Finally! This site has been down for a couple days. I can't complain too much though because in the year or two I've been posting here this is the first time I've had this happen.

Chapter 21

Elizabeth woke to a comfortable feeling. Laying on her side, she felt Jason's chest pressing against her back and his arm was stretched around her, protectively coming to rest on her belly. It was still early but having fallen asleep so early the night before, Cameron was sure to waking soon. She, however, did not want to move from the cocoon his body created around hers. Just a few more minutes, she promised herself.

Lifting her arm, she covered his hand resting on her belly with her own. She was surprised when his hand slid from beneath hers but quickly returned to cover her hand. It seemed that he was awake and, like her, didn't want to get out of bed yet either. She fanned her hand under his and he linked his fingers through hers. She knew that this felt right, he knew the same but they still each hadn't expressed or explored what was happening between them.

"Good morning." She whispered hoarsely.

"Morning." He replied and pressed his nose into her hair, sucking in a deep breath of her scent.

She rolled onto her back so that she could face him, he remained on his side, his face a mere inches from hers. "I-I'm glad you stayed." She admitted looking into his eyes.

He brought a hand to her face and traced her jaw line with his index finger, "Me too."

She lightly blushed and started to turn her head away but he stopped her. His fingers fanned across her cheek and his thumb rested just under her chin. She could feel her heart begin to race and her blush deepen.

Her eyes fluttered closed and his lips met hers. She slipped her arm around his waist, pulling his body in closer to hers but he was cautious to keep his weight off her stomach. He kissed her slowly and lazily, taking his time to feel her soft lips slowly mating with his. His hand smoothed down her arm and came to rest on her side while his other balanced him on her side. He brushed his tongue on her bottom lip and she parted her lips so he could gain entry into her mouth. Their tongues mated in a sensual dance while her hand dipped under the back of his shirt to smooth across his muscular back.

Once air became a necessity, he pulled away for a breath and gazed down at her. "Jason" she whispered. "We should…"

"Jayyyson!" Cameron yelled from the doorway and ran into the room, jumping on the end of the bed. "You're hewwwrrreeee."

Jason froze, not sure what to do. Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath then pulled herself up so she was sitting. "Good morning baby."

"Did Jason sleeped over?" the curious boy asked, kneeling on the end of the bed.

"Uh, are you hungry?" Elizabeth asked, avoiding the question. Cameron answered her with a nod and she rolled out of the bed. "Let's go get you some breakfast ok?"

"Jason, do you want bre-fass?"

Jason nodded, "I… I'll be right down buddy ok?"

Cameron smiled and jumped off the bed then practically hopped out of the room. Elizabeth followed a few steps behind but stopped at the door once Cameron was out of sight. "I'm sorry." She whispered then made her way to find Cameron in the kitchen. Jason fell forward on the bed, burying his face in her pillows. He definitely needed alone time with her and he needed to be more cautious when Cameron was around. He definitely was not used to having a child in the house that could walk in on them at any minute.

About a week later

"I'll just have the soup and some bread." Elizabeth ordered from the waitress.

Emily stopped the waitress as she was about to walk away, "You know what, change mine, I'll have the same."

"Indecisive?" Elizabeth teased.

Emily shrugged, "It's cold out and soup sounded good." She leaned forward and rested on her arms on the table, "So what's been going on, it seems like I never see you anymore."

"Working, getting ready for the baby… that's about it. How about you?"

"Same… well I'm not getting ready for a baby." She said with a laugh. "Spending time with Nicholas."

"So things are going good with you two?" Elizabeth asked.

Emily nodded, "So far so good." Emily sipped her water, "How about you and Jason?"

"What about me and Jason?" Elizabeth asked and Emily raised an eyebrow. "There is nothing really to tell. We'll have a moment every now and then and I start to think something may be forming between us but there is just so much going on and so many interruptions, then he has been away most of the last week I've barely gotten to talk to him."

"But you do want more?"

Elizabeth smiled, "It's hard."

"No it's not… just tell him."

Elizabeth laughed, "Have you every tried to talk to your brother about feelings? It's not exactly the easiest thing to do."

Emily laughed as well, "Yea but we both know that he…" Emily started to say but stopped talking when the door of the diner opened and Lucky walked in with Maxi following close behind. She heard Elizabeth groan in the back of her throat.

When Maxi saw the women sitting at the table, she quickly caught up to Lucky, took his hand in hers and flashed a devious look at Elizabeth and Emily.

"Hey." Lucky forced as he stopped at their table.

"You look better." Elizabeth simply voiced.

Maxi smiled, "I know, I take care of him well, don't I Lucky?"

Emily rolled her eyes and Elizabeth just brushed the comment off. "Nicholas called you the other day, he wants to have a party for Spencer's birthday."

"I'll call him back today, I've been pretty busy lately."

"And how is the pregnancy, Elizabeth?" Maxi asked in an obviously caddy voice.

"It's going perfect." Elizabeth said with her best fake smile. This was the first time in weeks that she'd seen Lucky and although he looked clean and off the pills, when she looked at him she saw very little of the man she had loved. It seemed like a lifetime ago that they were together.

Lucky mumbled something under his breath and even though she did not hear exactly what he said, she'd put money on the fact that it was a snide comment. Elizabeth felt the heat rush to her face as she struggled to keep her composure. Both Lucky and Maxi could each say so much with just their looks and the tones of their voices. Elizabeth, however, was determined to be the better person and was thankful when the waitress brought their order to the table.

"Well enjoy your lunch." Maxi scoffed and whipped her head as she turned away from them, her way of getting one last dig at Elizabeth. She tried not to let them get to her but they just stood there as if they were looking down at her… who were THEY to judge her.

With Lucky and Maxi sitting at the counter, Elizabeth and Emily ate their lunch silently, both trying to eat their hot soup as quickly as possible. Elizabeth didn't have much of an appetite after the brief encounter but she was determined to eat all of her food, not wanting to give Lucky the satisfaction of running her out of the diner.

Once lunch was over, Elizabeth walked on the docks listening to the sound of the water sloshing against the wooden pillars. Cameron was at her Grams house. Despite their current differences, she did not want Cameron to lose his relationship with his great-grandmother. There were so many changes, Lucky, the move, the new baby… she did not want Cameron to endure anything more then he already had and will. Her conversations with her Grams were minimal but Cameron was excited when Elizabeth told him he would be spending the day with Grams so she was happy as well.

"Elizabeth?" she heard from behind her. The familiar voice instantly brought a much needed smile to her face. She turned against the railing and saw Jason walking toward her with a smile on his face as well. His smile warmed her heart, she'd barely talked to him this past week and hadn't seen him since the morning after he stayed the night with her.

"Hey you… when did you get back?" she asked, attempting to hide her excitement and jump into his arms. It had been nearly a week since she'd seen him and until that moment she hadn't realized just how much she missed him.

He stopped a few feet from her, "A couple hours ago." Jason looked around then back at Elizabeth, "I uh, I was just heading down to one of our warehouses, do you need a ride anywhere?"

"No, I'm fine, I was just getting some fresh air before picking up Cam." Her eyes met his and they stood for a long moment, gazing at each other. "I'm uh, I'm making spaghetti with sauce from a jar tonight if you would like to come ov…"

He reluctantly shook his head before she could finish, "I have some things to take care of since I've been gone for most of the week. Maybe tomorrow?"

She fidgeted and shifted her weight between her feet. "Sure, that sounds good."

"How about I walk you to your car?"

Elizabeth smiled, "You don't have to… I do have a guard." Jason answered her by cocking his head and raising his eyebrows then he turned in the direction he'd expected her car to be in.

"Is everything ok?" he asked as they started away from the waterfront.

She pushed her cold hands into her coat pockets, "I'm fine… just had a run in with Lucky and Maxi so I was trying to relax a little before showing up to pick up Cam"

"Did they start trouble?"

She shook her head, "No just trying to frustrate me I guess." She mumbled as she dug through her purse for her keys cursing when the bag dropped out of her hands. Jason quickly bent down to pick up the bag as well as the chap stick and keys that had fallen out when it spilled over on the ground. "Oh sorry… thank you." She expressed as she happened to look down while he was still gathering her belongings from the ground. She couldn't help but notice how his rear filled out his jeans while he bent down in front of her.

Elizabeth quickly looked away when he returned to standing beside her. He handed her purse which she quickly took from him and thanked him again. "I'm so clumsy." She murmured, slightly embarrassed that she had just been checking him out. Luckily she looked away before he saw the direction of her focus.

When they arrived back at her car, there was a brief moment when they were both quiet and unsure of what to say or do. Elizabeth knew that there was still so much unsaid between them. "So I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

Jason nodded, "Yea, there are some things we should talk about."

She just nodded, happy that he was acknowledging that they had to talk, something they never seemed to have the chance to do. "Sounds good."