made another bomb. The only thing we know for sure is that my daughter—” She looked at Jason. “Our daughter is alive. We don’t know how Sam ended up with her. Right now, I don’t care. I want her back.”

She exhaled slowly. “You said she’s probably being moved. Why? I thought Sam left town—”

“Sam moved to Rochester after her daughter was born,” Steven told her. “I called her—and she hung up on me. The next time I called—her number had been disconnected. She went underground right after Carly died. I don’t know where she is, but if Sam is working with Ric—”

“If,” Elizabeth repeated. “I can’t keep doing this, Steven. I can’t keep playing these games. We’re no closer to finding out who planted that bomb than we were a year ago. All I know—I want my daughter. I need—” Her voice broke.

“Spinelli.”

Jason struggled to his feet, pulling out his phone, wincing. The screen was cracked but it still worked. “Let me call him. He found Kelly’s address—”

“That’s how they knew you were there,” Steven snapped. “He told someone—”

“No—” Elizabeth shook her head. “No—that doesn’t make sense. The car exploded after we’d been driving in it—the bomb must have already been in it. They waited until after we’d talked to Kelly.” She bit at her thumb. “Someone was following us. They didn’t need Spinelli to find out anything. They followed us and detonated the bomb. They must have thought you told us something.”

“I don’t know anything,” Kelly insisted. “Except—”

“Except enough to put us on the trail for our daughter,” Elizabeth told her. “They know I went to the hospital. I came straight here. Steven was looking for you. They don’t even need to know what I found out from Patrick.”

“And you don’t think they is Ric?” Jason asked.

“I think that it would be a mistake to say we know who is behind this. Jason—Ric’s been in Port Charles for most of the last year,” she told him. “He didn’t come after you personally in Cairo. Which means he sent someone. This is bigger than Ric. He’s part of it—I’m sure of that. I just—I just want to find our daughter.”

She looked at Steven. “I know contacting Spinelli might make us vulnerable, but I also know if anyone can find Sam, it’ll be him. I think it’s worth it.”

Steven pressed his lips together, then nodded. “Okay. It’s your call.”

“Call him,” Elizabeth told Jason. “Because I think if we find Sam, we might get closer to an answer. She has to know she has our daughter. Otherwise, why move? Why not stay in Port Charles? She’s running.”

Jason nodded, then texted Spinelli to call him on a secure line. As he finished sending the message, Elizabeth’s phone buzzed. She frowned, pulled it out of her pocket, and her face paled.

“It’s Ric.”

“Don’t answer it,” Steven snapped.

“I don’t think I have a choice.” Elizabeth pressed the speaker phone. “Ric.”

“Hello, Beautiful.”

Her skin crawled at his use of the endearment. “What do you want?”

“I hear you’ve had quite a day today. I thought maybe we could discuss a deal.”

“A deal?” she repeated. What a strange thing to say—

“I have something—well, someone—you want. And you have someone I want.”

Elizabeth frowned, looked at Jason. Did he want Jason? “I don’t understand.”

“It’s simple. I’ll tell you where Lily is if you come to see me. Alone.”

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“There is no way in hell I’m letting you meet with him alone,” Jason snapped the second Elizabeth returned from the hallway.

When Ric had made his demand to meet her, Jason had said no—and she’d left the room to make the arrangements. She wanted her daughter back and didn’t want anyone getting in her way.

“Well, since I didn’t ask for your permission,” Elizabeth retorted, with a flash of irritation, “I guess I won’t have to worry about it. You need to call Spinelli and find Sam. If she doesn’t still have Lily, then she’ll know where she is. Find her. I’ll distract Ric—”

“Elizabeth,” Steven said with a wince as Jason glared at his sister. “That might not be the best thing to do. I think we’re better off tracking Sam as a team—”

“No one in this room gets to tell me how to do anything,” Elizabeth said, stabbing a finger at the three of them. “You—” She pointed at Jason. “Left me in the middle of the night six months ago without a word. And you—” At Steven “—have suspected my daughter was alive for how long? And Kelly—you were my friend—”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No. I’m done being a victim. I’m done being protected. My daughter is alive. She’s been stolen from us, my life has been destroyed. My husband has been shot and blow up twice, my brother was nearly killed—” She squared her shoulders. “I’m not doing this anymore, do you understand?”

Jason exhaled slowly, then nodded. “You’re taking a weapon. I know you don’t like guns—”

“But you taught me how to use one,” she finished. “I’m sure you can find one I can handle in the next hour. And while you’re doing that, I want you to get Spinelli to track down Sam. Call Justus. Have him on standby. If I have to shoot Ric, I don’t intend to go to jail.”

—

Half an hour later, Damien Spinelli arrived at the safe house with a weapons box and a computer. He looked skeptical about the plan but even he knew that look in Elizabeth’s eye. He handed over the box, sat down, and started to track down Sonny’s former mistress.

Jason unlocked the box and withdrew the smaller handgun he’d bought for Elizabeth after she’d left Ric. “When was the last time you were at the range?” he asked her.

“After you left, Steven took me to recertify my license,” she told him. She took the gun from him, then took the bullets from the box he handed her and expertly loaded it. “He thought I might need to remember how to protect myself.”

“I don’t like this,” Jason told her. She glared at him, but he took a deep breath. “But you’re right. I’ve spent a lot of the last year not telling you anything. Trying not to hurt you. And that’s all that’s happened. I never—” He hesitated. “I never thought there was a chance Lily was alive. I never would have left—”

“I know that.” Their eyes met, held. “I can’t think past the next few hours, Jason. Whatever happens, after today—I don’t know. I just want my daughter back and I want to make sure Ric Lansing can’t ever hurt me or anyone I love again.”

“All right. Let’s go take a few practice shots.”

—

Elizabeth hadn’t wanted to learn how to use a gun, but Jason had insisted. If he wasn’t going to be allowed to kill Ric, he wanted to make sure she could protect herself. In fact, the first time he’d kissed her had been at the gun range, she remembered fondly as she stepped onto the elevator at Harborview Towers and pressed the button for the penthouse level.

She’d been a terrible shot at the first lesson, but the fear and worry and anxiety had somehow disappeared the moment she aimed the gun and pointed it at the target. Steven hadn’t wanted her to learn. Patrick had scoffed. All the men in her life had simply told her no — she couldn’t.

But Jason had given her that security back and taught her how to protect herself. Had bought her a gun she could handle and made sure she knew how to use it.

She would take that with her today because today —

Today was the last time Ric Lansing was ever going to call the shots.

“Mrs. Morgan—” Max blinked when she stepped off the elevator. His face was ashen as he straightened from his perch by the door. “I thought you’d gone back to Boston—”

“I’m here to see Ric. Is there any news about Sonny?” she asked quietly, knowing how devoted Max had been to Sonny and Carly, wondering how this had happened under his watch.

“No, no. No news. Ric’s inside.” Max’s mouth twisted as he said the name. Ric had wanted all the power his brother had wielded, but had never stopped to consider that power only lasted as long as you could control it.

If Elizabeth intended to let Ric live after today, she wondered how long it would be before someone finished him off.

He shoved the door open. “Miss Webber’s here,” Max said.

“Ah, Elizabeth. Close the door, Max,” Ric told the guard as Elizabeth walked in. He sauntered towards her, a tumbler of bourbon in his hand.

“You always wanted Sonny’s life,” Elizabeth murmured. She folded her arms, arched a brow. “Now I guess you have it.”

“I worked harder for it than he did,” Ric said flatly. “Now, we’re here to make a deal—”

“We’re not actually.” Elizabeth lifted her chin. “You stole my daughter from me—”

“I was trying to protect her from Sonny and Carly,” Ric cut in.

“Oh? I must have been mistaken since Carly’s dead, Sonny very nearly is, and you’ve never given a damn about me,” Elizabeth retorted. “Stop pretending, Ric. It doesn’t work with me.”

“Elizabeth, you know I’ve always wanted the best for you—”

“I know who you are,” she told him. “And I have since the night you put those drugs into my champagne, drugged me until I couldn’t consent and raped me. The only reason you’re alive is because I didn’t let Jason kill you. You owe your life to me. Now I want to paid. Give me back my daughter and I might let you live.”

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Written in 22 minutes. No time for edits or typos.

Shortly after Elizabeth left for Harborview Towers and her meeting with Ric, Spinelli finally had success in tracking the serial number of a phone registered in Sam’s name—

He gave Steven and Jason the address, and for the entire drive to the warehouse located on the docks, Spinelli made sure to let them know it was probably a dead end, that Sam was likely long gone, and he should not be held responsible since he was being asked—

“Spinelli,” Jason said, flatly, his fingers curling around the steering wheel. “Shut up.”

“Shutting up.”

The warehouse had once belonged to Mickey Roscoe, an enemy of Jason and Sonny’s from years ago — a warehouse that Jason and Sonny had then bought and converted into a safe house. No one but Jason and Sonny knew about it.

The fact that Spinelli had tracked any trace of Sam McCall to this address was a sign that she had been there at some point —

He pulled into the parking lot, littered with a few other cars so that the warehouse never looked neglected and completely empty. Jason knew all of those cars — he’d helped move them there after buying them at various auctions —

Except for a plain white Honda parked haphazardly near a back door.

He drew in a sharp break, threw the SUV into park, and looked at Steven. “You ready?”

Steven checked the barrel of his gun, then shoved it into his holster. “Yeah. Spinelli, stay behind us.”

“When did you start carrying a gun?” Spinelli asked as they climbed out of the car. “Am I the only one who doesn’t have one?”

“The last time I gave you a gun,” Jason said, “you shot yourself in the foot and me in the leg. Stay behind us.”

They inched towards the back door, keeping close to the edge of the building. Jason didn’t know what they’d find inside—maybe Sam was dead and Lily was gone again—he wouldn’t put it past Ric to kill her—

And then he heard a woman’s soft voice, the thin whine of a baby.

He stopped—just before the door. Looked at Steven, then down at his gun. If his daughter was inside — would this be her first memory of him? A gun?

“I’ll cover you,” Steven said, understanding. “Let me go first.”

Jason hung back, lowering his gun to his side —

Steven kicked open the door—someone screamed, the baby started crying — Jason came in behind him —

Sam was sitting in on a sofa, her eyes wide and terrified, a little girl clutched in her arms, crying.

“Are you alone?” Steven demanded.

Sam nodded, her cheeks stained with tears. “I—I was supposed to meet someone here to help me get out of the country. B-but I don’t think they’re coming.” She pressed her face into the little girl’s blonde hair.

Blonde hair.

This little girl was supposed to have been Sonny and Sam’s daughter.

Jason stared at her. “That’s my daughter.” Her terrified eyes met his. “Isn’t she?” he demanded, his voice slightly harsher.

Sam’s lips quivered. “I didn’t—I just wanted to be a mother,” she gasped. “He said I could keep her, and I wanted to be a mother—I wanted my little girl—she was dead—but he gave me—”

“So you took my sister’s baby.” Steven scowled, shoved the gun into his holster. “Give me her. Now—”

“Please let me say goodbye—please she loves me—”

Jason stopped Steven from just taking the little girl from Sam. He knelt in front of her, looking at the upset baby—at her face—he touched her soft skin.

“You didn’t call her Lily, did you?” he asked Sam, gently. The little girl blinked, her cries ceasing at his soft voice.

“N-No. I—I—her name is Isla,” Sam breathed. “Are you—please—don’t take her from me—”

“That’s my daughter,” Jason told her. “Elizabeth’s daughter. You made us grieve her for a year, but you know she’s not yours.”

Sam squeezed her eyes shut, then rocked Isla against her for a moment before nodding. “I just couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand it, I love her so much but she’s not mine and I knew it every time I looked at her and saw you—” She kissed the baby’s face.

“I’m tired,” she murmured. “Tired of running. Tired of borrowed time.”

She gave Isla to Jason, then buried her face in her hands.

Jason picked up the little girl, wrapped his arms around her, and pressed his cheek to the top of her soft curls. He looked at Steven. “Call Elizabeth. I’ve got our daughter.”

“On it,” Steven managed, his voice rusty.

——

“Let me live—” Ric laughed. “I’ve always enjoyed your sense of humor.” He sipped his bourbon. “If there was any truth to this—if you’d told Jason what you suspected, I’d be dead, and you know it—”

“Who do you think made sure I got the security footage from our apartment?” Elizabeth said coolly. “Who do you think held my hand while I watched you put the pills into the champagne—”

Ric stared at her. “But—”

“I told Jason not to kill you because I couldn’t stand anyone knowing. Couldn’t stand thinking about it.”

He shook his head, but his confident air had been disturbed. “No—he wouldn’t—I wouldn’t—”

“Some men—when a woman tells them no—” Elizabeth tilted her head, smiled. “They listen. I’m not surprised you don’t understand.”

The phone in her hand buzzed and Elizabeth, never taking her eyes off Ric, pressed the button to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Bits, we got her. Jason’s holding your little girl right now. She’s safe, perfect—she’s beautiful. We’ll be right there—”

“Good. I’ll need a cleanup crew.”

“Bits—”

She hung up the phone, put it in her pocket as Ric scowled. “Clean up crew? For what—stop—”

Elizabeth put her phone in her purse, then removed the gun, and shot him—

Ric still looked surprised as he clutched his chest, staring at her. “You—you—”

“And some men,” Elizabeth murmured as he fell to the ground, and the life bled out of him, “don’t mind letting a woman do her own dirty work.”

+5

No time for typos. Written in 20 minutes.

By the time Jason arrived with the clean up crew, he found Elizabeth standing over Ric’s body. Blood was dribbling out of Ric’s mouth, and his eyes were still open, the film of death clouding them.

Elizabeth met his eyes when she came through the door. “Where’s Lily?” She tucked the gun she’d still been holding back in her purse holster, then strode over to him. “Is she okay? Where—”

“With Steven across the hall.” Jason took her by the shoulder as a few men came in and started to wrap Ric in the plastic tarp. He searched her eyes, then looked up and down—not a mark on her, a hair out of place—

He pressed his lips together, looked at Ric’s body, then back at Elizabeth. “That’s why you wanted to meet him alone,” Jason said, exhaling. “You were planning this.”

“He was never going to stop,” she murmured. She also looked back at her ex-husband, at the man who had never, ever accepted her right to say no, to walk away, and build a new life.

“I never—I would have done this—” His throat was tight. “I didn’t want this for you—”

“This was my battle to fight. Not yours. He came after you because of me.” Her voice trembled. “He stole our daughter because of me. I needed to finish it. I need to see her—she’s okay? You said she’s okay?”

“She is.” Jason put an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the penthouse, away from Ric Lansing for the last time. “She’s—she’s been called Isla this last year.” He stopped her before they went inside. “She’s in perfect health, but she doesn’t know us.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes, scrubbed her hands over her face. “Isla,” she repeated. “She’s—she’s not even a year old. We—we could—we could go back to—”

But now it felt wrong. Lily had been the name they’d chosen together for their little girl, their dream, for their future. She’d wanted to honor Jason’s grandmother, Lila—

This little girl didn’t know them.

“We could,” Jason said slowly. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Let’s just go inside and take it step by step.”

Elizabeth took a deep breath, twisted the knob, then opened the door. Inside, her brother was sitting on the sofa, the baby in his lap. She was smiling at him, a stuffed dog in her hands, an ear in her mouth.

The baby turned at the sound. She smiled. Elizabeth choked back a sob. It was her little girl, the little face she’d seen in the photograph—older now, the hint of fuzzy blond hair a little longer now—curling around her ears. She had her daddy’s sunny blonde hair, his blue eyes—

“She looks like you,” Jason told her. Elizabeth blinked, then laughed. “What?” he asked, his eyes crinkling with confusion.

“I was just thinking that she looked like you—your coloring—”

“She has your face.” Jason walked over and without a word, Steven handed the baby to him. “Hey, Isla,” Jason said softly, bouncing her slightly. “Remember me?”

The baby ducked her head, pressing it against Jason’s chest, then smiling at him. She babbled something, waved the stuffed dog.

“That’s right, that’s from me,” he murmured. Elizabeth recognized it now — he’d given it to her the day they’d learned she was pregnant. Baby’s first toy.

It had been sitting in the nursery for over a year, waiting for their daughter.

“This is Mommy,” Jason told her. The baby crinkled her eyes, shook her head. “I know, you have another Mommy—”

Elizabeth closed her eyes, her heart aching. Oh, God—it would be so easy for their daughter to adjust to Jason—she’d never had a father—no other person to replace—but she already had a mother.

“This is also your mommy,” Jason told her. He walked over to Elizabeth. “This is Elizabeth.”

“Hi, baby.” Elizabeth reached out, touched her skin. Oh, God, she was real. She was really—she was here. This wasn’t another waking nightmare. “Hi.”

She babbled, smiled at Elizabeth, then tucked her head against Jason to give Elizabeth the same smile she’d given Jason a moment ago.

“Your name, it’s—” Elizabeth swallowed. “You’re Isla.”

Something that sounded like yes emerged from the babble as Isla lifted her head, waved the dog ear at her.

“Can I give you a hug?” she asked. “I’d like—I’d like to hug you.”

“Dog,” Isla said with a nod. She held out her arms, and Jason transferred her into Elizabeth’s embrace.

And Elizabeth held her daughter for the first time. She held her tight, cupping the back of her head, pressing her cheek to her daughter’s. It didn’t matter what her name was—didn’t matter that today, Isla didn’t really know who she was.

She was holding her little girl.

Elizabeth opened her eyes, looked at Jason. “Thank you. For bringing her home.” His eyes were red, and she could see the tears clinging to his lower lashes as he nodded. He smoothed his hand down Isla’s back. Their first time standing together as a family.

—

A few hours later, they put Isla down for her first night in the nursery. Elizabeth had rocked her to sleep in the rocking chair, just as she’d dreamed for so long, Jason leaning against the door frame.

As Isla’s beautiful blue eyes closed, Elizabeth looked up at Jason. “We’ll have to take turns putting her to sleep,” she told him. “We have so much time to make up for.”

He nodded, then hesitated. “I never should have left six months ago,” Jason told her. “I never dreamed—I never thought she was—I wouldn’t have—”

“I know. Neither of us dreamed this might be possible.” Elizabeth bit her lip, letting her finger drift down Isla’s soft cheek. “It would be easy to hold on to the anger, to the bitterness. To the way I’ve felt for six months. The divorce is supposed to be final in a few weeks.”

She met Jason’s eyes again. “I’m not letting Ric steal more time from me. I’ll call Justus in the morning and withdraw the petition. We deserve—we deserve a chance to be a family.”

Jason walked over, then knelt beside the chair to kiss Isla first—her eyes crinkled slightly, but stayed closed. “I love you,” he told her.

“I love you, too.”

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