Chapter 10

A/N: It's the first day of couple's counseling! And Jason is so excited!

Elizabeth walked into Lainey's office early the next morning.

"Good Morning," Liz said, sitting on the chair opposite her friend's desk.

"Morning Liz. I thought you would have slept in this morning," Lainey replied with a knowing grin.

"Jason and I need couple's counseling before we jump of the ledge. And I was wondering if you could help with Jason's grief, you know, after all that's happened?" Liz asked

"Maybe you shouldn't have me as your couple's counselor. I think you need a completely impartial party. And it just so happens that a good friend of mine from medical school is taking a break from his job as a FBI profiler to go into a private practice. He just moved back here. You two can be his first clients. He can probably also do the counseling to help Jason with his grief," Lainey said and handed over his information

Jason stepped off the elevator and headed over to the 10th floor nurse's station.

"Hey babe," Liz said

"Hi."

"So, I made an appointment for us at 3 today"

"For what?" Jason asked, playing stupid.

Liz just blew out an exasperated breath and said, "For couples counseling."

Jason blew out a hard breath and pinched the bridge of is nose.

"I don't remember agreeing to do that," he said stubbornly.

"Did you and I have sex last night?" she leaned over and whispered.

He looked around, wondering if anyone heard her.

"Yes," he replied.

"Then you agreed," she said, shuffling paperwork. "And if you wish to go back on that agreement. I can lock it down." She clapped her hands together loudly in his face.

"Weren't you the one who said you'd be suffering, too, if we did it this way?"

"Women are used to suffering. They have to deal with men."

"Fine. I'll be with Spinelli until it's time to go."

Jason walked off with out another word.

"That's right," Liz said to herself.

"Okay, see what had happened was… Oh shit. I hate to sound all happy, 'cause of what happened. But it worked out really well for me. And I'd have preferred it to have worked out for me with Jax and Carly and that pilot guy alive."

"What about the others?" Spinelli asked, sipping the sweet tea Maxi had brought him.

"Sonny and Lucky? Good fucking riddance."

"Harsh, Maximista…"

"Whatever, they were wastes of space."

"You were saying…"

"Anyway. I have the cherry gig of running Crimson New York. Kate is jetting out to Paris the second the memorial service is done. Which is tomorrow by the by, want me to hook a web cam up in the church? Getting really good at it."

"If you wish."

"What's with all the quiet? You haven't said more than three words at a time, which is like practically silent for you. It's very Stone Cold."

Spinelli almost smiled.

"I heard Georgie and Leyla arguing outside my door last night."

"Go stud, get it!"

"I like them both."

"And?"

"But I can only date one."

"Says who?"

"It's cheating-"

"It's only cheating if all parties involved are not all on the same page. No reason a good looking nerd like you can't have a couple bites at the apple. And as one of the parties is my sister, you can count on this being good advice."

Spinelli thought.

"What if they won't agree to the arrangement?"

Maxi rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, they will. Those are two of the most competitive-"

"They aren't in it for the Jackal?" he said desolately.

"They are competitive for the Jackal. Deal with it. Just talk to them separately. Might start a cat fight if you talk to them together."

Spinelli thought.

Just then, Jason walked in.

"You still breathing, Spinelli?"

"Stone Cold!" the young man said happily.

"I guess so. Maxi," he said, nodding to her.

"Did you hear-"

He stopped her.

"Yes, I did."

She looked a little irritated.

Jason confiscated the remote and flipped channels while Maxi chattered. Spinelli just enjoyed the visit.

Not too much later, Liz stuck her head in.

"It's time to leave for our appointment," she said.

Maxi's eyes brightened.

"What appointment? What are you guys doing?"

Liz looked at Maxi and decided to torture Jason.

"Couples counseling," she said.

"Well… I never thought you'd be the type for couples counseling, but then I didn't really see you two as a couple."

Liz shook her head.

"Thanks for the words of encouragement, Maxi," Liz said, and turned her attention to Jason. "And your counseling is every Tuesday and Thursday."

'And the hits just keep on coming,' Jason thought.

"What? He's that fucked up?" Maxi asked. "Well, your bromance did come to an abrupt and bloody end, so I suppose that might fuck you up."

Jason stood up.

"And on that note… Later, Spin, Maxi," he said and walked out the door behind Liz.

The sign on the door said, 'Dr. Lance Sweets, Phd.'

"Lance?" Jason said, before Liz opened the door.

"Your best buddy's name is Spinelli, who also calls himself the Jackal, so I wouldn't talk too much shit about people's names, Stone Cold."

"Fine…"

They went in and took a seat in the waiting area.

"I thought he was new," Jason said, irritated.

"Yeah, so?" Liz responded, just as irritated.

"So… Why do we have to wait?"

"He's a psychologist who used to work for the FBI! He's in demand. We're lucky we got in today."

"Whatever…"

Just then Sweets opened his office door and ushered them in.

"So, what are here to work on specifically."

"Do you want the list alphabetically, numerically, order of importance, or chronologically?" Liz asked.

Sweets' eyebrows went up.

"Well, okay. Let's start with something else. What do you hope to accomplish with this counseling?"

Jason blew out his breath.

"To get married," he said.

Liz looked at him crossly.

Jason looked right back.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you said we would get married after we 'worked out our issues'. So, to me the end of this means is a wedding."

Liz just glowered.

"And Elizabeth, what are you looking to accomplish with counseling?" Sweets asked.

"To work out my issues. I want this to be my last marriage, no more divoces-"

Sweets interrupted her.

"How many divorces?"

Jason held up a hand with four fingers and mouthed the word.

Liz gave him an 'eat shit' look.

"Yes, four divorces, but two guys. How many times have you been divorced, Jason? Let's count… Brenda, Courtney and your emotional divorces from Robin, Carly and Sam. Even though you took Carly back and made her your best fucking friend."

"Alright, hostility, let's take it down a notch. Let's go back to the beginning. Liz, I want you to start, and then, Jason can respond," Sweets said. "Okay, Liz, whenever you're ready."

"I met him in a boxcar, which is where I was living with my boyfriend. I found out he was my best friend's brother. But we didn't run in the same circles as I was a teenager and he was an adult. Then in April of '99-"

Jason stopped her.

"What? Did you write this down?"

"Yes, I'm organized like that. And it was a big fucking deal as Lucky 'died'," she made the air quotes in the room over your bike shop. So, yeah, I remember."

Jason shut up.

"I was self destructing not long after that and Jason talked me down from that ledge. He saved me from a bad situation at Jake's. And then we were friends. And that was going pretty good until November of '99, when I found him shot in the snow." She turned to look at him. "Which is where our history becomes skewed." She turned back to Sweets. "I nursed him back to health and we were slightly more than friends."

Sweets interrupted.

"Can you clarify that, please?"

"I was falling in love with him…"

"But you hadn't taken it any further?" he asked.

"No… We didn't actually… consummate… our relationship until 2003."

"And what made you decide to take it further then?"

Liz shifted in her chair.

"Jason's sister, my best friend was struggling with breast cancer. There was a lot of grief and consoling that turned into… sex. That ended horribly."

"I remember that sex and it was good," Jason said indignantly.

"Yeah, but all the shit that was said afterwards was horrible."

"Such as?" Sweets inquired.

"The Jason Morgan bullshit, 'my life is too dangerous, I want you safe, I can't be with you'. I tried to press the point and it got a bit cruel. He said that we'd only ended up in bed together because of Emily and if things were different I wouldn't have gone to him, I'd have been with Lucky."

"Okay, I'm going to need a cast of characters. Names and their significance to the two of you, please."

Liz sighed.

"Lucky Spencer, first love, second husband, recently deceased. Ric Lansing, first husband, worst mistake I ever made and then had the audacity to make it twice. Zander Smith, ex-flame, kind of a pity fuck."

"You told everyone that he was the father of your first child, so he had to be more than a pity fuck."

"I told you," Liz said irritably, "I found out about the paternity 2 years ago. And I wouldn't have had to tell anyone he was the father if you hadn't completely shattered my self esteem so I slept with him."

"So, I made you sleep with Zander Smith?"

"Your attitude did," Liz said, cutting him off, "And shut up, I'm telling my side." She returned to focusing on Sweets. "And then there was Jason, this one right here. I have carried a torch for him for most of ten years, and found out almost everything he told me about himself was a lie."

Jason looked like he was going to interrupt, but Sweets shushed him.

"Not your turn yet. Go on."

"What? He told me he was a bad guy, a criminal, a mob enforcer, and it turned out he was a Fed, a good guy. So, every time he said his life was too dangerous, he was just yanking my chain. And if he hadn't maybe I would have missed out on some of the bullshit that was Ric trying to poison, smother me and sending me to prison. And Lucky's infidelity, insecurity and itchy trigger finger. Not to mention his lovely addiction to pills and sex with teenagers."

Sweets was amazed. This beat Bones and Booth by a mile. By several.

"Jason. It's your turn. Now, please stick to the parameter of just yours and Elizabeth's relationship. With your significant others first, please."

Jason sighed.

"I'm a very different man than I was 15 years ago. I had a brain injury that seriously altered my behavior and removed my memories. So, that's a big thing."

Sweets looked at him with his mouth open.

"Yes, that's significant."

"Right, well after that I was working as an enforcer for the mob in PC, but I was flipped by a Fed. And she's angry that I didn't tell her."

Liz snorted.

Jason didn't comment on that.

My first relationship that I can remember was with a woman named Robin, she taught me how to be a person again. But that ended because she wanted to change me in a way I couldn't at the time. She also ratted me out to my brother, which put a damper on things. And," he took a deep breath, "I was sleeping with Carly Benson, which I didn't know was wrong at the time."

"Because of the traumatic brain injury?" Sweets asked.

"Yes," Jason replied, "Carly was more of a fling that turned into a friendship, then she asked me to claim her child fathered by my brother… But this isn't me and Elizabeth. I did meet her on the boxcar and knew Lucky was a loser immediately, because pretty much all Spencer's are. But she was 'in love'," he did the air quotes, "and it wasn't my place to point it out. So, we were friends.

"And then I was shot and she took care of me. And while I could have told her then… I wasn't a done deal with the Feds. I was still in a pretty precarious position with them and was trying to rock the boat as little as possible.

"I was not jerking her around on purpose… Well, maybe we did it on purpose. She was always hopping between me and Lucky and I'm fairly sure the Ric thing was just to piss me off as well."

Liz started to reply.

She got shushed.

"Carry on, Jason," Sweets said.

"My relationships boil down to this; Robin, Carly, Courtney and Sam, with us being with each other at points in between or during relationships."

"During?" Sweets asked.

"yes, she was cheating on Lucky with me at the last part of her second marriage with him and was cheating on my girl friend at the time, Sam. Conceived our son Jake then. And apparently Cameron earlier."

"You two have two children?" Sweets asked.

Liz looked at them both as Jason was silent.

"Oh, I can talk now?" she said irritably. "Yes, when we had sex during the trauma with Emily, we conceived Cameron, the oldest, he's four. But like I said, the thing with Zander, Jason crushing my spirit… I assumed he was Zander's.

"I was sure Jake was Jason's as I wasn't having sex with my husband at the time of his conception. But, I did a paternity test anyway, and did Cameron's as well, I found out then."

"Two years ago," Jason ground out.

"Ten years," Liz shot back.

"Well, the time is almost up for today, but I'd like to see you twice a week, if you can manage it."

"I'm already seeing you twice a week for the whole grief thing," Jason said stubbornly.

"So, we'll get to see each other 4 times a week, perhaps we'll become close friends and trade anecdotes about women over brews."

As Jason didn't know what to make of that and he wanted to continue to enjoy the physical love of his woman, he agreed to the new schedule.

"I'll see you in tomorrow, Jason and the day after together."

The two left.

"Does this mean we get to go have sex now?" Jason said, getting into the car.

"Wow, you made it all the way to the car before you asked me that, good job. And the answer is no. I have to pick the boys up from Grams and explain about Lucky. You coming?"

Jason took a deep breath.

"Yes. I'm coming."