Disclaimer: You know the drill�no affiliation to ABC, Disney, GH, Rick, Becky, or the other
characters�I only wish that I were.
Summary: Elizabeth returns to Port Charles after five and a half years away with a surprise for
Ric.
Author�s Note: Okay, This is assuming that Elizabeth finds out all about Ric and his agenda after their date to the art museum on the night they made love for the first time. She left town without so much as a good-bye to anyone. She hasn�t kept in contact with anyone, and she changed her last name to Hardy so no one could find her.
~*~
Ric Lansing climbed the mountain of stairs that led to his Penthouse. With the money he shoveled
out to pay for this place, he�d at least think they would keep the elevators working. By the time
he reached his destination, his keys were in hand and he quickly opened his door.
The small touch lamp in the corner slightly illuminated the room. Ric didn�t bother turning on the
overhead light. He liked the dark. It almost made him forget how empty the place was without
her.
Ric quickly discarded his coat and brief case, grabbed the bottle of vodka from the fridge, and
planted himself on the couch. It was the same routine every night after work. Sometimes he�d turn
on the television, but most of the time he�d just sit there, thinking about how everything went
wrong.
Ric opened the door to Kelly�s allowing Elizabeth to pass under his arm and enter. �I can not
imagine you confronting a room full of bikers dressed head to toe in black leather�well, I have
had a few fantasies about you and the leather part�hey, maybe you should bring that outfit by
my place sometime and we could have some fun.�
�You want fun, do yah?� Elizabeth wrapped her arm around Ric�s neck and pulled his lips to
hers. Before they had a chance to turn the kiss into something more, they heard a cough from the
back of the diner. Ric looked up to see Sonny sitting at a corner table.
�Sorry to interrupt.� Sonny smirked. �I just need to speak to my brother.�
�Elizabeth, can you go wait upstairs.� Ric said, not taking his eyes off of Sonny. How did he
know?
�Wait. Brother? What�s going on Ric?� Elizabeth looked up at him, confused.
�It�s nothing. Just go wait upstairs.� Ric couldn�t deal with Sonny and explain himself to
Elizabeth at the same time. He was two different people with them.
�Oh, Ric, you didn�t tell Elizabeth you�re here to destroy your own brother? Bet you didn�t tell
her you raped my wife either.� Sonny said with mock concern.
�Raped? What?� Ric felt Elizabeth pull away from him.
�No, I didn�t.� Ric tried to reach for Elizabeth, but she wouldn�t let him touch her.
�Ric. Explain what he�s saying.�
�Yeah Ric. Explain to Elizabeth why raping my wife is justified. Bet she won�t understand. You
did tell him about your rape, didn�t you Lizzie?�
Ric looked at Elizabeth. �You were raped. Elizabeth, when? How? What happened?�
�No. You tell me what happened with Carly.�
�Nothing. I just made her think we slept together. She was unconscious. I just used her to get me
close to Sonny. I didn�t touch her.� He hated himself for using Carly, but it was an impulse. He
couldn�t take it back now.
�What do you mean? You didn�t rape my wife?� Sonny asked.
�No, of course not. I�m not a rapist.�
�But you are here to hurt Sonny?� Elizabeth looked at him, her eyes filled with tears.
�Yes, but you don�t understand.� Sonny was the reason he didn�t grow up with his mother. He
had to make her understand.
�But you told me that you came here to help Sonny. You lied to me.� Elizabeth backed toward
the door.
�I didn�t know how to tell you the truth. I didn�t think you�d understand.� He hadn�t planned on
letting himself go this far with Elizabeth. He hadn�t planned on falling in love with her. He
didn�t think he�d have to explain this to her.
Elizabeth stood before him for a long time before turning and running out of the doors.
Ric tried to follow her, but Sonny�s hand grabbed him from behind. �What are you doing? I
have to go after her.� He screamed at his brother.
�We need to talk Ric.�
�No. Not now. Elizabeth is all that matters.� With that, Ric was out of the door, but Elizabeth
was no where to be found.
Ric took another swig from his vodka bottle. The taste of rubbing alcohol slid down his throat
and landed in his stomach leaving a trail of heat as it went.
Ric couldn�t believe Elizabeth left him. He blamed Sonny for letting her get away. When he
couldn�t find her outside of Kelly�s, Ric searched everywhere for her. He tried her studio first, but
she wasn�t there. Then he tried Lucky�s, Luke�s, Bobbie�s, the art museum, the docks, Elm Street
Pier, everywhere she went, but she was nowhere to be found. Then he went back to her studio to
wait. But by the time he got there, she had already come and gone. She took just enough of her
stuff to make a quick escape from Port Charles and him.
Now his life was empty. Five years she�d been gone and she still held the key to his heart. To
suppress the pain of losing Elizabeth, Ric filled his time with work and meaningless sex.
After he and Sonny had settled their differences, his brother had offered him a job as his personal
attorney. He never would have taken the job if Elizabeth were still with him. But since his life
didn�t mean much to him without her, he decided the danger of Sonny�s world wasn�t anything to
fear.
And the meaningless sex? He�d had just about every single female in Port Charles by now. There
was Felicia Scorpio, Alexis Davis, Skye Chandler Quartermaine Jacks, Brenda Barrett, Gia
Campbell, and Courtney Matthews, among many more. But it just wasn�t as fun as he
remembered it before Elizabeth. Before Elizabeth, he didn�t know what it could be like to be with
someone he loved. Now everything else paled in comparison.
Elizabeth Webber had ruined his life. She showed him a glimpse of love and took it away the next
second. He hoped wherever she was she was as miserable as him.
~*~
You�ll always be a part of me
I�m part of you indefinitely
Boy don�t you know you can�t escape me
Ooh darlin� �cause you�ll always be my baby
And we�ll linger on
Time can�t erase a feeling this strong
No way you�re never gonna shake me
Ooh darlin� �cause you�ll always be my baby
Elizabeth Webber Hardy screamed along with the radio as she drove down the highway in her
2003 Chevy Malibu. She looked over at her daughter, Erica, sitting in the passenger seat, also
singing. Her voice was so beautiful. Elizabeth smiled to herself. She definitely got that from her
father.
Most of her qualities resembled her father. Her dark brown, soulful eyes, her well-defined lips, her
long, brown curly locks. She had her father�s beautiful voice, his love of the guitar, and his
goal-oriented, forward-thinking mind.
Elizabeth felt a knot tie in her stomach. It was that way of thinking that made it impossible for her
to stay with him, no matter how much she loved him.
She hated herself for trusting another man so soon, and for falling in love with him so soon.
Hadn�t she learned anything from her past relationships? You only get hurt when you give all of
yourself. She was proud to say in the five and a half years she�d been away from Port Charles; she
hadn�t made the same mistake. She didn�t have time. She had her little girl to take care of.
She remembered when she found out that she was pregnant. She was so scared. She didn�t know
the first thing about being a mother, and she sure as hell didn�t have a way to support them both.
She was almost ready to go back to him. He could take care of them, and they could be happy.
But then she was reminded of what he had done to his own brother. She couldn�t be with him.
She had to keep her baby safe from him, and the world he chose to live in.
She worked at a small diner in Ft. Lauderdale, while attending classes at The Art Institute of
Florida. She could only take half of the class load because of Erica, so the design degree that
should have taken her two years took her four. As soon as she graduated, she got a job at
Williams & Moss, an advertisement agency. She started out as a coffee girl, but worked her way
up to the head designer of her own team.
But now she was leaving this perfect life she had created for herself and her daughter to return to
the mess she left behind so many years ago. Her grandmother was dying, and she wanted to be
with her before she was gone. Audrey was the only person who ever put her first, and she was
going to return the favor.
Elizabeth was scared to return to Port Charles. There were so many inevitable problems she�d
face. She had decided to tell Ric the truth about Erica. He deserved to know. She just hoped he
didn�t hate her for what she did to him.
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