Author's Note – So glad this story is done. Thank you all for the wonderful feedback. I probably would have never completed this fic, but I didn't dare do that because a lot of people felt very strongly about it. Glad this proved to be a fun, random, silly story for all. And most of all, I'm glad to have one more completed work under the belt! Woo-hoo!
Note – This chapter is kind of PG-13ish. And just like how this story was campy fun, the epilogue is campy as well. I make no bones about it. It's the campness.
What Women Want
Epilogue
When you hurt, when you suffer / I'm your angel undercover –
With the passing of time…
"This baby is ours."
Their lives had changed instantly and dramatically with those four words.
They were the four words Jason had longed to hear right after the paternity test, without even knowing that he longed for any such thing. With those four words came the greatest happiness he had ever known, and those words marked a brand new beginning for both him and Elizabeth.
She confessed that the main reason she hadn't told him was that she was too afraid. Jason had been angry at first, and their early conversations about the baby had been strained, not from any lack of affection or joy on his part but because he couldn't stop thinking about everything he'd already missed out on, and what he would have done differently if Elizabeth let him know the truth as soon as she found out.
The first person he told about the baby had been Spinelli. The boy vowed to keep it a secret for as long as Jason needed him to and, remarkably enough, did just that. And it was through Spinelli's gentle prodding and explaining that Jason got over whatever resentment he felt, and the next time he spoke to Elizabeth, he made her cry when he apologized. She kept saying that he didn't need to apologize for how he felt, that it was only natural that he would be upset, and that he didn't do anything wrong, but Jason didn't agree.
After all the time they'd already lost, he didn't want anything else standing in their way.
Once he and Elizabeth resolved all that, Jason set about trying to convince her to move in with him. She was reluctant, and understandably so. He didn't much feel like talking about his relationship with Sam, or explaining why she had disappeared and why there was a warrant out for her arrest (a useless warrant, since the government would never be able to find her anyway), but Jason broke his own rules and divulged enough to let her know that he was done with Sam and would never, ever go back to her. Ever.
(Not that it was possible without violating the social and moral code against necrophilia, but still.)
When Elizabeth proved stubborn, Jason did something he wasn't proud of and resorted to the business. He explained to her more candidly than he would have otherwise just how dangerous his world was, and he succeeded in convincing her that her charming little house on Cherry Blossom Lane was not at all suitable and would not protect her or her children from the realities of his life. He hated that he had to scare her, but when it came to protecting his own, Jason realized that there were few rules he wouldn't be willing to break.
Thankfully, he didn't have to talk long and within a couple of days, Elizabeth was able to tie up all loose ends and move herself, Cameron, and the baby into his penthouse. Jason had Milo get a team together to pack up all of Elizabeth's stuff, and some of it came to the penthouse with her and the rest was put in storage, the keys turned over immediately to the nurse.
The move had been difficult for Cameron. He was still a baby himself and used to sleeping with his mother in the same room, as his crib had always been next to her bed. The penthouse was big and bright and there were scary men in suits everywhere, and it was difficult for him to adjust.
Spinelli, who had accepted Jason's offer to remain in the guest bedroom, really came in handy helping Jason get the little guy to feel at home. When Jason and Elizabeth were scheduling Elizabeth's next appointment with Kelly, Spinelli convinced them to go at a later hour and leave him at home with Cameron.
When the big night came, he rented a bunch of movies that were popular with children Cameron's age, ordered pizza, made sure that the kitchen was fully stocked with all the necessary (and unnecessary) ingredients for kick-ass ice cream sundaes, and promptly instructed Cameron to pull on his footsie pajamas as soon as Jason and Elizabeth were gone.
When they got home a while later, there was an empty box of pizza and two empty dishes of ice cream on the table, and Cameron was sitting on Spinelli's lap as they watched Finding Nemo. The plan backfired, however, because Cameron was too wired to sleep. Spinelli begged off, saying he had an early class, and Elizabeth was in no shape to chase her toddler son around, so Jason stayed up half the night, trying to get Cameron to go to sleep, and Elizabeth came down the next morning to find them both sprawled out on the recliner.
Cameron was a bit more comfortable around Jason after that, and didn't even put up a fuss when Elizabeth left him alone with the enforcer. The last bit of resistance between them broke down one night when Cameron had a nightmare. Jason heard him yelling and ran into his room, and then promptly picked him up and brought him back to the room he shared with Elizabeth. Once he realized that this new man in his life wasn't trying to come between him and his mother, Cameron relaxed and finally acted at home in the penthouse.
Elizabeth was a little more difficult to win over. He could handle winning over a three year old, just not his ex-girlfriend who was currently pregnant with his child.
Jason could tell that Elizabeth was still walking on eggshells. She never talked about it, never said anything about it, but it was there all the same. She always kept her things strictly in her side of the closet, her drawers in the bureau, never left anything out and about where it might mix with his things. She always cleaned up after Cameron and put everything away. She always left the room immediately whenever Max or Milo or the other guards entered. When Cameron was sick, she stayed in his room so that Jason wouldn't be disturbed. She apologized over and over for things he never would have noticed, and she always tried to help out around the place as if she was trying to earn her keep.
They hadn't had sex once since she moved in. Well, actually, they had, but it was on a technicality.
They were sitting together on the couch after Cameron had gone to bed, and Spinelli was out god-knew-where doing god-knew-what, so they had the place to themselves for the first time in…ever. She was half in his lap and he had his hand on her protruding belly and they were talking, and one thing led to another and before long, they were making out. And then Elizabeth said something – he couldn't remember what, he could only remember that it excited him – and they next thing he knew, he was tugging at her pants and she was pulling on his shirt. He had a finger inside of her before she could yank his t-shirt off, and Jason was altogether unprepared for how fast or hard she came.
He hadn't wanted to risk anything, what with the baby and how spent Elizabeth seemed, so he just carried her up to their bed and fell asleep with her in his arms. She was awkward about the following morning and they didn't speak of it for a day or two, when he realized that she was probably reticent because she assumed that he wasn't into it or that she was embarrassed by her own conduct, and once he set her straight, most of the unease bled away. They didn't broach the subject – or the act – again, but at least Elizabeth knew his feelings on the matter, how he didn't regret anything he'd done with her, ever, or how amazingly beautiful he thought she was.
She, in turn, had assured him that he wasn't once at risk of harming the baby and wouldn't have been even if they carried on further, and that, in addition to that, women often had the best sex of their lives while they were pregnant. And then Elizabeth had blushed fiercely and made up something about hearing Cameron calling for her.
The rest of the people that frequented Harborview Towers made Elizabeth feel at home, and Jason was grateful for that. The guards all addressed her as "Ms. Webber" and made sure she and Cameron had everything she needed, and the doormen and lobby men knew her by name. Sonny had exceeded expectations and kept to his own business, but he did go out of his way to keep Carly from showing up unannounced at Penthouse 2 and harassing Elizabeth. When Jason brought it up, Sonny sheepishly admitted that he knew Carly could be a handful and he didn't want her to run Elizabeth out of his life again. Not when the two of them had so much at stake in their new family.
The people of Port Charles were less accommodating, but Jason did his best to make up for that. The nurses all gossiped about the newest paternity developments, and the Spencers had been up in arms about it from the start, even seeking legal counsel in Alexis (who immediately turned them down just because she was sympathetic to single mothers since she herself was one) to see if there was anything to be done.
To guard against this, Jason tried to be with Elizabeth when they were out in public. He couldn't be with her when she was at work, obviously, but as she grew further and further along, Kelly Lee recommended that she take time off what with her high blood pressure. Jason immediately assured Elizabeth that there was no reason she couldn't quit altogether if that was what she wanted.
She was quiet about it at first but one night, Elizabeth admitted that she was seriously considering not going back to work. She wanted to be able to stay home with her children, a luxury that she hadn't been able to afford when Cameron was a baby. She was lucky back then that Audrey would watch him during her shifts; she wouldn't be so fortunate now because she and Audrey hadn't spoken since the news about the baby broke.
Jason had known it was a tense, crucial conversation, so he slowly told her that he would support anything she did and, honestly, he liked the idea of her being at home with Cameron and the baby until things were settled. He had been waiting for an outburst, for Elizabeth to take something he said and misunderstand it, leading to all sorts of drama, and had been beyond relieved when she nodded and smiled back, a genuine smile that let him know they were actually on the same page.
The whole time that she was pregnant, they called the baby simply "the baby." He didn't want to be the one to broach the subject of names, and as he would learn later, neither did Elizabeth. Both of them assumed that it would come up naturally between them, but it never did.
Until now.
"It's a girl!" Spinelli was hopping up and down, unable to contain his excitement. "I can't believe it! Where is she?"
"In the nursery," Jason said, leaning back against the wall because he honestly felt just a little bit light-headed, but it was a good, fuzzy kind of feeling. "They're just – cleaning her up, taking care of her, and then they'll bring her in so we can see her."
"How's the Maternal One?"
"Sleeping a couple minutes ago when I checked on her."
"You should go back in with her," Spinelli instructed, actually grabbing his arm and tugging him back toward the room. "You don't want her to wake up alone. I'll call Mister Corinthos Sir and let him know. He and the Peanut will be stoked."
"Tell him not to try to drive down in this rain," Jason added, letting himself be shoved toward the door. "I know him, he'll want to come down with Cameron and see her. Tell him to stay at the penthouse and not risk the weather."
"Will do." Spinelli shifted his weight from foot to foot as Jason stepped into the room and prepared to shut the door. "Stone Cold?"
"Yeah?"
"Congrats." Quick as a flash, he hopped forward and gave Jason a hug, withdrawing before the enforcer had realized what was going on. "You'll be a wonderful father. Well, you already are a father to the Peanut, but you know what I mean."
"Thanks, Spinelli."
"And one more thing?"
He glanced impatiently toward Elizabeth, who was finally starting to come to. "What?"
"What are you going to name our little bundle of pink joy?"
Jason wasn't sure how he felt about Spinelli referring to the baby as 'ours.' "Uh…I don't know."
"Stone Cold." The boy arched a brow and settled a hand on his shoulder, as if he was explaining something to a very small child. "Babies need names. It's the law."
Jason smacked his hand away. "I know that. We just…haven't picked one yet."
He was staring at him now. "You haven't picked one yet?"
"…No."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Spinelli reached for the handle and yanked at it. "Go, go. Talk to the Maternal One. Figure something out. Honestly, Stone Cold, if the Jackal doesn't stay on top of you, you never get anything done…"
Jason rolled his eyes as the door clicked shut and turned toward Elizabeth. She was awake now and smiling at him, and it was infection. He grinned and slowly eased down next to her, taking her hand and brushing her hair out of her face.
"Hey."
"Hi." She glanced around the room. "Where's the baby?"
"With the nurses," Jason replied. "They'll bring her to us real soon."
Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "Her?"
He nodded proudly. "We have a girl."
"A little girl," she sighed happily, before the corner of her mouth curved down. "A little girl with no name."
Jason laughed. "Yeah, Spinelli thought that you and I should talk about that. Apparently, it's the law that all babies have to have names."
"Good law," Elizabeth nodded sagely, playing along. "Sound public policy."
"So…" He tugged at his ear, all jokes forgotten. "How do we do this?"
She grinned sheepishly. "Can I tell you the name I picked out?"
Jason had to laugh at that. "You have a name picked out? How long?"
"Since almost the beginning," Elizabeth cringed, still grinning. "Since we found out it was a girl, I mean. Not since – not since the beginning."
He knew what she meant and didn't want to remember the initial circumstances, including her marriage to Lucky, either. "What is it?"
"Juliet…Emily…Morgan." She played with his fingers as she ticked off each word, then looked up expectantly. "What do you think? I know Juliet is kind of…well, I think it's a pretty name, and it goes really nicely with Emily, and Jason, no name goes nicely with Emily, it took me forever to find Juliet, and I know some people will say that it's old and antiquated but I love it, and I-"
"I love it, too," he interrupted softly, giving her hand a squeeze. "…Emily will, too."
Elizabeth laughed. "Yeah, she'll be thrilled. I did tell her that I wanted to name my first daughter after her, though, so she'll see it coming."
"Juliet Emily Morgan." Jason leaned back, still holding her hand, and grinned. "Spinelli will be relieved."
"That we didn't pick something like Brunilda or Hortense?"
"That we even picked a name at all." He sighed and folded his arms over the bed and lightly trailed his lips over her knuckles. "…Elizabeth, I need to tell you something."
"That if the baby was a boy, you had promised to name him after Spinelli and you're so glad that the extra X chromosome came into play?"
"I'm serious."
"I know," she murmured, lightly trailing her thumb over his lower lip. "I was trying to lighten the mood. You look so…tense all of a sudden."
"Not tense," he disagreed, "just serious."
"All right, just serious." Elizabeth raised the bed just a little so that they were more even. "What is it?"
"Elizabeth, I'm in love with you."
She was silent for such a long time that he wondered if he should repeat it, and then her lips relaxed into a hesitant, lop-sided smile. "You don't have to say that, you know."
Jason looked down at their joined hands. "I wanted to say it a long time ago," he confessed. "I just didn't think you did."
"Didn't think I loved you?"
"Didn't think you wanted me to say it."
"Oh." She was silent for a moment, and then her smile grew. "I do, though."
"Want me to say it?"
Elizabeth's eyes shined. "Love you."
"Oh."
There didn't seem to be anything else that needed to be said (especially since he read her thoughts and knew she was sincere), so Jason stayed quiet and kissed the pad of her fingers, one after the other, happy to just bask in the incredible peace that came with finally just getting all that out in the open.
A gentle knock came at the door, and both Elizabeth and Jason looked over as a nurse wheeled in their daughter. Elizabeth gasped in delight, and Jason was already on his feet. The nurse flashed them a smile and, saying that she'd be back in a bit, left them alone with the newly named Juliet Morgan.
"Oh, Jason." He could see the tears in her eyes as she gazed at her child. "Bring her over here."
He was already leaning over the wheeled cradle, securing one hand under her head and wrapping the other around her small body. Jason lifted her easily, smiling when she snuffled and tried to open her eyes, watched in fascination as she worked her little mouth, opening it and shutting it with little humming sighs.
"Juliet Emily Morgan," he murmured, pausing to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I've waited so long to meet you."
The baby snuffled, and it sounded like a snort, and then opened her eyes and looked directly at him as he began to pass her to Elizabeth.
Jeez, took you long enough.
Jason froze.
Oh, shit.
The Freaking End.
Post Note: Told you it was campy.
