Kerri showed up bright and early the next day. She wanted to prove herself to the Morgan family. She enjoyed being a housekeeper when Jake was on the island. He was a sweet but shy little boy but he could be a bit mischievous if you didn't watch him. Helena wanted to use Jake to get back at both the Webbers and the Spencers. She found out later that Jake was actually Jason's son but that didn't make her want to break him back home.
Kerri was the one that looked out for Jake and made him realize that his family mourned him and that they loved him. She was able to find someone who could set it up so he could see his family from time to time. She told him that even though it looked like they had gone on with their lives they still missed him.
"Kerri, I am glad to see that you decided to take us up on our offer. I think one of the main problems that I have about you is also something that can help our family heal. You were there when Jake was brought on the island and you knew him. Sometimes he just seems so caught up in thinking that we didn't love him and just gave him up. I wish there was a way that I could know that he knew how we felt about him."
"I am the one person that Helena could not buy. She thought that she had me thinking her way but I only let her think that so when I was alone with Jake I could try to reverse the damage that she was doing to him. He loves all of you so much but he thought that no one loved him or missed him. It was like you all went on vacation and left him behind. I tried to explain that it was not like the movie "Home Alone" which was one of his favorite movies. You all thought that he had died not that you just left him at the hospital for her to pick up and take home to Greece. He also thought that Lucky was his father and one day he heard that Jason was really his father but that he gave him up to Lucky. This crushed him more than I can tell you. I have read all about your family and I realize why he did it but to Jake it was like he was not good enough. He really needs to know from both of you that it wasn't true and especially from Jason. You need to explain it to him so that he understands what exactly happened and why."
Elizabeth thanked Kerri and showed her around the house. Emily had called Elizabeth the night before to let her know that they were taking Spencer to see their new property before he went to school so they were going to be late. Emma was going to be there at nine and that was when classes started.
"I was thinking to make things easier on you, that until we move into the new house that your hours would be from nine to three. Those are the school hours and that we wouldn't be in your way at that time. When we move in, you will have your own guest bungalow on the property. We are having several built for our employees. You will be the head of housekeeping and so you will stay there on the property unless you wanted to be somewhere else. You will have the privilege of hiring and firing. There will have to have background checks just like you had. I want things to be easy going and I think that you will be a great addition to our family."
Kerri was a bit overwhelmed about being taken in like that. She loved America and hoped that she would be able to gain citizenship because her family had pretty much abandoned her after her brother left the U.S. He had disappeared for a while but she heard that he was making his way back to where he worked before in Port Charles. Kerri's brother was Johnny O'Brien. She knew a lot about the people in Port Charles and hoped to get on with the Morgans so she could find him.
Jason had come downstairs and looked at Kerri in a strange way. There was something about her that didn't seem right. She reminded him of his friend, Johnny but he had been gone for a long time. "Kerri, there is something that is bugging me. You seem so familiar to me and I can't place why or how. Can you help me?"
She laughed and figured that she should tell them the truth before Johnny got there and everyone would know. "Okay, you done a background check on me and I have done one on the two of you. My brother, Johnny used to leave here in Port Charles and then he disappeared. When all that was going on I was just a teenager in Dublin. When I went to Greece it was supposed to be just a summer job and then I was going back home. Helena saw how attached Jake was to me and wanted me to stay to help control him. Not like how you were controlled sir, but by making him happy so he would behave. He loved to get into trouble and Helena didn't want any of her guests to see him especially her grandson. So yes, Johnny O'Brien is my big brother."
Jason was so relieved that he almost laughed. Elizabeth could then see the resemblance too. "Johnny and I were good friends. He took great care of me when Jason and I were dating. We heard some about his family but not much. Are you here because you think he is still here or do you just want to know more about his life here?"
"I am thinking a little of both. I have heard thru the family grapevine that he is still alive and on his way back to Port Charles. I am hoping that the grapevine is right and that I get to see my big brother." Jason thought about that and he had heard the same rumor.
"I will have my friend; Spinelli look into it. I heard that both he and Francis were alive and hoping to come back here. It's just that Sonny was the one that wanted them gone and I was supposed to take them out but I couldn't. I let them go and they promised to never come back. I am out of the business now so they will have to talk to the five families and Sonny about returning here but I could definitely use them in my security business." Kerri was very happy about that.
"I want to thank you for this opportunity to take care of your family. I will be making a lot of my favorite foods for when I was growing up in Ireland. I hope you like my cooking as well as your son did. He was my best taster. He loved to try anything that I made."
Jake ran down the stairs when he heard Kerri. "I am so glad that you are here right now. Did you say something about cooking my favorites or are you just telling tales on me again?" Kerri laughed because she knew what he was talking about. She had a soft spot for him so when he would get in trouble with Helena and she would forbid him to go downstairs for dinner, Kerri would always sneak a plate up to him. She had got caught a couple of times but Helena knew in order to keep Jake calm that she couldn't hurt him or Kerri. She also knew that if he were to get loose when Nik was there that he would bring Jake back home. So she let Kerri keep Jake happy especially when there was company.
"Jake, do you remember your favorite breakfast when you were on the island? I think that your mom and dad would have the ingredients that I need to make your special pancakes. I will even add some blueberries to it and whipped cream if your mom has it stocked." Jake ran to the kitchen to find out if his mother had those ingredients. He didn't want to tell her that his dad made better pancakes than she did but she tried just like his mom.
"Jake, please tell Ms. Kerri who makes the best pancakes? I know that you will hurt someone's feeling but you know what you have to do." Jake looked at his dad and just sighed.
"Okay, Kerri when I was on the island with you I really did love those pancakes that you made but my dad is much better at making pancakes than anyone I know. My mom doesn't even try to compete. If you challenge my dad, you will lose." Jason then walked away because he knew that he threw down the gauntlet to Kerri. She also knew that was Jake's way of making her compete which always brought out the best in her food.
"Okay, Jason. I see that challenge and I will give you a week and then we will have the pancake contest. Everyone will be blindfolded and they will choose either "a" or "b". I think that the boys will enjoy the challenge of eating the pancakes and so will Ms. Elizabeth. Just tell me when and where."
Jason looked at his son and wondered what he was up too. He decided that it might be fun and so he decided to go for it. "Not this Friday but next Friday. I just need a list of ingredients that you will need so we can buy them. Also we will give you a credit card to do the shopping. I think since you will be the main cook that it is only right that you get to buy the groceries too." Kerri just laughed at him and told him he had a challenge.
Kerri then walked into the kitchen and started preparing breakfast for everyone. Then she was going to check the pantry and the refrigerator and freezer so she could get her food supplies. She started making bacon and the smell was going through the rooms. Aiden and Cam were soon downstairs even though it was only 7:30. It was too early but the smell of bacon was too good to wait till later. She put on a pot of coffee and started getting the eggs and toast ready too. She soon had everyone at the dining table with the mouths drooling with the aroma of breakfast. Emma and Anna were there early and they swore the bacon woke them up too.
Kerri had two more place settings so Anna and Emma could join them. She loved the smiles she got from the kids when they were eating. She knew how to keep Jake happy now there were more mouths to feed but she knew that she could handle it. She took her breakfast in the kitchen while she was starting to clean up from her breakfast dishes.
Nik, Emily and Spencer went to check out their new property. Emily had purchased a piece of property that was down the road from her mother. She loved the area that she grew up in and wanted to be near the lake. There were over a hundred acres of land that bordered her mother's property and was on the lake her mom's house. There was a home there at one time but it was destroyed by a bad storm. The house was razed and no one ever went to put a new home in there. The drive way was full of pot holes due to the snow and the rain. They were going to need to have a new driveway put in before the building could begin.
They had taken a ride around the property and Spencer fell in love with it. It was sad that no one had fixed the home and built on the property in such a long time. Emily felt that it was a gift from her grandparents because they never really wanted neighbors. She felt that the land was supposed to be theirs right next to her mom's property.
"I can see that there is a lot of work that has to be done before the building can even start. I think that we need to talk to either Diane or Alexis and find someone who can get us the permits we need to build a new driveway and then build us a new home and stables. There is plenty of land to build on and also plenty that will be perfect for the horses. It is the prettiest piece of property that I have ever seen."
Nik then took Emily and Spencer to her brother's house. Everyone was still eating and Kerri had made plenty for everyone. Jason asked his sister, future brother-in-law and nephew to eat with them. Once the breakfast was finally over everyone started gathering up their plates and bringing them into the kitchen. Kerri was getting everything cleaned up but planned on going into the dining room to gather the plates but everyone had already pinched in. Some old habits were hard to break.
Jason, Nik, Anna and Emily were leaving and told the children good bye and that they were going to be back for lunch. Elizabeth took the children into the class rooms. She had got everything ready for the new day. She had an appointment the next day to see Dr. Lee about the baby. Her last pregnancy was not easy so she wanted to make sure that this one was perfect.
Spencer, Emma and Cameron had started their class assignments for the day and so did Jake. Aiden was not feeling it again. Elizabeth was a bit worried about him so she took him to the side to talk to him.
"Okay, Aiden. We have been doing this for the past few months and there hasn't been any problems. Is there something bothering you that I need to know about?" Aiden just looked at his mother and the tears started to come out.
"I am sorry about this mom. I just feel a bit left out with everything that is going on. I was always the youngest and I liked being the youngest. Now, you and Jason are getting married and having a baby. Jake has his old housekeeper back to take care of him and Cameron has Emma. I am not sure where I fit in or if I even fit in. Maybe I should see if Lucky will take me on the road with him? I miss him and I feel that I won't be left out if I live with him."
Elizabeth realized that all the changes were effecting the kids differently. Jason was torn because he wanted everyone close and under the same roof but that couldn't happen because Danny was in Brooklyn with his mother. He talked to him every night so he knew that things were going okay with him and Sam.
Cameron and Emma were starting to get close but they always took a step back when Spencer was around. They didn't want to hurt Spencer's feelings and they also didn't want to weird out his younger brothers. Jake was getting better and now that Kerri was in the picture, Elizabeth wanted to know more about Jake when he was on the island.
She never thought that Aiden would feel this left out but she realized that she was wrong. She called Lucky and spoke to him about Aiden and what he wanted to do. Lucky knew that Aiden couldn't go on the road with him all the time but for spring break and the summer he could take him on the road.
Aiden got on the phone with his father and the two talked it out. "Dad, you are right that I can't go right now. I just miss you a lot and I feel left out right now. I would love to spend spring break with you in Nashville and also this summer. I just want to be here for when the baby is born first and then I will go down there."
Lucky hung up the phone with his son and went back to writing his new song. He hoped that Aiden would be alright but he was too busy to be bringing his young son with him on tour.
The rest of the day was filled with children studying and Kerri cleaning. Elizabeth called Jason to tell him about Aiden. She also told him that Lucky was going to have him for spring break and this summer. He came home for lunch and went to talk with Aiden.
Aiden was afraid that he hurt Jason's feelings but Jason told him that he was fine. "Aiden, I just want you and your brothers to be happy. I understand that you thought that I was just your mother's friend and that our lives were not going to change much. I love you and I want you to know that this baby will not change how I feel about you or how your mother feels about you. Maybe with everything that has been going on for the past six months or so it seemed that everything was about your brother, Jake. I know you love him but it is hard for someone to think that someone has died and you mourn that person and then he comes back. It is also hard for the person coming back. You never met your Auntie Emily because she had "died" before you were born. She has been the heart of our family for a very long time and when we thought she had died well; a bright light was taken away from us. A few years after that, Jake was taken away and then I was taken away. Everyone expects you to be the same person you were when you left. Danny's mother expected me to still be in love with her and I felt that I didn't even know her but your mother it was different. We were drawn to each other before we even knew that we knew each other. I know that you are too young to understand this now but you will one day. The three of us were being held against our wills, but all in different ways. I know that this year has been tough but it will get better." Aiden hugged Jason and then went to eat lunch with everyone else.
Emily came in for her part of the school session while Jason took Elizabeth to see their property. She saw all the different things that they were doing to the house but there was a long way to go. The contractor was hoping that they could be moved in by the time the baby was born but he was not sure. "I want to promise you that you will be in by the end of June but with the weather that we have been having, I don't want to have to break the promise later on. I will just say, that my company and I will do our best."
Elizabeth was happy with the progress and also what he had said because she didn't want to be promised something and then have it not happen. They got back and the house was immaculate. Kerri was a great cook but even a better cleaner. The only rooms that she did not clean were the bedrooms. Elizabeth wanted something that the boys had to do for themselves. The bathrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen were spotless.
"I appreciate all the hard work that you do Kerri. We will see you tomorrow." Kerri said her goodbyes and left for the day. Anna came and picked up Emma while Nik picked up Emily and Spencer. The house was clean and dinner was in the oven. Elizabeth felt great but she also felt that maybe she be doing something. She was starting to get restless and she didn't know why.
Elizabeth called Dr. Collins and asked if he did family therapy. She felt that they all needed some therapy on their own but also as a group. He told her that he would do the group therapy but the individual therapy would be best done on separate days.
Cameron didn't really need therapy but Aiden, Jake, Jason and Elizabeth felt that they all needed someone to talk too. Jason was not much of a talker but so many things has happened to him and his family that he needed someone to talk too. Dr. Field that Jake was going too would take Jason as her patient too. Dr. Collins said that he would take Elizabeth and Aiden as his patients. The children would go on Tuesdays and the parents on Thursdays. Friday afternoon would be when they had group therapy for the family.
It was going to force the younger children to lose some of the school time but they could do their work assignments afterwards and on Fridays, the day would end at two instead of three. Thursday afternoon would be when Jason and Elizabeth went to therapy.
Everyone was happy about this change except Cameron because he felt that he didn't need to go. It was just the one afternoon and he would rather stay home alone then go talk about his feelings. Elizabeth was started to think that maybe Cam needed help too.