Chapter Forty




“EVERYONE DOWN!” Jason yelled as she shooting started. He went to push Jessica down, but saw that Diego had beat him to it. Pulling out his own gun, Jason took aim in the general direction the bullets were coming from and started shooting. Another set of shots started out and Jason saw Lorenzo doing the same thing.

Jason had no idea where the shooter actually was and the only movement was him and Lorenzo. Everyone else was still on the ground or taking cover nearby.

Desperately wanting to check and make sure Jessica was okay, Jason knew he couldn’t take his attention away from the shooter. It would be a death sentence if he did. But he had seen Diego pull her down and behind a stand of bushes, so he knew she would be okay.

Jason concentrated on the general position of the shooter – not really sure if he was hitting anything as he squeezed off another shot. Just as he was about to shift his aim, Jason saw a flash of light. His eyes snapped to the area and he was able to just barely make out the form of a man and a sniper rifle.

Glancing at Lorenzo, Jason saw that the other man had noticed the same thing. Nodding to each other, they shifted their aim and each let off a single shot. Then everything was quiet.


*~*~*~*~*


It was over. Right? The shooting had stopped. Everything was quiet again. Gulping in a couple of deep breaths, Sam pulled herself up, wincing in pain as she put weight on her right arm. Touching it with her left hand, it came away bloody. Gritting her teeth in pain, Sam continued to get up slowly, checking to make sure she wasn’t wrong. All she needed to do was become a moving target and get herself killed.

But no more bullets were fired. Standing up fully, Sam looked around; taking inventory of those she had been with when the shooting started. Carly and Skye appeared unharmed as they helped each other up. Lorenzo and Jason were slowly lowering their weapons and starting to look around.

But where were Diego and Jessica? The shooting had stopped; surely they would know it was safe to start getting up. To let everyone know they were okay. Right?


*~*~*~*~*


Lorenzo let out the breath he had been holding during the shooting. It was a miracle that he and Jason had not been hit, as they had been standing in the open, shooting back – making them perfect targets.

Lowering his gun hand to his side, Lorenzo turned. He saw Skye and Carly, both of whom appeared to be unharmed. He saw Sam holding her right arm, blood oozing through her fingers. But she seemed alert. But what he didn’t see were his son and daughter.

Looking around frantically, Lorenzo heard a low moan come from the bushes nearby and he and Jason sprinted to the source of the sound. What he saw when he got there had Lorenzo’s heart almost stopping.

*~*~*~*~*


Jason knew that for as long as he lived, he would never forget what he saw when he reached Diego and Jessica. It was ingrained on his retinas for the rest of his life.

Diego lay on his stomach with his arm thrown over Jessica. Blood oozed from under him. His eyes were closed and although he moaned a moment ago, he had not moved.

But it was Jessica who had Jason’s attention and the blood that blossomed from the gunshot wound in her chest.

“No . . ." he whispered, barely recognizing his own voice as he dropped to his knees beside her. He stopped thinking in that moment and just acted. “CALL FOR HELP!” he yelled as she put his hands over the wound to stop the bleeding. “Come on Jess, hold on,” he whispered to her, putting as much pressure as he could on the wound.


*~*~*~*~*


Lorenzo had also dropped down, his eyes on his daughter’s pale face and unmoving body. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move.


*~*~*~*~*


Sam moved over to the small group, Skye and Carly behind her. “Oh God,” she said when she saw the scene in front of her. Skye already had her phone out and was calling for an ambulance, letting them know where they were located.

Moving over to Lorenzo, Skye gently touched him on the shoulder, feeling his body shaking. “Lorenzo,” she whispered, her eyes on Jessica. “Lorenzo, the ambulance is on the way.”

Lorenzo couldn’t respond. Hearing the moan again, Lorenzo tore his eyes from his daughter and moved over to his son, gently turning him onto his back to assess his wounds.

There was a bullet wound in Diego’s right leg, in the upper thigh and it was bleeding steadily. Needing to do something to help one of his children, Lorenzo pulled his suit jacket off, tore off the sleeve and tied it tightly just above the wound, then applied pressure to try and slow the bleeding.

This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be sitting here watching his children bleed to death.


*~*~*~*~*


Jason couldn’t sit. He hated waiting. He needed to know what was going on. As soon as the ambulances had arrived, they moved quickly, stabilizing Jessica and Diego and whisking them away to GH. Monica and Dr. Meadows had been alerted and had been awaiting the arrival of the ambulances.

Jason barely registered anyone else around him as he waited to hear what was going on with Jessica and their daughter. He couldn’t get the image of all that blood and her pale face out of his head. His hands were still covered in her blood. Emily had tried to get him to sit. To breathe. But he couldn’t. He needed to know what was going on.


*~*~*~*~*


Sam made her way over to the ER waiting area, where Lorenzo and Jason were with Skye and Carly. She had been checked out and her arm taken care of.

“Has there been any word yet?” she asked Skye as she sat next to her. The medication they had given her for the pain was making her a bit woozy.

Skye shook her head. “No, nothing. Are you okay?” she asked in concern. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Sam said as she shrugged, wishing she hadn’t when hot, searing pain shot through her arm. “It was just a scratch really.” After a moment, Sam turned fully to Skye. “How are Lorenzo and Jason?”

Skye sighed. “Not too good,” she said. “Jason keeps pacing and won’t sit still. When Liz came out with a consent form for an emergency C-Section, he practically jumped all over her for information on Jessica. But at least he’s reacting. It’s Lorenzo that has me really scared Sam. He hasn’t said a word since we left the park. He’s just standing there, so lost and scared. I don’t know what to do for him.”

Sam looked over at her brother. He was standing against the opposite wall. His face was pale and haunted. She knew that look. It was the same look he had when he had found out Sage was killed. “Right now, all we can do Skye is be here for him when he needs us. It has to be on his terms.”

Skye nodded. But all she wanted to do right now was pull him into her arms and assure him that both his children and his granddaughter were going to be okay. They all had to be.


*~*~*~*~*


“Mr. Alcazar?”

Lorenzo looked up and saw a young doctor standing just outside of the doors where Diego had been taken.

“How is my son?” he asked, the first words he had spoken since arriving at the ER.

“My name is Andrew Michaels. We were able to remove the bullet in your son’s thigh. He was very lucky Mr. Alcazar. The bullet missed any major arteries and did not do as much damage as was first thought. We were able to repair the torn muscles and the rest will heal on its own. He did lose a fair amount of blood and that was to be expected. I do expect him to make a full recovery.”

Lorenzo let out a brief sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he said.

The doctor nodded. “We have him sedated at the moment. He needs a lot of rest. As soon as we’re ready, I am going to have him moved to a room. He’ll be here for a little while to recover and he might need some physical therapy for his leg. Other than that, he’ll be fine. As soon as he’s settled, I will have a nurse come and get you.”

Lorenzo nodded and again thanked the doctor.

Skye got up and went to Lorenzo, putting a hand on his arm. “I’m so relieved Diego is going to be okay,” she said gently.

Lorenzo could only nod again. He was relieved as well. But he was still waiting on news about his daughter.

*~*~*~*~*


Jason barely heard the doctor’s prognosis for Diego. He wanted to know about Jessica and their daughter.

The doors he had been staring intently at for what seemed like days, finally opened. His mother, Monica Quartermaine, and Dr. Meadows came out. Jason held his breath and tried to read their faces.

Monica walked up to her son. She and Dr. Meadows had already decided to start out with news on the baby, so she didn’t say anything right away.

Jason couldn’t stand waiting anymore. “What’s going on? How are Jessica and the baby?” he asked, his voice thick with his unshed tears.

Lorenzo, Skye, Carly and Sam all came to stand with Jason and the two doctors.

Dr. Meadows took a breath. “The C-section was a success. And being that Jessica was already eight months along, the baby’s lungs were strong. Her vitals are holding good and we have her NICU to monitor her as a precaution.”

Jason nodded, relieved that his daughter appeared to be fine. “And Jessica?” he asked. His eyes were on his mother and he did not like what he saw there.

Monica swallowed back her tears. “Jason . . . I am so sorry . . ."

“No. No, she’s going to okay Monica, I know she is,” Jason said, shaking his head. He didn’t want her to finish the rest of her sentence.

“We were able to retrieve the bullet . . . but there was extensive, irreparable damage done to the heart . . . I’m so sorry, but she’s gone.”


*~*~*~*~*


Lorenzo was sure he had heard Monica wrong. She did not just say that his daughter was dead. That was impossible. Jessica was a strong, vibrant, lively young woman with her whole life ahead of her. She had a family and a daughter that needed her. There was no possible way that she was gone. That her life was cut so short before she was even twenty-one. He didn’t want to believe it.

Skye’s hand on his back had him turning to her and he saw the awful, horrible truth in her eyes.

His daughter was gone. He would never see her bright green eyes again. He would never hear her laughter. He would never be able to tell her how much he loved her and how proud he was of her.

He was shaking so much. The tears were there, but they wouldn’t come. He did not want to have to mourn for his daughter. His knees couldn’t hold him up and he sank slowly into a chair. Why was this happening?


*~*~*~*~*


“It’s done,” Faith said as she walked up to Sonny on the docks.

“What’s done? What did you do Faith?” Sonny asked. He had heard about the shooting in the park and had been on his way there to see what was going on. He knew Carly was there.

“I can tell you that the information you provided me came in very handy. And you don’t have to worry Sonny; I will not go back on my word. I will not touch you or your family ever again. In fact, I am heading out of town for a while. I need to lay low.”

Sonny shook his head. “I don’t understand Faith. What did you do?”

Before Faith could answer, a man approached them and directed his attention to Faith. “Diego Alcazar is alive ma’am,” he said. “He is expected to make a full recovery. The baby was delivered and is strong. But Jessica Alcazar is dead.”

Sonny stared wide-eyed at the woman in front of him.

Faith just smiled. “Perfect,” she said. And then she was gone, leaving Sonny to stand there.


*~*~*~*~*


Max couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Sonny Corinthos had betrayed Jason by feeding information to Faith. Information that had gotten the woman Jason loved more than life itself killed.

Max knew what he was going to have to do with this information. It was the right thing to do.


*~*~*~*~*


Jason had insisted on being allowed to see Jessica. Monica had been reluctant, but had finally allowed it. She knew Jason needed to do this – for closure. She offered the same to Lorenzo.

Jason stepped into the room. He could tell where all the activity had happened, but it was quiet now. No rushing doctors. No beeping machines. His beautiful, strong, and amazing love had not been able to win this fight. After everything she had gone through, a bullet took her from him in the worst possible way.

Jason walked to the bed. He needed to see her. To touch her one last time. To tell her how much he loved her. And how sorry he was that he couldn’t protect her like he had promised. The words were there. But the tears came first. He knew he was going to have to be strong for his daughter, but right now, as he looked down at Jessica, he couldn’t hold it back anymore. Sinking into a low stool, Jason took Jessica’s hand in his, put his head down on the bed and cried as his heart broke in two.


*~*~*~*~*


Carly and Monica were there for Jason when he came out of the room. Lorenzo was sure he had never seen the man look like that before – broken. Jason was guided to a chair where he sat and leaned forward with his head in his hands. His shoulders were visably shaking with his silent sobs.

Steeling himself up, Lorenzo went into the room. His eyes took in what Jason’s had. The stark white splattered here and there with his daughter’s blood. It took all of his will power to not bolt out of that room and find the person that did this. But he couldn’t. He needed to honor and respect his daughter. He needed to say goodbye. Vengeance would come later.

Standing by his daughter’s side, Lorenzo gently brushed his fingers down the side of her face, pushing away strands of her long, dark hair. Her skin was pale and already cool to the touch.

“I am so sorry,” Lorenzo whispered. “I am supposed to protect you from something like this. You were supposed to live a long and happy life. You were going to raise your daughter with Jason. The two of you were going to marry and build a life together . . . “ Lorenzo stopped a moment, the tears choking him so much he couldn’t continue on. Once he had regained his composure, Lorenzo let out a breath and then took her hand in his. “I love you Jessica. I always will. Your daughter will know what an amazing, beautiful and wonderful person you are. She will be told everyday.” Not able to continue on, Lorenzo leaned over and gently kissed his daughter on the forehead. Brushing his fingers through her hair one last time, Lorenzo turned and left the room with a heavy heart.




Epilogue



And two men were left. Two men who were never sure if they could ever truly trust each other; but they did have a common bond that they would share for life: a beautiful baby girl with light brown hair and emerald eyes that looked at them full of wonder and wisdom.

And the life force that created this exquisite creature and brought two men together who would never have otherwise associated civilly was lost to them forever. But each man knew that her spirit and love would live on in the angel she left behind.



The End!!















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