GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE

"Get him to O.R. Two, stat," Dr. Monica Quartermaine shouted. Zander had just been brought into the the ER with multiple gunshot wounds and a barely registering pulse.

Elizabeth came rushing through the swinging metal doors, demanding to know Zander's whereabouts. Ric came in behind her and tried to calm her down. "Sweetheart, you don't want to put stress on the baby."

"I'll calm down when I know Zander's all right." Elizabeth paced the waiting room, replaying the events of the past hour. Everything had happened so fast. One minute she was on the docks talking to Ric and the next Zander was throwing himself at her as gunshots rang out. He had saved her life. She looked at her husband and wondered if he had anything to do with this. Ric knew the baby was Zander's. Maybe he had set something up to take Zander out of the picture. "Did you have anything to do with this, Ric?"

He stared at her in shock. "Why would you think that? No, wait. Scratch that. I know why. I've given you plenty of reasons to doubt me. No, I didn't have anything to do with what happened tonight. I may not like Zander very much, but I had no reason to want him dead."

Elizabeth listened to his words and wanted to believe him. She looked into his eyes and saw sincerity. "Okay. I believe you. Then what happened tonight? Was someone trying to kill me? Zander obviously knew what was going to happen. He practically knocked me down to protect me. He has to be okay. He just has to." She clung to her husband and cried.

An hour later Emily walked into the waiting room. Ric and Elizabeth had been ushered up to the the sixth floor so they could wait for Zander to get out of surgery. "Liz?"

Elizabeth looked up. Her eyes were red and puffy. "Em," she choked out. The two friends embraced. "He saved my life, Em."

Emily pulled back and wiped away the fresh tears from Elizabeth's cheeks. "Have you heard anything yet?"

"Not much. A nurse came out a little while ago and told us it could be a few more hours. I don't want to leave, though. I have to know he's gonna be okay."

"Yeah. I'll wait with you." Emily looked down at her feet and Elizabeth noticed her nervousness.

"Em, what is it?"

Emily looked into Elizabeth's eyes and then looked away quickly. "I think this might be my fault."

"What? How could this possibly be your fault?"

"Please don't hate me. I told Zander about the baby."

"You what? Em, why would you do that? You had no right!"

"I know. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't take it anymore. He had to know the truth. He needed something to make him want to turn his life around."

Elizabeth had tried to tell Zander so many times before, but could never get the words out. Part of it was because she was afraid he would take it badly. She didn't want him to feel worse about himself. "How did he take the news."

"He wondered why you hadn't told him."

Elizabeth laughed. "What did you say?"

"That you were worried about his reaction. But he was calm, Liz. I could see the change come over him, just like I predicted. He realized in that moment that he needed to be someone his child could be proud of. He told me that. He said he was going to tell Faith he couldn't work for her anymore."

Ric perked up. "It was Faith! She did this! This is so her M.O.. I'm gonna take care of this right now." He touched Elizabeth's cheek. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah. You have to stop her." She kissed her husband goodbye then turned back to Emily. "So Zander must have known what Faith was up to. He came after me to warn me. Oh, God, Em!"

"I'm so sorry, Liz."

"He has to be okay."

***

Zander lay motionless in ICU. There wasn't much that could be done for him. The bullets had all hit vital organs and his blood loss was severe. If he ever regained consciousness there was sure to be some sort of brain damage. One of the bullets was also lodged in his spine and the doctors had been unable to remove it. Paralysis was a given.

Elizabeth entered the room and gasped at the sight before her. The friend she had known, who was always so full of life and laughter looked so pale and still. She would have thought he was dead if not for the machines registering his heartbeat. "Hey, Zander," she whispered. She was afraid to touch him so she just sat on the stool by his bed. "I'm not sure what happened tonight, but I know that you saved my life and our baby's life. Thank you for that."

Zander could make out Elizabeth's voice. It sounded like she was far away, but he knew it was her. He tried to focus on her words and slowly he could feel himself getting closer. He made a small sound, which made her jump. "Zander?"

Emily watched from the doorway and held her breath. Zander's eyelashes fluttered. She gripped the wall for support.

Zander slowly opened his eyes and saw Elizabeth. She was all right. He smiled. He had been so worried after he had told Faith he was leaving the business. She hadn't taken the news well. She had threatened him. He had tried to appeal to her humanity, telling her that he was going to be a father and that he needed to go legit. She had gotten the truth out of him about the mother, which had made her even angrier. She had gone off on some tangent about all her men leaving her for "that whimpy waitress". Remembering that Elizabeth had mentioned Faith trying to kill her in the past, he had begged Faith to leave her alone. She had just given him one of her evil grins and walked off. Zander went in search of Elizabeth immediately. He had found her and Ric on the docks. Two seconds later he had spotted Faith pulling a gun from her purse. He had thrown himself at Elizabeth without a second thought.

"You're here," he rasped.

"Thanks to you." Elizabeth beamed. She touched his face as tears of joy slipped down her cheeks.

"The baby?"

"The baby's okay, Zander. We're both okay. We just need you to be okay, too."

Zander nodded. "Don't worry about me. I'm gonna be just fine."

Emily watched the scene and smiled. He was awake. She wanted so badly to be the one at his side, but she had to stay away. Her plan with Nikolas was working. When the cancer came back--and she knew it would--Zander would be free to go on with his life. She walked off to get a nurse and ran into Cameron. "He's awake," was all she managed to say before Cameron took off toward's Zander's room. She went home, knowing that she was leaving Zander in good hands.

***

"You had me so worried, Zander." Elizabeth held his hand.

"Aww, don't. You have to be strong for the baby. I know you'll be a great mom. He or she is gonna be a lucky kid."

"Well, he or she has a great father, too."

"Yeah, hopefully Ric will be a good influence."

"I meant you, Zander." She took his hand and held it to her rounding belly. He felt a tiny flutter. He just stared at her in awe until tears blurred his vision. He blinked a few times and then looked at his hand, hoping the movement would happen again.

"You do want to be part of your child's life, don't you?"

Zander felt dizzy. "I want that, Elizabeth. I really do, but--" He closed his eyes and his breathing became more labored.

"Zander?" Elizabeth started to panic.

"Alexander?" Cameron burst through the door with a smile. Suddenly the monitors went crazy and Zander started to shake and Elizabeth jumped back. Cameron pressed the call button and grabbed his son's arms to hold him still. "Hang on, Alexander. Help is on the way."

A couple of nurse's ran in with a crash cart and shooed Cameron and Elizabeth away so they could work on Zander. A few minutes later all was quiet. The nurses came out and told Cameron he could go in. He looked at his son and remembered the last time he had seen him asleep in a hospital bed. It had been right after his overdose. He silently cursed himself for not being a stronger person, for allowing his guilt to consume him, for blaming his young son for everything that had gone wrong in his llife. "I'm so sorry, Alexander. You deserved so much better than me." He sat on the stool and held Zander's hand.

"I forgive you," Zander whispered.

Cameron's eyes widened. He stared at his son, wondering if he had heard correctly.

Zander opened his eyes and looked at his father. "Peter forgives you, too."

"What?"

"He's here, Dad. Right behind you. He looks so happy. I've never seen him so happy." Zander smiled.

Cameron turned around, hoping against hope that he could see what Zander saw. But there was nothing there but the machines that told him his younger son was still alive. He looked at Zander again, who continued to stare past him, smiling at some hallucination. He touched his cheek, hoping to get his attention. "Alexander, I want you to know something." Zander looked at him and seemed cognizant. "You are a good person. I never meant those horrible things I said to you."

"I know that, Dad."

"I just want to be clear. I love you, Alexander. I love you. Please know that."

"I do. Peter told me."

Cameron shook his head. "Son. Peter is dead, remember? He died six years ago."

Zander smiled wider. "I know. He's here to take me home."

Cameron felt the blood drain from his face. "No," he whispered and watched helplessly as Zander closed his eyes again. "No!" He turned to look at the monitors and whimpered. The numbers were dropping. Zander was dying. The monitor beeped a warning and then wailed as the green line went flat. Once again a rescue team entered the room, but it was no use. Zander was gone.

Elizabeth sobbed openly as she watched Cameron say goodbye to his son. She turned away and called Emily, somehow managing to break the news. After they cried together, Elizabeth hung up and went to Cameron's side. She looked at Zander. He had an almost peaceful expression on his face. If she didn't know better, she would think he was sleeping. "Goodnight, Zander," she whispered and bent down to press a kiss to his forehead, before rubbing her nose against his. He had always been so affectionate. She wished things had been different between them, that they could have been enough for each other. She turned to Cameron and held out her hand to him. He took it and let her pull him into a much needed hug. They stood there together, staring at Zander until the orderly came to take his body to the morgue.

"I don't know what to do, Elizabeth. I feel like I've forgotten how to function. I don't even think I can walk."

"I have some news that might help." She took a deep breath. "You're going to be a grandfather."


The End.

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