Note: Please read the Author's Note at the end. Thank you so much!

Heat 10

"Thank you; you're free to go."

The officer turned around, finished with procedure, and didn't even take a second glance at the foursome as they trudged out into the main lobby of the PCPD. Alexis Davis-Lansing had finally dropped the charges on the renegade doctors and the mobster when it was clear that her daughter would make a full recovery – although everyone who saw Luke Spencer and Alan Quartermaine dropping in and out of her office knew there was more to it than that. In the meantime, Robert Scorpio had teamed up with his brother who had just declared an all-out manhunt for Manny Ruiz and named him as the main suspect in the shooting of Samantha McCall.

The main lobby of the PCPD had turned into a reception hall of sorts. Justus Ward was ironing out the last-minute details while Robert talked to Mac. Anna stood with her arm around Robin's shoulder as they waited for Patrick to collect his personal effects and hopefully join them. Stanford Johnson lurked behind Luke and Lulu, who were waiting next to Audrey and a squirming Cameron.

Patrick was the first to emerge, and his tired features stretched into a weary grin when he saw Robin waiting for him outside. The doctor smiled and left her mother, walking forward to meet him. She handed him a light windbreaker and a cup of fresh coffee, slightly surprised when Patrick ignored her offerings and instead pulled her up for a lingering kiss.

Anna snickered, elbowing her ex-husband in the gut when Robert groaned aloud and rolled his eyes. "I can see why you like him so much, Robert. Very…affectionate young man, is he not?"

The young couple had heard him, and Robin turned around to glare playfully at her mother, her arms still around Patrick's waist. The doctor laughed to himself, wrapping one arm around his girlfriend's narrow shoulders and shuffling forward for the obligatory meet-the-parents session.

"Patrick Drake," he introduced himself, sticking his hand out and shaking Anna's lightly. "Renegade doctor."

"Anna Devane," she responded smoothly, her dark eyes twinkling as she took in the sight of the young man her daughter had fallen for. "Femme fatale."

"Not bad," the doctor allowed with a smirk. "Sounds like we both have quite the résumé." His dark eyes flickered over to Robin's father and Patrick nodded tersely. "…Robert."

"Patrick," the older man replied in an uncharacteristically chipper voice. "Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your release. I'd be more than happy to provide a lift home for you. Of course, I have a few stops to make, one of them being Sing-Sing and the other a Zen monastery-"

"Ha ha, Dad," Robin deadpanned, glaring at her father. "No."

The agent grumbled under his breath and stuffed his hands into his pockets, frowning at the young couple and noticing that their bodies were still intertwined. "Oh, for heaven's sake, must you always be touching each other?"

"Dad!"

"Come now, Robert," Anna cajoled, looping her arm through her ex-husband's and winking at her daughter. "You remember how it is, don't you? I mean, I know it's been centuries, darling, but do try to remember."

Robert growled but allowed himself to be pushed out toward the main entrance as Robin and Patrick followed. The young couple glanced back at their colleagues and Jason, but Epiphany waved them on as she collected her effects. With a smile, Patrick tipped his head at the matronly nurse and moved to follow his girlfriend, but not before casting one last lingering look at Elizabeth. She hadn't spoken to anyone since Manny's visit the night before, and he was very worried about whatever was in that envelope that had upset her so. But seeing as there was nothing he could do about it, the young man simply wrapped an arm around Robin's small waist and trudged out of the PCPD.

Epiphany treated the young clerk at the desk with a scathing glare when he handed her a plastic bag containing her cell phone and wallet, along with a few other trinkets. With a sigh, she pulled the items out of the bag and tossed it away, quickly slipping her pager back into its place at her hip.

Glancing around the PCPD, she met the twinkling eyes of Luke Spencer, the town's resident Peter Pan, and smirked back. Justus smiled her way as he finished signing a few documents and motioned with his hand that she was entirely free to go.

The nurse let out a deep breath and glanced at the clock, thinking that she had enough time to go home, shower, sleep until morning, and be ready to cover her shift in the morning. She was about to make her way toward the door that Patrick and Robin had just disappeared through when a young man stepped into her path.

Epiphany blinked, recognizing one of her son's signature Hawaiian shirts. Honestly, he had been such a smart child and yet as a man, he actually thought the style made him look hip.

"Hi, Mom."

She tilted her chin up. "Stanford." Her son had the good sense to shuffle his feet awkwardly, and Epiphany could hear Jason Morgan speaking with an officer behind her. Reluctantly, she glanced at the mobster and then swung her gaze back to her son. "I…know that you two have some things to talk about, so I'll-"

"Actually, no," Stanford interjected, not even looking at his employer as he pulled his hands out from behind his back, playing with one of her favorite warm shawls. "I came to take you home, Ma."

Epiphany glanced back at Jason, who watched them blandly as an officer handed him his belongings. Hesitantly, she reached for the shawl that Stanford held, but her son was quicker. Stepping forward, he reached around and draped the shawl over her shoulders, letting her hold it together.

Quirking her a weak half-grin, the young man placed his hand on her arm and gently guided his mother toward the main entrance of the PCPD. "Come on, Mom. You had a rough few days. Let's go home and I'll make you dinner."

"When did you learn to cook?" Epiphany groused good-naturedly. "Boy, I ain't eatin' no cold cereal with marshmallows."

Audrey smiled when Stanford chuckled and watched as the two disappeared from view. She shifted Cameron on her hip, jiggling the little boy as he tried to chew on a lock of her short silver-blonde hair. The senior nurse's anxious blue eyes finally landed on her granddaughter as Elizabeth silently took her personal effects without even making eye contact with the officer.

Inwardly, Audrey mused that it was strange that Lucky hadn't shown up to meet his wife, but she was at least grateful that Elizabeth's in-laws had. Pushing the troubling thoughts aside, she beamed brightly at her granddaughter as she approached.

"Hey, Daughter-In-Law," Luke grinned, reaching forward and pulling the young nurse into a bear hug. "Boy, are we glad to see you."

Lulu joined in, wrapping her arms around her father and sister and resting her head on Elizabeth's shoulder. "See? I told you that we'd get you sprung as soon as we could, Liz. Now you can just put this all behind you – Alexis will have to think twice before she messes with the GH staff again."

"This was a bit of a PR nightmare for her," Luke agreed, moving aside as Audrey and Cameron stepped up. "Hey, kiddo, your jailbird mom's out – aren't you proud?"

The little boy gurgled happily, eagerly reaching his pudgy arms out to his mother. Elizabeth's somber eyes softened, and Jason watched from afar as she grabbed her son by the waist and gratefully pulled him into her arms. The child rested his head just under her chin, already fisting a loose lock of her thick chestnut hair with full intent to chew away when no one was looking.

Elizabeth sighed, smoothing a hand up and down over his soft Red Sox t-shirt, closing her eyes as she rested her cheek against his soft, downy hair. The baby remained quiet, as if knowing that what his mother needed most at the moment was to just hold him safely in her arms.

Luke idly brushed Cameron's fist away from his mouth when the little boy attempted to start gumming his fingers and his mother's hair, quirking a half-grin at the child. "Ready to go, darlin'? The PCPD's nice and all, but only to visit and give Mac hell – I sure wouldn't wanna live here."

Lulu was grinning at her dad when Elizabeth turned to Audrey. "Gram?" she asked quietly, adjusting Cameron over her shoulder as Jason tried his best to watch discreetly. "Is it okay if…Cam and I stay with you tonight?"

The request surprised both Audrey and the Spencers, but the older woman quickly managed to hide it and nodded emphatically. "Certainly, darling, whatever you want. My car's waiting outside – let's go, shall we? I don't like being in this building any longer than necessary."

She glanced over as an officer dragged a young man in handcuffs over to Mac's desk and forced him to sit down before cuffing him to the table, and Audrey crinkled her nose with discomfort. "One always meets such strange, unsavory characters here. Come, darling."

Elizabeth chuckled dryly to herself, holding her son tightly against her chest and following her grandmother out of the PCPD as a stunned Luke and a somber Jason looked on.

A photogenic Asian anchorwoman's voice echoed in the quiet main room of Jake's and Elizabeth played with her half-full bottle of tequila as she listened to the latest reports on the ongoing manhunt for one Manny Ruiz. The escaped convict still hadn't been found but was leading the authorities in a crazy game of cat and mouse through the small town of Port Charles and a few neighboring areas.

Elizabeth shook her head, wincing slightly as she tried to drown out the serious but melodic voice. There were times when she wanted nothing more than for Manny to disappear and never come back. There were times when she wanted nothing more than to turn on the television and see that the authorities had come across his mangled and bloated body at the bottom of the harbor.

And there were other times when she allowed herself to selfishly indulge the slight gratitude she held for the convict. Like when she and Cameron had arrived back at the apartment after a long day at the hospital and she heard scuffling in the hallway. She had left the baby in his crib and stepped outside her door, peeking around the corner in time to see a dark figure slip out of sight. A neighbor, hearing the commotion, had called the police and Taggert had come down to find a young man with a snake tattoo on his wrist bound and gagged in the facility closet. After that, Elizabeth had wanted to track Manny down and hug him…almost.

She had no idea where Manny was, but she knew he was close. He'd drift in and out of town, but she knew he was always lingering close by. Part of her was extremely uncomfortable with that knowledge; the other part felt surprisingly safe. The police and Jason's organization had been unable to track him down, but Manny certainly had been able to track down the men that came after her and her son and did away with them.

And no matter where the escaped convict was, the letters kept on coming. The first one that she had received in the jail cell was a copy of a note from Escobar, the head of the new organization that had recently arrived in town. It was a death proclamation; just a simple hand-scrawled note to his enforcer telling him that Officer Lucky Spencer had been a former client of their drug cartel and had betrayed them by setting up his dealer on a drug bust orchestrated by himself and a few of PCPD's finest. The confiscated drugs had since disappeared from the evidence room, and Escobar wouldn't stand for it.

The picture that had accompanied it was more damning than the note itself, and harder to dismiss. It was a grainy surveillance shot of her husband sitting on the floor of an alley leading out to the docks, shooting up. Manny's handwriting was on the back, detailing the date and time. He had even drawn a little sad-face with hair and no nose.

The letters kept coming. There were more pictures of Lucky with his needles, some of them taken in their own apartment. She had confronted her husband after the first photo that Manny had delivered personally in the jail cell, and moved out for a week. He owned up to his offense and promised her that he would change. She thought he had – his mood was less erratic and he seemed happier in general.

But then Manny opened her eyes once more. More pictures, more damning evidence. And this morning, the straw that broke the camel's back was concealed inside a slim, inconspicuous mailer and left in her mailbox at the hospital. This time, there was no going back. She had been so blind, not only for the past few weeks, but for the past few years. And help came from the strangest places, as she had discovered: a convicted felon on the run was not only saving her life time after time, but he was also saving her from her own compassionate, loving nature that had often proved to be her own downfall in the past.

Elizabeth chuckled humorlessly to herself and then downed her next shot, wincing as the bitter liquid burned its way down her throat. The lime rind was soon tossed into a rapidly filling dish, and she went back to staring at her bottle.

So absorbed was she in reading the fine print that refused to stay still long enough for her to comprehend it that the brunette didn't even notice Jake's only other patron as he stumbled into the dark bar.

Coleman looked up from the other end of the counter where he was polishing glasses and listening to the news, and the bartender tipped his head at Jason Morgan. He expected the man to order a few beers and retreat straight to the little booth in the back that he always used, and was mildly surprised when the mobster remained lingering by the counter, his eyes fixed on one tipsy little wisp of a brunette.

Silently, Coleman slid Jason a beer and made himself scarce. The enforcer nodded in appreciation and slowly lumbered over to where Elizabeth was sitting. She looked up in surprise when she felt the tremors from his footsteps resonate in the stool she was sitting on, and Jason didn't know what to say when she turned and stared up at him with open, hazy sapphire orbs.

Licking his lips, he slid down on to the stool one away from hers. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," she sighed, her voice strangely husky. "We seem to keep running into each other, don't we?"

He ducked his head, nodding once. "I've never seen you at Jake's before. I mean…recently."

The brunette shrugged, lifting one shoulder lazily. "I needed to get out. I needed some time to myself. But more importantly…" She brandished her bottle of tequila, lifting it up in a mock salute. "…I needed a drink."

"I didn't know you liked tequila," he said quietly, taking a long pull of his drink.

"I don't," came the honest reply as she filled up her shot glass and reached for another slice of lime. "But it gets the job done."

"And what job is that?"

Elizabeth turned to face him, her face partly obscured by a curtain of wild, tousled chocolate hair. "It makes me forget." She studied him carefully, noticing how quickly he had downed his beer. "Looks like you're here to forget, too."

Jason stared down at his half-full bottle, watching with distant fascination as his grip around it tightened, cutting off circulation to his knuckles. "Yeah. I am."

The brunette let out a slow breath through her nude, plush lips and rolled the bottle of tequila back and forth between her hands, looking up from the sloshing amber liquid to her friend. "Okay. On three, all right?"

"On three, what?"

She turned on the stool, nimbly crossing her legs while doing her best not to fall off the damn thing. "On three, you say what's wrong with you and I'll say what's wrong with me."

Jason remained silent but nodded, finishing off the last of his beer and grabbing another from behind the counter where Coleman had left a few for him.

Elizabeth nodded back, feeling slightly dizzy but beyond caring. "Okay. One…two…three. Manny sent me pictures of Lucky sleeping with Maxie on our bed."

"I walked in on Sam having sex with Ric."

Her eyes widened, and Elizabeth's expression of surprise mirrored Jason's exactly. Sweeping her hair out of her face with a trembling hand, she smacked her lips and attempted to outdo him. "He sent me a copy of a medical document, too – turns out, Maxie's pregnant."

Jason met her gaze openly, his eyes blank and surprisingly placid as he turned on his stool to face her completely. "I got a copy of a medical document, too. Turns out…Alexis met Alan Quartermaine twenty-six years ago when she first came to America. Sam's my half-sister."

The End.

Author's Note: Thus concludes my attempt at the What's In A Name Write By Request challenge hosted by Jeweltones. I was given her prompt, Heat.

I realize that the ending for this story was abrupt, but I warned you of my postmodernist tendencies in the beginning. Was the paternity reveal a bit unnecessary? Perhaps. Was it ridiculously hilarious to me? Definitely.

I want to thank you readers who have replied to this story and I apologize if I am in any way disappointing you with this abrupt and uncomfortable ending. I know there are tons of little plot bunnies and secrets and loose ends that could possibly extend the ending of this tale, but I was not interested in following those through when I started this story.

This story was meant to be contained mostly within two small jail cells and to chronicle a few crucial conversations, and I feel as if I have done that to my own satisfaction.

What happens next, after the "The End", is up to all of you. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement.