Disclaimer: I don't own General Hospital or any of its characters.
A Lost Life Recovered
Elizabeth smiled as she walked into the home she shared with her husband and children. It had been three years since she'd learned the truth about Jake being Jason. He thankfully never discovered the truth.
Elizabeth had married Jason, though he still went by Jake, almost two years ago. They were very happy. Jake had adopted her boys, as Lucky was never really around for them and finally relinquished his parental rights, and they even had a child of their own. An eighteen-month-old daughter named Alissa, though they called her Alli.
There were of course reminders of her husband's old life that made Elizabeth worry that the truth would come out. One was sitting on the couch with her son, Aiden, when she got home. Six-year-old Danny Morgan.
Eight-year-old Aiden turned as soon as he heard someone come in. "HI, Mommy."
"Hey, sweetie. Hi, Danny," Elizabeth said with a fake smile.
"Hi," Danny said without looking away from the movie he and Aiden were watching.
"Aiden, where is your father," Elizabeth asked.
"He's in the kitchen getting dinner ready," Aiden said.
Elizabeth immediately went into the kitchen. She found her husband by the stove stirring something in a pot while her daughter was in her high chair a few feet away. "Jake?"
Jake turned to his wife. "Hey. I hope pasta's okay for tonight. It's already halfway done so it kinda has to be."
"It's fine. So I guess Danny's having dinner with us?" Elizabeth asked.
"Actually, he's going to be spending a couple of days with us. Sam was in a bind. She had to go out of town quickly for a job," Jake said.
"Shouldn't you have talked to me about having an extra kid for the weekend before you brought him here?" Elizabeth asked.
"I told you it was last minute. I didn't think it would be a big deal," Jake said. Actually, that wasn't really true. He knew very well that Elizabeth had some kind of issue with his relationship with Danny, as well as his close friendship with the boy's mother. He didn't get why though. Elizabeth would always wave it off like he was losing his mind, but he knew there was an issue.
"It's not really, but I should've at least been consulted," Elizabeth lied. It was a problem. Every time Danny and Sam came around there was a problem. She could see that they both mattered to Jake. He had a connection to them and it scared her that he would remember that they were his family one day while he was with them and he would leave her.
"Uncle Jake," A small voice called from the doorway.
Jake turned and smiled at Danny. He loved when the boy called him that. He'd been calling him that since he was about three and a half. He didn't even need any prompting for it. The little boy just started calling him that one day while he was over talking with Sam. It had shocked both adults, but they were both okay with it. "Yeah, Danny."
"Can I have some juice?" Danny asked.
"Sure, buddy. Elizabeth, would you stir the sauce?" Jake asked before going to the fridge and taking out a bottle of apple juice. It was Danny's favorite. Actually, it was the only kind the boy would drink.
Jake went over and grabbed two cups. He knew that Aiden would want some too."
"Where's Cam?" Elizabeth asked as she stirred the sauce.
"Patrick's. He's studying with Emma. He's gonna eat there and then Patrick will drop him off," Jake said as he poured the two glasses of juice.
Just then Aiden appeared next to Danny in the doorway. "Daddy, I want juice too."
Jake chuckled and came over with the two cups. "I figured. Here you go. Be careful not to spill please."
Both boys nodded and took their juice before going back to the living room.
"So when is Sam gonna be back?" Elizabeth asked, wondering how long she'd be on eggshells.
"Sometime Monday," Jake said as he took over for Elizabeth at the stove.
"How come Alexis and Julian aren't watching Danny?" Elizabeth asked.
Jake sighed in exasperation before turning to his wife. "Why do you have such a problem with Danny?"
"I don't have a problem with him. It was just a question," Elizabeth said.
"Yes, you do. Every time I agree to watch Danny or meet with Sam, you get upset," Jake said.
"You're being crazy again," Elizabeth said.
"I'm not an idiot, Elizabeth. I see how tense you are around both Danny and Sam. I can get Sam to a certain degree. I know you had your issues over Jason and your son, Jake, but why Danny. That all has nothing to do with him," Jake said in as quiet a voice as possible, both so his daughter wouldn't pick up on her parents' tension and so Danny wouldn't accidently hear.
"Jake, please stop. I don't have a problem with Sam or Danny. Let's just drop it. I don't wanna fight," Elizabeth said.
Jake sighed. "Fine. You need to understand something though. Sam and Danny matter to me. I will not cut them out of my life and I will not tell Sam 'no' when she asks me to watch Danny. I love that little boy just as much as our children," he said firmly. He cared very much for Sam and Danny. He had a connection to both of them that he would probably never understand. At this point, he didn't feel he even needed to. They were important to him and he would never cut them out of his life.
"I'm gonna go change," Elizabeth said before leaving the room.
