Title: Promise of a Lifetime

Chapter: 6

Rated: M for Mature situations like sex and cursing my two favorites

Date Posted: 10/20/2010

Authors Notes: Holy crappola…I just reread chapter 5 and I can't believe I left it there. It's SO SAD! These two are just stubborn, ornery buttheads. Things start to change toward the end of this chapter but…is it for the better?

Disclaimer: I own a new couch and a new recliner. That's about all you'll get though. Any character from GH is property of GH, ABC and Disney. Thanks for letting me borrow them. Please don't sue, I like my new furniture. :-)

Chapter 6

It was month end and Jason was coming to the Treasure Island store to do the books. Maxie had been a nervous wreck all day long and had changed her clothes and restyled her hair at least three times. All the signs that she still had it bad for the man were glaringly obvious to the store's manager. Sofia would laugh at her each time she changed. She was like a high school girl getting ready for her first date.

"He likes when I'm in skirts" she would say and go change into an incredibly sexy pair of tight pants. "He likes my hair down" and she would use a few clips and her hair would be up and wisping around her face, again looking anything but dull. In the end, Sofia figured she simply gave in to the temptation to make the man's eyeballs pop out of his head when he walked in the door.

Sofia, a woman in her late fifties who had finally won and kept the job as her store manager, kept her mouth shut. She knew from experience and from Brittany's advice to stay out of the Maxie and Jason debacle. Everyone now called it a debacle because the two had effectively and stubbornly put their whole family's lives on a permanent hold. Neither would move on and neither would give in. It was a horrendous stalemate of hearts.

The handful of times Sofia had met Jason, she could see in the younger man's eyes that he was dying from the inside out. Maxie on the other hand was literally killing herself. She was working herself to death and fighting a serious eating disorder at this point. She would eat horribly unhealthy but weight inducing foods to keep her friends from intervening but five double mocha latte's with extra caramel and whipped cream, fried cheese and ice cream was not what her body needed for nourishment.

The only times she ate healthy was when she had her boys. Sofia knew the signs from her own personal experiences. You eat healthy in front of people who will tell on you. Eating salads, chicken and whole grains in front of the boys kept her friends and Jason from hounding her about her diet. It was a horrible life choice but Sofia most of all knew that it was something that Maxie recognized as a problem and was the only person to correct it. And she'd seen that Maxie tried, she was just a complete emotional mess right now and until she worked through that, any kind of attention to the disorder from other people would be adverse. So the older woman watched in silence.

Sofia loved when the boys came to the store. She was a divorcee whose husband up and left her after he found a younger version. He duped her out of any of his earnings and she was the typical story of the rich woman who knew nothing of their finances, shopped all day, hosted charities, had tea with other country club women and woke up one morning with nothing. They never had children so she didn't even have their support to fall back on. Her husband had duped her into signing an iron clad prenup and she was broke and left with her Jaguar, their beach condo and a small savings account. This job paid her other bills and allowed her to also keep wearing the designer clothes she loved but at a discount.

For Maxie, she had the benefit of a woman who knew how to shop, had a keen eye for fashion and knew a lot of the women with money in that town. At first she felt sorry for the older woman because it seemed as if her "friends" would come in to the store just to see the woman working for a living now as if that was demeaning but their sales continued and even climbed because of it. Sofia took all of it in stride and actually confided after a while that she hadn't known what she was missing but her self worth and a job that made her feel needed and useful was making her happier than she'd been her whole life.

The woman had a good sense of fashion and was capable of following instruction so that was really all Sofia needed to make Maxie happy. Maxie was there for her and of course so was Jason and Brittany were a phone call away if she had questions. She'd trained with Brittany for a few months. Maxie felt sorry for her and gave her the extra hours to earn more money. Finally, the manager she had at G2 quit because she couldn't deal with Maxie's over the top way of running her business. An argument over not selling the same jacket to two different women and Maxie's final response of 'Because I'm the owner and I said so' caused the woman to quit. Maxie felt comfortable moving Sofia into the position with a nice raise, so now the woman was in charge.

"MAXIE" Jake shouted as he ran through the door, Cameron and Jason behind him. Sofia looked up and smiled at the two little boys' excitement to see their aunt.

"JAKE" she shouted back, quickly dropping the shoes she was holding and scooping down to lift the boy into a hug when he reached her.

"I get to be the goalie of my team" he yelled in her ear.

"You do? WOW the goalie, you're like the star then." She said as she lowered him to a standing position and leaned over to wrap one arm around Cameron and kiss his curly head.

"Yeah I'm the star and Precious is gonna be the team mascot. She has her own jersey and everything."

"They let dogs on the soccer field?" she looked up at Jason and he shrugged and gave her a half smile.

She noticed he was wearing the casual dark blue pants she had set aside for him at the other boutique with the soft blue button down Hugo Boss shirt she'd picked to go with it. His feet were casually covered with Casare Paciotti loafers. The ones she'd mentioned would go great with the clothes when she offered them to him. His hair had grown out a little longer. Its style reminded her of when he was on trial for killing Lorenzo Alcazar.

He checked his watch, a new one she didn't recognize, then walked toward the back where the office was. Not a 'hello', not a 'how are you?', nothing. She watched as he moved through the door and her jaw hung open for a few moments. This had been the norm for the past week or more and it was completely throwing Maxie into a tailspin.

"He didn't even say hello" she whispered but Sofia heard her.

"I thought that was the point, 'time for him to move on' is what you said to me just a few weeks ago after you bailed him out of jail." Sofia commented and then quickly called to the boys to come help her tag the new stuff that had come in from New York, immediately calling out to Cameron to ask if he was logged in to start entering the information into the computer.

It had been a month since their meltdown in the bar parking lot. They'd nearly had sex, nearly gotten back to that place where both of them wanted to be but she made the mistake of bringing everything else into that one moment. She should have just kept her big trap shut and made love to the man because at this point, she was nearly desperate for intimacy with a man.

Not just any man though, Jason.

She'd bailed him out of jail a few more times over the past month. He would get drunk and start fights but finally Jake and Cameron woke up crying because he wasn't home and the babysitter called Maxie because she hadn't heard from Jason. Maxie marched down to the police station and bailed him out for 'the last time'. He was a father and he damn well better start acting like it.

He couldn't argue with her so he just stopped going out to bars.

After one more date with Preston Adams it was Preston that told her that she wasn't the one for him. She was in love with someone else and no matter what he did, he would never compare to her true love. Maxie denied it, of course, but in the end, she knew he was right.

Now they were at a stalemate. Neither wanting to move on but neither giving in to their personal desires and goals to stay together.

The boys were doing better. Jake still clung to Maxie a lot and called her constantly. She taught him how to dial her number and now she would get calls at all hours, whenever Jake saw the phone, he'd pick it up and dial. He'd begged her to be Team Mom and she couldn't say no so then when Cameron asked, she said yes to him too. Cameron was really excelling in baseball and though they thought Jake would follow in his brother's footsteps, when it came time to sign up for t-ball, he saw some kids playing soccer and immediately fell in love with the game.

With the boys now in the fall and winter sports, Jason was kept quite busy as well. It was good for him. He HAD to stop wallowing in self pity and function for his boys. Maxie could only do so much with the two boutiques to run. She sponsored both teams and paid for uniforms that displayed her boutiques logo and was the team mom. She would send pizza when she couldn't show up for the games herself and make sure snacks and juice boxes were always there for practices. The past three weeks being incredibly busy since Jake was now in a sport too.

Jason and Maxie were cordial to each other and really put aside their own hurts and discomfort to be there for the boys. But up until the past two weeks, the tension could be cut with a knife and the misery written on both faces was obvious to everyone. However, in the past two weeks everything had changed.

Maxie still cried herself asleep at night and cried every time she saw him. She still dreamt of him and called the boys more often than she truly needed to just to hear his voice when she got home at night. It was unhealthy and each time she saw him or talked to him a little piece of her heart cracked more but she couldn't change it. She ached for him in the worst way.

Lately, she'd noticed that he was less inclined to hang around her or linger after a game or practice. Last weekend he called to say he had to work late so Billy was going to bring the boys to her condo for their weekend visit. Heck just last night, Cameron answered the phone and when they talked for a few minutes and she asked if Jason needed to talk to her about anything, Cameron had to go all the way to the garage to ask him and he said no.

She knew that he always stayed right there when the boys were on the phone with her and usually would be the one to end the call needing to discuss school, schedules, the boutiques' books or tell her he loves her and misses her.

Come to think of it, he hadn't even told her that in quite a while.

"I'll be back." Maxie grumbled and purposefully marched toward the office.

Sofia smiled. Her boss was getting a taste of what it would be like if Jason truly got over her. She knew he wasn't really over her. She would turn her head and his eyes would tell her the whole story. She'd never seen a man hold so much emotion and love for a woman in his eyes. But when Maxie was paying attention, he most certainly was acting like she didn't mean a thing. It was a game Sofia knew very well from life's experiences and from the looks of the way her boss had just picked her jaw off the floor then stomped to the office, Jason was most certainly winning.

.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~.

"I need to get these sketches that Benjamin Cho sent to me." Maxie harrumphed as she leaned over the desk in front of Jason giving him a nice view, first of her cleavage in the low cut Marco Zannini original she had finally settled on because it looked great with her Halston throwback mini skirt. She was in turquoise and black and her Tory Burch peep toe ankle boots with the five inch stiletto completed the ensemble to a tee.

Then just to make sure he got a great look, she leaned even further so that he got a nice long look at her ass in the tight mini and then once she pulled back, purposely dropped the faxed design sheets at her feet.

Jason, being a gentleman, leaned down and picked up the papers and straightened them up then handed them to her. "I'll be out of here in a minute. I decided I'd just put the books on this thumb drive and work from home. The boys are tired and pretty hungry."

"Oh well, if you want, I could order something in for all of us for dinner." She said quickly, disappointed that he hadn't even commented on how good she looked. Her hair was down and in big fat curls and she knew he'd love her outfit.

"Nah, I wouldn't want to put you out. We've got some left over lasagna that Denny made for us and Cameron has some science homework he needs to finish." He looked up at the monitor that showed the store register. "But if you need help, the boys can stay with you tomorrow night and come in to the boutique with you Saturday. Cam's game isn't until one and Jake's match is at four."

Jason purposely looked back down at the computer without glancing at Maxie. It was the toughest thing he had ever had to do. She looked so fucking hot and her shoes…God he wanted to have her, right there on the desk with her wearing nothing but those damn fucking shoes. Her hair and her perfume and her legs…he was getting hard just thinking about it and not looking at it.

It was all he could do to walk away from her in the showroom and not just throw her over his shoulder like a cave man and find the nearest flat surface out of earshot of the kids.

This He Who Cares The Least Wins game Dale Watson suggested was going to be the death of him. Two weeks ago, during their usual after work game of pool he explained to Dale that he'd been trying, he'd been holding out hope, he'd been making sure that Maxie knew how much he loved her, but that nothing he did was working. Dale listened, he pointed out how Jason wasn't exactly handling things the right way for his family by winding up in jail and leaving his kids overnight with a babysitter. He also pointed out that the true issue to their problem was still not resolved. But finally, he suggested a tried and true method that he'd even had to use on Mrs. Watson back when they were dating.

He said that if he just started acting like all is well and life goes on, stop with the roses and the phone calls and the professions of love, suddenly she'd take notice. He said that he should still stick to their routine but not hang around or have conversations with Maxie that weren't strictly about the boys or the boutique's books.

Jason took it a step further and started dressing a little more like she appreciated but not so obvious that she noticed he was purposefully doing it. He was using the gel in his hair and letting it grow out a bit like she likes it. He was wearing more shirts with color or different shoes. For some reason those were things that really made Maxie take notice. Honestly, he didn't mind. He had tons of clothes she'd hand picked for him over the years. Mostly she knew his goal was more comfort than style so any shoes or clothes she picked for him were always comfortable. Like the loafers he was wearing now. They were really nice shoes. Besides, over the years she'd managed to change him from a jeans, black t-shirt and motorcycle boots only kind of guy.

But he wouldn't tell Maxie that.

"Oh, yeah…I guess I could do that. I mean, I was just going to rent that new movie that's out and go over some of the client list to see what I need to prep for with cocktail dresses for the holiday season."

"Cool well, let me just download today's invoices and I'll be out of your hair."

"You're not in my hair." She said sharply and Jason had to bite his tongue to keep from cracking a smile. "I just…"

She stopped, she was ready to cry and she couldn't do that in front of him. It would get them nowhere and honestly, he seemed to be learning to live with the way things were now. She couldn't be upset at him for that when it's what she's been telling him to do for the past few months.

"Just what?" He couldn't help it. The game was killing him and he'd only been trying it out on her for the past week or so. It seemed to be working but something in her voice…he couldn't stand the sadness in her voice.

"I just thought we'd eat dinner. You know…it's Thursday and all and…"

"We haven't had our Thursday dinner in so long. Besides, we're too far from the restaurant and…" He interrupted.

She cut him off hoping he might be considering it or remembering or something to let her know he still cared and wanted her. "But there's a really great restaurant two blocks over that has been open for about a month. The food there is really good." She looked down at the papers in her hands. "At least that's what everyone is saying."

Knowing this was a good sign but realizing he still had a lot of work to do to get her back, he sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea. It would only confuse the boys and like I said, Cam's got homework so. Maybe a raincheck or something."

He looked up just in time to catch her chin quivering but she quickly jutted her chin out and steeled her emotions, hardening at his rejection. "That's fine and if the boys want to spend the night tomorrow night, you can drop them off whenever. Just call me and I'll make sure I'm home."

"Uh…Billy and I were going to go help with the roof on the American Legion after work but maybe Hannah would be willing to drive the boys out to the beach. She was planning to have them at the house while we worked anyway." Jason stood and gathered a few folders and the big bank book along with his keys. He moved around Maxie, quietly taking in her fragrance one more time before he left her and turned his head slightly to get one more look at her ass and then letting his eyes travel down her sun kissed legs to the sexiest shoes he'd ever seen. It was going to have to last him for a while and he knew he'd be dreaming of her in that outfit tonight and he wanted to make sure his subconscious had a clear picture.

"Oh, then I guess I'll just call Hannah. Maybe we can take the boys to a movie or dinner tomorrow night since you guys are going to be busy."

"I'm sure she'd like that." Jason said then pulled the office door open. "Call me if you need me."

Jason never stopped saying that. Never in a million years would he ever want her to think that if she needed him he wouldn't drop everything and come running. Regardless of this ruse and never mind that they were broken up, if she needed him, he'd be there.

He walked out to get the boys and had them shuffled out of the shop when he remembered he'd forgotten the thumb drive. Honestly, he didn't need it. He was able to access the computer and all of its information from his computer at home but it was an excuse to see Maxie again and he was going to take it.

Sending the boys to the car with his keys to get buckled in, he turned and headed to the office. Nearing the door he could hear her soft sobs through the wood. His hand stilled over the knob as he took in the devastation he could hear from the other side. Dying inside he kept his resolve and simply leaned his forehead on the door jamb and listened to the sounds of the woman he loved crying.

He knew she was crying because he was being so crass and cold to her. She was crying because she loved him. Something he never doubted. She was crying because she was dying inside just as badly as he was.

He knew her outfit and hair today was specifically for his pleasure. He knew that leaning over the desk was to get his attention. He knew that she wasn't eating or was eating but not healthy. He could see the dark circles she covered up with makeup that showed she wasn't sleeping well. He caught her more times than not at the practices and the games using the words "we" and "our" and "mine" when talking to other parents about the boys and himself. He knew that the man she had a date with was the only man she's even attempted to have a date with and never went out with him again after that one night.

And he felt guilty that the woman he loved was on the other side of the door crying because he was playing games. The same fucking games that he hated all his life when women played them on him. The same fucking type games he used to warn Maxie would be their undoing. Now here he was perpetrating this lie when he could just open the door and tell her he loves her and wants her and…

"Jason, I know this is hard on you and it's hard on her" Sofia placed her old, worn hand on his forearm and pulled his fingers off of the door handle that he had such a tight grip on she was sure the steel was about to buckle in his hand. "But it's working dear boy. She just needs a little more time and a few more days of this. What you're doing, it's working."

Jason closed his eyes, failing to hold back the tear that leaked out and was rolling down his cheek. He allowed the older woman to pull him away from the door and once he couldn't hear Maxie's sobs anymore he turned and without a word, walked out of the building.

Sofia watched Jason walk away and sent a silent prayer that these two lost souls would find their way back to each other. Soon.

.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~.

The ball field was packed. It was a beautiful sunny day and with the fall came more comfortable climates. Maxie was thrilled to be able to try out her new collection of fall clothes she'd purchased when she took her brief trip to Paris to check out a few of the new designers lines. She smoothed her hand over her crisp hunter green capri's and looked down, checking to make sure the white wrap around blouse she paired it with didn't have anything on it.

She and the boys had a great night and they helped her at the store that morning. They played a game of I Spy on their way to the pizza place and then both boys regaled her with their current school studies while she ate a veggie calzone and the boys devoured a double pepperoni pizza. Everything always seemed so perfect when she had the boys with her to distract her.

As she finished inspecting her outfit, she bent down to wipe off the dirt on her white leather ballet flats and then tugged the matching white Anne Klein bag. Finally considering herself ready, she quickly glossed her lips and tossed the tube into her bag that also held her phone, a bottle of water, her keys and her wallet and organizer.

"Hey" Jason startled her as he came up behind her carrying a cooler and two duffle bags.

"OH" she nearly lost her balance on the edge of the sidewalk and the grass separating the parking lot from the community park.

"Woah" Jason said, immediately dropping the bags and cooler to grasp her arms, silently humored by the fact that Maxie was less stable on her feet when not in high heels.

His hands stung her and her breath caught in her throat when she realized it was the first time he'd touched her in weeks. He loosened his grip but took longer than necessary to let go, lightly stroking the insides of her bare arms with both of his thumbs.

"Daddy" Jacob yelled once he spotted his father standing with Maxie.

He ran from the playground where both boys shot out of the car to when they pulled into the parking lot. He jumped up, as he tended to do, and Jason had no choice but to let go of Maxie and move far enough away so that Jake didn't wind up kicking her in the process.

"Hey buddy" he smiled as he caught his son and scooped him up into his arms. "Did you have fun with Maxie?"

"I did. We watched all the Ninja Turtle movies and ate pizza and made chocolate covered bananas. Maxie has this new thing that makes popcorn without a microwave and then...then we had to give Prince a bath."

"You gave Prince a bath?" He interrupted as he turned his son so they both were facing Maxie. "Prince didn't go to the doggie salon?"

Maxie rolled her eyes and popped her hand onto her hip and attempted her best stern face. "Do you want to tell him WHY Prince had to have a bath Jacob Martin or should I?"

Jake's bottom lip immediately poked out and his chin hit his chest.

"What happened to Prince?" Jason asked, his curiosity now piqued.

"Well, I kinda thought...you know how you put that stuff that looks like salad dressing on Popeye where he bites his butt?"

"Yes, the stuff for his skin allergy that the vet gives us." Jason responded.

"Well Prince was biting his butt like that and I figured that the salad dressing Maxie had for her salad would work too so I kind of put it on her."

Jason laughed, "Jake, it's not really salad dressing and you know the doctor prescribed it for Popeye."

"Oh, he hasn't told you all of it." Maxie said, "Go on Jake"

"Okay now this part wasn't my fault, cause I can't really read a lot of words and Cam wouldn't help me and..."

"Quit stalling" she said and poked him in the arm with her fingernail.

"I really DID think it said powder Maxie" Jake defended himself to her.

"Jake, puh-puh-powder and fah-fah-flour don't even start with the same letters and you know your letters just fine. I still don't accept that excuse and you still owe me two more garbage days at the shop AND my condo."

"Wait...I thought we were talking about salad dressing?" Jason asked, clearly confused.

"Ummm..." Jake started

"Daddy, did Maxie tell you about Jake putting oil all over Prince and then putting a bunch of flour on him too. He was like a Pinata dog. You know like the paper machete we made of the planets for my science project where we used different sized balloons and then once it dried we popped them?" Cameron interjected as he ran up to his family, effectively spilling the beans on Jacobs little prank.

"Oh so THAT'S where you got that idea." Maxie remarked.

"NO IT'S NOT, I THOUGHT PRINCE HAD ALERGIES." Jake screamed at his brother and then pushed his way out of his father's arms and went to leave.

Jason caught the boy by the shirt and turned him back around. "Jake why would you do that to Prince, especially without asking Maxie first? You know you aren't allowed to do things like that without asking."

"I know" Jake pouted.

"So why did you do it?" Jason asked in a calm but firm tone.

"Because I wanted to."

"Well that's not a good enough answer so whatever punishment Maxie has given you, it goes for our house too."

"I gotta take the trash out three times at our house too? THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Jake stomped.

"Ha, you big dummy. Now you got even more punishment." Cameron laughed.

"And now that you just called your brother a mean name, YOU will have to clear the table for the whole week." Jason admonished.

"Wait...I don't want the boys to get in more trouble. It wasn't that bad Jason and Jake said he was sorry and agreed to take the trash out as his punishment. I don't think it's fair to add more." Maxie defended "And Cameron didn't call Jake such a bad name, I think if he says he's sorry and promises not to do it again, that should suffice."

Both boys looked up with pleading eyes at their father. Jason stood there, stone faced but then Maxie's own pleading eyes were his downfall.

"Fine but Jacob, if you ever do that again, right now in front of Maxie I'm telling you that I'm the one that punishes you. And something as easy as taking out the trash, which is already one of your chores by the way, will NOT be your punishment." Jason stated firmly and then turned to his oldest son "And YOU, I am tired of telling you to stop calling Jake names. If you can't stop then a serious punishment will be a daily occurrence for you. Do you two understand?"

"Yes sir" both boys said.

"Well now that that's settled, lets go watch Cameron hit a bunch of home runs and win the game and then watch Jake stop every soccer ball that comes his way and shut out his opponent." Maxie announced turning to walk toward the fields.

"Uh...I'm not finished." Jason announced, effectively stopping Maxie in her tracks.

She turned around and was surprised to see the stern, stone face reflecting at her. "I expect you to stop thinking everything these boys do is so cute and start seriously punishing the boys when they misbehave" before she could protest he continued, holding up a hand, palm out, to silence her "I know that you don't get to spend as much time as you want to with them but you have been spoiling them a lot lately and they've become worse and worse. You've always left me to be the heavy with these two but you've got to be the responsible adult. Especially since I'm not with you when you're around the kids anymore. If you can't do it then call me but putting oil and flour all over a two thousand dollar dog is NOT cute and deserved a real punishment like restriction to his bedroom for a week."

"But" Maxie started but then clamped her mouth shut when Jason simply turned and picked back up the cooler and then instructed each boy to carry their own gym bags and follow him.

An hour into Jake's soccer game, Jason walked up to Maxie who had been on her phone for the past ten minutes.

"Hey, hang on a minute Brittany." Maxie covered the mouthpiece of the phone and looked past Jason to see that the boys were okay. "Did you need me?"

The words hung in the air, he'd been basically ignoring her or at least being indifferent to her the entire afternoon. But did he need her? Every second of every minute of every hour of every day of his life. He needed her in ways she could only be shown. He would love to show her how much he needs her.

But for now, he'd continue with his plan.

"I was just going to say that if the shop needs you, there's really no reason for you to have to stay. You can go take care of business and I'll have the boys call you when Jake's game is over."

"What?" Maxie looked as hurt as she felt. "Why would I leave Jake's soccer game early?"

"Well you've been on the phone half the day I figured maybe you'd rather be somewhere other than here." He knew he was being cruel and his comment was a gross exaggeration but it was part of his plan.

"I..." she quickly put a finger up and spoke into the phone, ending her call. Dropping the phone into her purse she complained, "I can't believe you said that."

"What, you're obviously busy with other stuff. Just go take care of it and you'll see the boys some other time. It's no big deal."

"No big deal? No big deal? Jason, I love those two boys. I'm...I'm...I'm team Mom or aunt or whatever the hell. I can't believe after all this time that you could possibly think I'd want to be anywhere else when Jake is playing his first soccer game."

"Maxie, it's not that I think you don't care about the boys. I know you do but I just figured, I'm here so if you have somewhere else to be."

"Oh so that's it. It's not the boys or my work at all it's YOU that doesn't want me here. You don't want to be around me so you're trying to make me leave or feel guilty or..." she couldn't stop the lump that clogged her throat.

She immediately turned her back to him. This was the last straw. He didn't want her here and crying was about to commence.

Brokenly she whispered, "I guess that's my cue."

Slowly she started to walk away. He could see her shoulders shaking but she wouldn't look back. When she was half way across the field, he couldn't stand it any longer and put one foot in front of the other to go to her. Cameron running toward her from the playground stopped his forward motion. He watched as his oldest son stopped her, hugged her waist and then she dropped down onto the grass with him.

Jason watched them sit and talk for what seemed like hours. His eyes never leaving them. Finally, she turned around and came back to the opposite side of the field and with puffy red rimmed eyes, she never looked at him. Only at Cameron or Jake and started cheering like she always did. Cheering for her boys regardless of the fact that she didn't understand the game. Jason's only knowledge that anyone knew he was across the field was the occasional scornful look from his son, who wouldn't leave Maxie's side or stop holding on to her.

.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~.

Jason was in the middle of changing out the summer flowers to the fall mums of various colors and setting all of the pumpkins in between the beds of flowers at the city hall annex when the hair stood up on the back of his neck. He looked up to see Agent Thomas Raynor standing in front of him, dressed ridiculously like a tourist.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jason asked as he rose to his full height, pulling his gloves off and tucking them into the pocket of his jeans.

"Well Mr. Morgan, it seems that we have a little problem."

Suddenly Jason's heart dropped to his stomach. He looked around to see if anyone was within earshot or watching them. His immediate impluse was to grab the boys and Maxie and run but without knowing what the problem was and being the same man who calmly worked through all of Sonny's disasters over the years, he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

"And what problem would that be."

"Well it seems that one of the most notorious hitmen the mob has ever known went underground about five years ago and never was heard from again. All signs pointed to his death and he fell so far off the radar that everyone in organized crime, including the Russian Mafia and Anthony Zacharra completely gave up on searching for him and his family. And a little blonde that knew too much appeared to have disappeared so she was safe too."

"What's your point?" Jason asked, tense and not wanting to play games with the guy any longer.

"Well it seems this man who's been given a second chance at life has recently decided to get himself arrested by the local cops in this po-dunk town and now the Zacharra's seem interested in vacationing in the area." Thomas Raynor pointed down to a map of the Tampa Bay area and looked up at the street sign, playing his part as the tourist asking directions when a few people walked by him. "And this morning, Johnny Zacharra's moll and her daughter-in-law, who happens to be your second cousin, went shopping in Georgie's Couture."

Jason felt faint. All of the blood drained from his body and he had to literally focus to keep his knees from buckling. What the fuck had he done?

"But…but…Johnny never went after me and he was friends with Maxie. Maybe this is all just a coincidence." Jason prayed he was right, if he had been the cause to put his family in danger after all this time, he'd never forgive himself. Johnny had never targeted him and they were even pretty friendly and had worked together before he left Port Charles but nearly two years ago he watched the man point blank kill his own sister. He was obviously running the organization and could very easily be looking for Jason and Maxie as a peace offering to the Russians.

"That's just it Mr. Morgan"

"Johnson" Jason interrupted.

"Whatever, if your cover is blown you could be going as Dale Earnhardt Junior and Lady Gaga and it would still be Jason Morgan and Maxie Jones that the hired killers were looking for and regardless of what the people around here call you two…it would be you two those men would find and kill."

Jason let out a breath and looked down, making show of taking the map from the "tourist" and turning around to face west when more people walked by. He didn't want to go back to being on the run, he didn't want to leave here and he didn't want to have to do what this asshole told him to anymore. However, Maxie, Cameron and Jacob were the only three things that could make him bark like a dog if the man standing next to him told him to. Their safety was paramount to his happiness. Hell, if they could stay safe by his turning himself over to the Zacharra's right now, he'd gladly do so and never regret it to his last breath.

"What do I need to do?" Jason asked realizing that once again, he was at the FBI's mercy.

"For right now, you need to be alert, wait for my call and keep your family out of public places." Agent Raynor dropped a microchip from his hand into the rich black soil Jason was using to plant the fall flowers. "And get Maxie out of that boutique now and back home Mr. Morgan. She's not safe and needs your protection."

Just then Jason's phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID and panic drove through him. It was Maxie and after their past couple of weeks, him still pretending like he was through with her, she would have never called him unless it was truly important.

"Maxie, are you okay?" His words were rushed and his lungs burning from holding his breath.

"Jason" she whispered from under her desk in the office of the boutique "they've found us."