AN:

I'm gonna be honest I think this is one of my favorite chapters so far. Lots of good stuff going on. I hope you enjoy. R&R

~Kelly~


Chapter Seven

Carly pulled Jason into yet another tight hug before sitting on the couch. She still couldn't get over the fact that Jason was alive. Not only alive but standing in Sonny's living room like nothing happened. "I can't believe you're actually alive. There are no words for how much I've missed you."

"I missed you too Carly," he said taking a seat. Carly immediately grabbed on to his arm.

"It's really good to see you Jason. Any idea who rescued you?"

"Not yet," Jason said shaking his head. He still didn't know anything about his rescuer. His old friend wouldn't tell him a thing. "Francis won't tell me a thing. I was hoping you had some idea."

"You sure the Quartermaines didn't have something to do with it?" Sonny asked carefully. You never knew how Jason might react when the Quartermaines were involved.

"Monica didn't anyways. She was totally shocked to see me."

"It seems suspicious that this new boss of Francis' would rescue you and not ask for anything in return."

"What about Sam's dad? I mean he'd want to keep Jason alive right?" Carly asked interrupting the two men. Even she found it strange that all this was happening at the same time Julian Jerome showed up. There had to be some sort of connection.

"Sam's dad?" Jason frowned. Sam hadn't mentioned finding her father. Not that talked that much beyond Danny. So much had changed in the last year. It was almost hard to take it all in. "She didn't mention anything about a dad to me."

"Apparently Julian Jerome is her father. Before you ask yes those Jeromes."

"This isn't good."

Sonny scoffed at the understatement. This was one of the worst things that could have happened. They didn't have the resources if Jerome decided to attack. Not that he was about to admit that fact to Jason. "Believe me I know. A war with the Jeromes is the last thing we need."

"No you don't understand. When I woke up Jake was there with me. What kind of twisted bastard steals a child?"

Oh not this wasn't good. With Jake dead it cut any ties Jason had with that nobody. Carly wasn't about to let Elizabeth Webber worm her way back into their lives. Jason was happily married to Sam now and it was going to stay that way. "Jake is alive? Does Sam know?"

"I don't think so. We stayed up talking about Danny. I can't believe she's had to deal with that all alone." It had been horrible to learn how sick Danny was.

"Well you're here now. Maybe things can start to go back to normal."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ms. McCall.. I mean Mrs. Morgan is here to see you." Ashley buzzed in over the intercom.

Julian wanted to refuse to see the woman. He didn't have time to deal with Sam's antics. You'd have thought she'd get the hint he wasn't interested in a relationship. Oh well some people had to do things the hard way. "Send her in Ashley."

"I know you're busy but thank you for seeing me," Sam said doing her best to look nervous. Although most of it wasn't an act. The Jeromes' reputation were almost worst than the Zaccharas. She'd have to be careful not to slip up around Julian.

"Yes well... I heard about Jason being alive. I suppose congratulations are in order."

"It really is the best news. I know how much he wanted Danny so having him here now I can't tell you how much it means to me."

He nodded in agreement. While Danny hadn't factored in his decision to bring back Jason he did care about the young boy. A child being sick wasn't something to be happy about. Even if he disliked the parents, "Having a support system is important."

"I'm glad you think so," Sam smiles to herself. This may be even easier than she expected. "With Danny being stuck at General Hospital he could really use all the family he can get. I know we don't really know each other but I'm hoping we could change that. Starting with you getting to know Danny."

"Well family is very important to me as you saw outside of Kelly's."

"For me too."

So that's how she was going to spin this. Apparently Sam hadn't done her research on the rest of his family. Or maybe she had and was too stupid to care. Either way Julian didn't have time for her games. "But to be honest I'm not interested in getting to know your son."

"That's just..." Sam paused needing a moment to gather her thoughts. The lat thing she wanted to do was screw this up. "he's an innocent little boy Julian and your grandson. If family is so important you should want to be apart of his life."

Julian chuckled at the outrage in the younger woman's voice. It almost made him wish his father was alive. "We both know you're not my daughter Sam."

"How can you say that? If you don't want to be apart of our lives just say so. There's no need to be cruel."

"The fake outrage might work on Alexis but I'm not that gullible. I'm sorry your son isn't well but I refuse to be apart of your games."

Sam narrowed her eyes at the statement. She couldn't decided if Julian really knew the truth or was simply bluffing. Either way this wasn't good for her plans. At least he hadn't threatened to tell Alexis yet. Maybe there was a way to fix this. Starting with that liar Elizabeth Webber. There was no way she was a Jerome. She was too weak and helpless to be part of a crime family. "Unlike Elizabeth? She's the one lying to you not me."

"Leave Elizabeth out of this," he warned coldly. So far Julian had ignored the con woman's past with Elizabeth. However any new mistakes wouldn't be over looked as easily.

"Or what? I'm not scared of you."

"Then you haven't done your homework," he said bluntly. It was something that honestly surprised him. Maybe because Alexis had been such an easy mark. Another thing that concerned him. How could she not see the truth? Eventually Julian was going to have to talk to his child's mother. Probably sooner rather than later. "I suggest you focus on your son and husband before I decide to make your lies front page news."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jason took a deep breath as he saw Elizabeth come down the steps. The docks had seemed like a natural place to meet. "Thanks for meeting me. I know you've got a lot going on," he said as she joined him on the bench.

"Well I'm sure returning from the dead hasn't been a picnic."

"Remind me to never die again," he kidded shaking his head. Jason never imaged it would be so complicated to get his life back. Of course Danny being so sick wasn't making things any easier. "How is Jake doing?"

"Pretty well considering. Having Cam around is a big help."

"Good. I'm glad he's adjusting. Since everyone knows his my son... I want to be apart of his life. I know what I said about the danger and about everything else but I was wrong. So very wrong Elizabeth. Jake is my son and I love him."

"I know you do, Jason," Elizabeth said easily. She needed to believe that despite everything that went on Jason loved their son. Otherwise she would just go back to being angry at him again. Something she truthfully didn't have the time for.

"Good because I've been thinking about the past. More specifically us."

'Not this again.' She grimaced to herself. Didn't they have enough to deal with? She didn't want to get sucked back in to this dance the two of them had. You would've thought him marrying Sam would be the end of it. Apparently dying made him have some sort of change of heart. "Jason please don't. You're married to Sam now. The two of you have Danny. There is no us," Elizabeth reminded him as gently as she could. Fighting with Jason never went well for her. Not to mention the fact she hated fighting in general.

"There could be," he told her hopefully. He'd done nothing but think about what might have been between them. He had to know that there was still some kind of hope. "I know ending things between us was mistake. All I can say is that the thought of losing you or the boys... I handled it all wrong."

"I wasn't innocent in that mess either. We both made mistakes and hurt one another," she admitted standing up. Elizabeth needed to put some space between them. Part of her was in shock by the things Jason was saying. Sure at one time she'd been happy to hear them. Thrilled even.

"Yeah I guess we did. I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you. I will do anything to make things right between us."

"What about Sam and Danny?" she pressed suddenly angry at Jason. It was like he wanted to pretend the last few years had never happened. She almost didn't know how to react to that. "They're your family now Jason. With Danny sick I know that Sam needs your support."

"I don't have to be with Sam to support her. I can be there and still work on us."

"This is just too much to deal with right now," she mumbled heading for the steps. Almost instantly Jason was there gently pulling her back to him.

"You're right. It's not fair for me to add this to what you're already dealing with."

"Thank you."

"But that doesn't mean I going to let it go." he said caressing her cheek. "I love you, Elizabeth and I'm going to fight for us."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elizabeth had been having an incredible morning. That was until Sonny Corinthos walked into the gallery. She should have known he seek her out eventually. It just never occurred to her that Sonny would be so stupid as to corner her at work.

"Nice place you have here," he said gesturing towards one of the paintings. Most of the art work leaned in the more modern direction. Certainly not her taste but Ava had an eyes for what people wanted.

"Yes well my Aunt Ava is really good at her job."

"Funny how you never mentioned her before."

"I'm not sure why you would care. It's not like we're friends or anything." she pointed out with a shrug. Elizabeth knew that the only reason he even cared was because she hadn't told him. She knew the older man would have found some way to use the information. Which was the main motivation in keeping it a secret. Plus there was the small detail of not trusting Sonny with her life.

"Maybe but we're certainly are connected. At the very least I thought you'd have some loyalty. If not to me than to Jason."

She rolled here eyes at the statement. Elizabeth couldn't even pretend to be surprised. "I should have known you'd come here screaming about my supposed betrayal."

"You of all people know how I feel about it."

"But only if it's you being betrayed right?" she asked arching an eyebrow. It was obvious from the look Sonny shot her she'd hit a nerve.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course not. Then you'd have to admit that you made a mistake and we all know the great Sonny Corinthos doesn't make mistakes." she scoffed at the man. No one could be that self-absorbed. It simply wasn't possible. Of course knowing Sonny it probably was. "You want to know why I didn't tell you about Julian?"

"That's why I made the trip down here," he said almost casually.

"Because I'm only loyal to the people that deserve it. As you've often pointed out I'm nothing to you. So why should I risk my life to make yours easier."

Sonny didn't like her answer. It reminded him of all the reasons he kept her out of Jason's life. Reasons that she'd proved correct by lying about who she was. A big mistake on her part. "I think you forgot who you're dealing with Elizabeth."

"I'm going to assume that isn't a threat towards my daughter. Because if it was... I'd hate for us to have a misunderstanding," Julian warned stepping out of the shadows. It had been difficult for him to stand by and listen to their conversation. However he had to know how far Corinthos was willing to take it. Clearly the man was going to be more trouble than he first suspected.

"Jerome I didn't expect to see you here."

Julian chuckled at the statement. It was funny how quickly the other man backed down. Maybe Sonny Corinthos wasn't as tough as he wanted people to think. It was good information to have. "No doubt the very reason you pick this place to ambush Elizabeth."

"We were just talking."

"I'm only going to warn you one time Corinthos. Stay away from my family."

"You don't tell me what to do. I'm the boss around here."

"That's easily corrected." Julian reminded him calmly taking a steps towards the other man. He wasn't going to allow anyone to hurt his daughter ever again.

"I don't think I should be hearing this."

"Of course not. Why don't you get your things and I'll take you to lunch. I meant it Corinthos you had better stay away from Elizabeth and her boys. This is the only warning you're going to get."