A/N – Thanks for the comments! So glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I would have given anything to make this couple happen. Sigh. Sadness in this chapter but there's always hope!

Chapter 10 – Hope

The next day, Evangeline had a really busy day at work. She rushed home to change, not sure what to wear. Since it is a date, she ended up wearing a dress and some comfortable shoes and then freshened up her makeup. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed her purse and went outside where Marco informed her that he is driving.

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Jake frowned. "Why do we have to be dressed up, daddy?"

"You two are the ones that asked her on a date."

Jake giggled. "I get a dance."

"Be sure to tell her that."

Cam smiled at his brother. It had been hard for them since losing their mom. Evangeline is there for them a lot and he really likes her. His dad also smiles a lot more when she is around. After all the bad things that had happened, he just wants them all to be happy. His mom would have wanted that. She always tried to smile even when she was sad. Aunt Tracy said Evangeline is a good catch. He isn't quite sure what that meant, but she smiled when she said it, therefore, it must be good. "You should have got her dad."

Sometimes it is easy to forget that Cam is still so young. He is just too smart for his own good. "Micah is driving her." They went downstairs. Tracy had catered the event even though Jason was against it, but it ended up working out better anyway.

There was a knock on the door and Cam ran to open it.

"Good evening, please come in."

Eva smiled. "Thank you, Cameron. You look very handsome."

Cam giggled. "You look pretty."

"Why, thank you."

Jake ran up to her with his arms held out and Eva kneeled and hugged him. "Hi, Jake. You look very handsome too." He grinned. "Beautiful," he said loudly.

"Thanks."

Jason moved towards them. "They are right. You do look beautiful."

"Thanks. You're looking very handsome too." All the boys have on slacks with button down shirts.

"Are you thirsty?" Jake asked grabbing her hand and pulling her into the dining room. "You can have some of my juice."

"I poured Evangeline a glass of wine."

Jason held out her chair and she sat.

"Dad you sit here," Cam instructed, patting the seat next to Evangeline.

"Okay."

"I'll sit here," he said patting the seat on the other side.

Jake pouted.

"What's wrong Jake?"

"I wanted to sit next to her."

Cam moved to his brother's side. "Okay, you can sit next to her for now and I will sit next to her for dessert."

Jake nodded his head decisively. "Deal."

Jason tilts towards her. "I like it when they work it out themselves."

"That's because you're a pushover."

He smiled.

A timer went off and Jason went into the kitchen.

"So, how was your day?" Cam asked.

"It was busy and yours?"

Cam shrugged. "School was okay."

"I had fun at school," Jake said.

"What did you do?"

"I played a lot. Billy got in trouble cause he pushed a girl."

Eva took a sip of her wine. "That's not very nice."

"I know. Daddy says, never hit girls, but sometimes I want to hit Cara."

Eva tried not to laugh. "Why?"

"Cause she tells me what to do and she hits me."

"Well that's not very nice. Do I need to talk to her?"

Jake giggled. "No. Her mommy is bigger than you."

Eva laughed.

Jake might look like him, but he sometimes reminds Jason of Elizabeth. He grabbed the tray which has an assortment of food. "Alright, hot dog for you," he said putting it in front of Jake. He had put some vegetables on it too. "Hamburger for you," Jason said to Cam. "And we are having filet and mashed potatoes."

Eva smiled. "Yum."

"Thank you for our food amen," Jake said.

"Amen," Eva said.

They ate as they listened to Jake and Cam talk about school. When it is time for dessert, Cam and Jake switched and they ate chocolate pudding.

"My mommy's favorite was chocolate," Jake said.

"I like it too. Delicious."

Jake smiled.

"She used to eat hers and then eat daddy's," Cam said.

"I think I would have liked her a lot."

"She would have liked you," Cam said softly. Then he remembered something and leaned over to Jake who nodded.

Jason shrugged. He wasn't sure what they were up to. When everyone finished, Cam put the plates in the kitchen and then they heard music. He returned with a washcloth and cleaned off Jake's face and hands.

"Good?" Jake asked.

Cam nodded. "Good."

Jake walked around the table. "Eva, will you dance with me?"

Eva grinned. "Yes."

He grabbed her hand and took her to the living room and Jason stood in the doorway. He took a picture and a little video. Jake spun himself around then touched her legs, making her spin too.

Jason and Cam chuckled.

"He needs dance lessons, dad."

"I signed you both up for ballet. It starts next week."

Cam laughed and grabbed Jason's hand and held it.

When the song was done and Jake had completely reinvented the slow dance, he ran up to his dad. "Dance with her dad."

He glanced at Eva who shrugged and then he walked over to her and pulled her closer.

The boys watched them for a minute with big smiles on their faces and then turned to leave, but Jason caught their movement.

"Where are you going?"

"To bed. We're tired."

Jason's eyes snapped to Eva who is laughing. "I'll come up and tuck you in."

"No dad. You stay. We're big boys," Jake said.

"Good night, Eva. Did you have fun?" Cam asked.

"I did. Thank you for inviting me."

Cam waved and he and Jake ran up the stairs.

Jason sighed. He knew he had just gotten the okay from the kids. He dropped her right hand and put his hands on her waist and then she held his stare. "I think we should talk."

"I agree." He had been enjoying the evening, but a lot needs to be said.

"I know moving forward is hard for you. I don't want to fight with you. I just need to know where your head is at."

"I—this is so hard."

She stopped swaying. "If you don't think you want to move on, then you need to tell me right now."

"I'm sorry that I'm so messed up."

"Do you want me, Jason?"

He gazed at her and then started to talk and then growled and kissed her. It was gentle at first and then it quickly became passionate. He had wanted to kiss her for so long. Eva is shocked, but it is so good and worth the wait.

Jason slightly pulled back and she watched his eyes fill up with tears and it almost broke her heart.

"Jason do you regret that?"

He didn't answer and she started to move away, but he gently tugged her.

"Do you feel guilty?"

He nodded. It is so hard for him to hold his emotions in. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be this hard." He has so many different feelings going on inside of him and almost all of them hurt.

She shifted and grabbed his hands. "You're not ready. I don't want you to feel bad for being with me."

"I know. I don't feel that way all the time. Please don't give up on me. You deserve so much more than what I can give you right now. I just don't want to let you go. Can you give me some more time?"

"Jason…" tears are rolling down her face now. This is brutal. She turned away from him, unable to look at his pain any longer.

He draws her against him. "I'll get help. I'll talk to Marty." Marty Saybrooke is a psychiatrist and Blair had suggested that he give her a try. "Please, give me a little more time. It hasn't even been a whole year. You came out of nowhere. And yes, I do have feelings for you."

She pushed his arms away and turned around. "But you hate yourself for having them."

"It's not totally that. Please, let me talk to her and have her help me move through this. It isn't fair to you or the boys that I'm making myself miserable."

She reached up and wiped a tear away from his face. "I will give you the time you need. You know, you took me by surprise too. I'm not ready to give up. I have a case I'm starting that is going to take up a lot of time. It's perfect actually. You will have space to deal with your grief and I'll be preoccupied so I won't stress about it."

"Will I get to see you?"

"Honestly, not a lot. I think you're confused and just need to be okay with moving forward. I promise I won't be a complete stranger."

"Can I call you to check on you?" This wasn't how he saw this conversation going.

"Yes."

He pulled her into an embrace. "Thank you for giving me a chance. I won't let you down."

"I just want you to feel better."

He wants that too. "You are beautiful, talented, and smart. I'm so lucky to have you in my life. No matter what, I think it would kill me to lose you."

She slightly retreated. "You won't, especially if you promise to kiss me like that again."

Jason slightly smiled and then wiped his face. "That's a promise." He's not used to feeling so out of control regarding his emotions. It is so foreign to him because he was always known for being stone cold.

"I should go. I'll talk to you soon?"

He nodded. "Yes. Thank you for coming over. I think the boys needed it just as much as I did."

He walked her back to the car and kissed her on the forehead before she slipped into it. She watched him standing in the driveway as the car pulled away, and she just lost it. If it wasn't goodbye, then why did she feel like she had just lost everything?

Micah drove silently. He wasn't sure what the hell happened, but it didn't look good at all. When they arrived at her apartment, he opened the door and walked her upstairs. She muttered, "Good night," and disappeared inside.

He pulled out his phone and Edward answered.

"You're on speaker. How did it go?"

"I'm not sure what happened, but she's completely distraught."

Their mouths dropped open. "What?" Edward asked.

"I'm taking a cab over to Jason's," Monica said, "Tracy, you've got Evangeline."

"What's the address?" she called out.

Micah gave it to her and waited.

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Monica knocked on the front door and a minute later, Jason opened it. She knew it wasn't good when she saw the bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand. Gingerly, she touched his face. "Jason, what happened?"

He put his head down and Monica hugged him tightly. When he finally let go, they sat on the couch.

"She says she's not giving up on us and will give me more time."

"Then why are you so upset?"

"It's just felt like goodbye," he said emotionally.

Monica took the bottle and put it on the coffee table. Jason has been in so much pain over losing Elizabeth, but normally you just didn't see how deeply affected he is because he hides it so well. "You need help."

"I know. I'm making an appointment tomorrow."

"So that's why she agreed to hang in there?"

"Yes."

"Do you care about her Jason?"

Jason nodded. "I do. She's like a second chance to get things right, but I'm getting it all wrong."

"There's no exact way to deal with grief. You lost Elizabeth and right away, you were faced with the custody battle. You were so scared of losing the boys that you didn't get a chance to really mourn your loss. I get it. Just do whatever it takes, because I don't think you'll find another woman like her."

"I know."

"So no more alcohol. Just let yourself feel."

Jason's lip quivered and she pulled him into her arms.

"Cry for her, Jason. It's okay."

Jason completely broke down. He ended up falling asleep on her lap and she never wanted to see him break like that again.

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Evangeline opened her door. She is a mess and Tracy took one look at her and pulled her into her arms and she broke again. After several minutes, Tracy steered her over to the couch. "Talk to me."

"I think he hates himself for caring about me, like he's cheating on her or something. He finally kissed me and he had tears in his eyes afterwards. How the hell am I supposed to take that?"

"Was it at least a good kiss?" Tracy asked.

"It was incredible."

"It was for you. He showed you how he felt. Evangeline, it's been really hard for him. He didn't really have the time to mourn after Liz died because of the boys. You're kind of forcing the issue which is good actually. He can't go on like he has been."

"I know. I don't want to seem like I'm being impatient, but I don't just give my heart away easily. It takes a lot for me to trust. I love the boys. They are such a wonderful part of my life and Jason is such an incredible dad and man. I want to be with them all the time. He asked me to give him more time. God, I'm such an idiot."

"For falling in love with them? You're not stupid, you're human. Those boys are like a happy, sugar virus."

Eva chuckled.

"Seriously, they even melt my cold hard. Don't give up on them."

"I'm not. We're just kind of taking a step back. He needs some therapy and to deal with his loss so he can move forward—his idea actually. I have too much to lose to walk away."

Tracy rubbed her back. "You're scared aren't you?"

"Yes. What if I'm not enough and he doesn't fight for me?" She had been through that with John. He said he wanted to be with her, but he walked right into another woman's arms.

Tracy lifted her chin. "I don't want to ever hear that sentence pass from your lips again. The reason he asked you not to give up was because he knows you are worth it. And if you think that kiss was incredible, it's nothing compared to what it will be when he's fully in."

Eva smirked. "Thank you for talking me off a ledge." She really hadn't expected Tracy to reach out to her like this.

"Look, I've already put a lot of hard work into getting you two together. Failure is not an boys and I are on a mission."

Eva kissed her on the cheek. "You're alright, no matter what they say about you."

Tracy grinned. "Do you have any good wine in here?"

"Hell yeah," Eva said as she made her way to the kitchen.

Tracy texted Edward. "Crisis averted. She's going to be okay."

Edward smiled. "Good job."

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Monica woke up and two sets of eyes are staring at her.

The boy's eyes shifted from her, to their dad, and then back up to her. "Is he okay?"

She nodded. "He will be. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes please," Jake said.

She carefully lifted Jason's head and sat it on a pillow before stretching and then they went into the kitchen.

Cam is nervously chews on his bottom lip. "Something happened didn't it?"

Monica sat some bowls down. "Yes. Your father's heart hurts."

"Because of mommy?"

"Yes."

"We miss her too," Cam said.

Jake sighed. "She is an angel now. She can't come back."

Monica kissed him on the head. "No, she can't, but your dad is going to get some help so he can learn how to live without her."

"I'm scared I won't remember her," Cam said as his started to cry.

Jake slid down to the floor and held his brother the best he could and Monica did the same.

"It's okay to miss her Cam, but she wouldn't want you to be sad all the time. We still have videos of her and pictures. You won't forget her ever."

"Can we watch one?"

She held out her hand, "Come on."

They went upstairs to Cam's room and played a videotape of one of his birthdays. It was from when they had a party at the mansion and that's how Jason found them. He had heard it.

"She's so pretty," Jake said.

"Yeah," Cam added.

Sounds of laughter filled the air as they watched Jason chased after them with a squirt gun.

Cam and Jake grinned. "We used to have so much fun."

"Yeah, I miss that."

Jason watched as he scooped up Elizabeth and ran with her. She was laughing as the boys chased after them and his heart was heavy. She wouldn't want this. He needed to make things right for the boys.

Monica focused on him and slightly smiled. "I think you will all be alright."

Jason nodded and went to his room to take a shower. After he dropped the kids and Monica off, he is going to make an appointment with Marty. It is time to try to look forward and not behind.