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Chapter 21

"Wow, this room is amazing." Nadine said walking around the nursery. The furniture was all in place, including a large comfortable looking recliner. "Michael will be happy here." The mural was going to need a closer inspection, but it really was breathtaking on the first look. "Who drew the mural?"

"I did." Liz said looking around the space as well. She was pleased with how it turned out. The crib was the focal point of the room, but there was a matching armoire on one wall, with a dresser next to it. A low bookshelf was on another wall and she had found a wonderful flower mirror that was worked into the artwork. There was even a Winnie the Pooh chair for when Michael was a little older.

"That is the biggest stuffed dog I've ever seen in my life." Nadine said laughing. It was sprawled on the floor.

"Emily couldn't resist getting it." Liz had the same reaction Nadine did. Skye's comment was to get it out of their systems now, she was instituting a no stuffed animal rule for her nursery. "I figure Michael can nap on it when he's bigger. It will also be a good place for story time."

"That it will. I think Michael will sleep well tonight." Nadine could see that Jason and Elizabeth were committed to make the little boy happy.

"He is going to stay in my room." Jason said finally speaking up.

"Michael will be fine in his nursery." Nadine said smiling. "You will also probably sleep better with him not in your room." She said giving some advice. "With him that close every single sound he makes will have you checking." Looking around the room she didn't see the monitor they picked up, it was probably in Jason's room. "You can watch him on the baby monitor if you are worried."

"Will it hurt anything to have him in Jason's room this week?" Liz wanted to know.

"Not a thing." Nadine assured them both. She wasn't here to tell them how to parent, but they did ask for advice. "Michael just needs to feel safe to sleep. Jason probably smells somewhat like his dad which I'm sure is helping with the transition. Michael also feels loved, which is helping more."

"I read that vision is a baby's weakest sense in the beginning, and that some doctors feel that baby's imprint on their parents by scent." Jason had downloaded some books and started reading them yesterday.

"Your brother and Mrs. Quartermaine believed that." Nadine had learned about that at college.

"Did Carly wear a certain scent?" Liz wanted to know. She would do whatever she could to help Michael's transition.

"No. She went to all unscented products early in her pregnancy and kept that up once the baby arrived." Nadine had spent a lot of time talking with her bosses during the interview process. That was when they discussed not only the nanny's role in the house, but also what the parenting philosophy was going to be. The Quartermaines wanted to be as hands on as possible. Nadine was only going to be with their son when they were working, or on the occasional night out. "But babies know good people from bad ones. I firmly believe that, and judging by what I saw yesterday he likes you." She told the shorter woman. "Ready for bath time?" They hadn't done this last night.

"I have everything set up in the bathroom." Jason let Nadine know. He walked over and picked up Michael who was in his crib.

"Okay." In the tub was the smaller tub she had pointed out to Elizabeth. "You can use the sink at the moment if that is easier on your back." Nadine explained. There was a lot of counter space where the tub could sit. "A lot of people wash their babies in the kitchen because of the spray nozzle."

"He's not a turkey." Jason said trying not to laugh.

Liz just went ahead and laughed. Not at what Nadine said, but at Jason's answer. "The kitchen or bathroom sink is just higher. So you do less bending over."

Nadine nodded trying not to laugh. "The tub is fine as well." She saw a thick changing pad in here and had wondered why Liz picked up a second one. The new godmother was already thinking on her feet. "Why don't you get him undressed? Down to his diaper. I like that it's warm in here. Babies do not like to be cold."

"All the bathrooms have warmers, and towel warmers too." Liz pointed them out.

Michael's sleeper was on the towel warmers as well as a couple of the large terry cloth rectangles. Nadine walked over and touched the rod before nodding. Too warm would be a bad thing, but what she was feeling was just fine. "You don't want to go to a higher temperature than this. Michael's skin is very delicate."

"Understood." Elizabeth was taking this all in.

"In the tub?" Jason guessed cradling an almost naked Michael.

"Not just yet. Go ahead and wrap him in a towel for now." Nadine said moving back so that both Jason and Elizabeth could kneel by the tub. "You want to make sure that everything you need for the bath, and after, is ready to go. Also don't ever leave the baby unattended in the tub." She figured they knew this, but Liz had said when giving instructions assume they knew nothing. They both nodded. "You want a towel on the changing pad, next to that there should be a diaper, lotion, diaper cream if you need it and his sleeper." She took it down and moved it over. "If you are going to dress him in the bedroom you want the same setup. But I would say stay in here as long as possible because it is so warm."

"Water should be in the tub before you bring Michael into the bathroom." Nadine pointed out something they hadn't done. "Warm water, never hot. With the inclined tub you can go ahead and put the water right in the basin." She instructed them, seeing that once again Liz was taking notes. "What's wrong?" She asked because Jason was frowning.

"I can't feel temperatures." He said looking at Elizabeth. "I need to get the system that's in my bathroom installed over here. Then I can set the water temperature so I don't burn him. So tonight you should do bath time. I'll just hang out and be your assistant." He would watch carefully so he could do bath time later.

"That's not a problem." Liz answered nodding. "It won't take long to install." But it might take a few days to arrive after being ordered. "I don't mind doing baths. I read online that we shouldn't wash him every day?"

"That's correct. Right now two times a week is fine. You want to sponge bathe him with warm water on the days that he doesn't go into the tub." Nadine was happy to hear they were reading baby books. "He will probably be on that schedule until he's around ten months or so. Of course you want to listen to your pediatrician's advice over mine."

Liz started the water and when Nadine said it was fine she filled up the tub. When it was at the correct level Jason unwrapped the baby, and removed his diaper before handing him to Elizabeth. Michael started making loud mewling noises, not quite crying, but they were headed there. It was clear that he wasn't enjoying this. "He doesn't like baths?" Liz asked keeping her eyes on the baby.

"No." Nadine said chuckling. "Not all babies like baths in the beginning, so you want to be quick. It's something that generally changes once they are older. I would suggest starting with shampoo and then moving to the body." She was perched on the side of the tub while Jason was standing behind Elizabeth. "A wet cloth will help with the hair washing." She said looking around.

"I'll get one." Jason went into the nursery and grabbed a couple. Once the room was set up Elizabeth had shown him where everything was. Then asked if he wanted anything moved. He said no, she had done an excellent job. "Here you go."

"Great." Nadine took them and handed one to Elizabeth. She walked the other woman through cleaning Michael's hair, and then the rest of him. A rinse quickly followed and by now the baby was letting them know he was not happy with the current events. He had very good lungs.

"I'm sorry." Liz said trying to soothe the upset child. "It's almost over kiddo. I promise to get faster." The sight of those big blue eyes filled with tears was killing her.

"Practice will have you zipping through this in no time." Nadine assured them both.

"I think you did great." Jason said moving so that Elizabeth could put Michael on the changing pad and wrap him in the warm towel that was waiting. "The counter might be better." He said seeing the big wet spot on her shirt."

"For now probably." Liz said agreeing. "We'll figure it out. Now what?"

"Give him a good drying, rubbing softly. Then lotion." Nadine pointed to the bottle. "You will want to leave his lower half covered if you don't put on a diaper right away." She advised grinning.

"Jason got anointed last night." Liz said grinning. "I am wet enough. Do you want me to keep going?"

"Yeah." Jason was enjoying watching her with the baby. "I can do the next bath time, and the ones after that. You can watch and criticize my technique." He said laughing.

"Okay, but when bath time gets fun we might have to renegotiate." She said rubbing the lotion onto Michael's chest and arms after warming it in her hands. A diaper was put on and then his legs were lotioned up.

"Here is his sleeper." Jason had picked it. The blue pajamas were covered in dogs. In no time at all Michael was dressed for bed and making sucking sounds. "Time for a bottle."

"I don't think I'm needed for that. You did great." Nadine said helping with the cleanup. She was wondering how much work she was actually going to do. Hands on parents were the best thing for a child, but she would offer whatever support was necessary.

"You take the feeding." Liz said rinsing out the small tub. "I'll come down and make the bottles for tomorrow."

"I can help you with that if you like." Nadine let her know.

"Alright." Liz said standing up. With two of them they would get it done twice as fast. "Thank you for coming up. I'm sure we would have figured it out on our own, but this way it was less stressful for Michael."

"You guys really are doing great so far." Nadine said as Elizabeth turned off the bathroom light.

"I know it will get harder than this, at the moment Michael doesn't do much. Once he's mobile I'm guessing things will get really interesting." Liz said smiling. "The big hurdle at the moment are mine and Jason's nerves. We will get there." She said as they walked down the hall. "I'm going to change my shirt and meet you downstairs."

Nadine had no doubt that Elizabeth said was true. They loved Michael, and they would be fine.

"Thank you for getting the books." Jason said closing the door to Michael's nursery. At the moment the small child was in his crib fast asleep, if he actually spent the night there would remain to be seen. Jason wasn't sure he was comfortable with that just yet.

"Skye went with me, and she actually bought them as a gift to Michael. His aunts are going to have to be watched, I think they are going to enjoy spoiling him." Liz was so thankful to be able to be a part of the little boy's life. Most godparents weren't this hands on, but Jason was making it clear that her role was much larger than the norm.

"I'm not going to try and stop them. Once Skye and Cody's baby arrives then some of the spotlight will be taken off of Michael. It will be nice that he has someone to grow up with." Jason said looking down at Elizabeth. They were standing in the hall outside of the nursery.

"I guess I should head home." She said not wanting to leave. "I'll let you two guys settle in for the night." It was clear from last night that Jason was fine on his own overnight.

"You don't have to leave yet." Jason wanted her to know. "In fact I'd like it if you didn't. With Michael asleep I have you to myself." He said letting a slow smile come to his face. "I'm still working on learning to share."

That made her laugh. "So what did you have in mind? A bike ride is out, but we could cuddle on the couch and ignore whatever movie you pick." Liz said letting her smile turn flirtatious.

"Are you implying that I'm just going to go downstairs and make out with you? I'm not that kind of guy." Jason mock protested.

"Yes, you are." Liz said with a smirk before walking away.

"You're right I am that kind of guy." Jason said before following her down the stairs. He caught up with her beside the couch. His lips covered hers as he pulled her closer. There was too much space between them.

She pushed until he backed up and when his leg hit the couch they went down. Shifting she ended up straddling his thighs with her lips still on his. Her fingers speared through his short hair as she felt his hands frame her hips. Moving wasn't even a conscious thought in her mind. The only thing that mattered was getting closer.

She titled her head back as his mouth left hers and traveled down the column of her throat. Her t-shirt had a V neckline today and he took advantage of that. Letting his lips move to the skin of her chest that was exposed. His hands weren't staying still either. They moved from her hips and up her waist stopping just before his thumbs touched the underside of her breasts. It amazed him that his one hand could almost span the width of her back. At moments like this just how much smaller than him she was became clear. He didn't think she was weak but he needed to make sure to not hurt her even unintentionally.

Liz moaned low as his mouth took a leisurely journey down her neck and when he kissed the skin of her upper chest she bit her lower lip. The man was driving her crazy, in the best possible way. "Hmm." She had no problem letting him know that she was very much enjoying his attention. When he kissed the skin behind her ear she couldn't stop the gasp that escaped. His lips finally moved back to his and she didn't even try to control the kiss. She would have her turn she had no doubt about that. Right now this was his show, and she was fine with that.

Jason pulled his mouth from hers and put his head on her shoulder as his arms tightened around her waist so she wouldn't move. He was close to the edge and needed to calm down a little. She pushed him higher faster than any woman he had been with. Not that he was complaining because it felt amazing, he just wasn't sure he was going to survive it. They also needed to talk, things were moving fast because they had a lot of repressed emotions coming to the surface. He knew he did. For the last couple of years he had been fighting this. Boy was he an idiot.

"Why are you laughing?" She asked him. Why they stopped was something she could figure out on her own. It was a good thing they did because she was about to explode. It had been a couple of years since she was with anyone and her control was not the best. Which made her wonder how long it had been for him.

"I was just thinking that I was stupid to have tried to pretend this wasn't between us." He looked up into her eyes. They were darker with passion. "We could have been here a while ago."

"We got here when it was right for us." Liz said shrugging. "I would have rather had you wait until you were sure than to have you start something only to walk away."

"I was doubting myself when I heard the verdict in AJ's death, but you're too amazing to let go." He said letting his lips drift over her chin. "We have to stop for the night." He said not really wanting to. "I don't have any protection in the penthouse. We should also probably get blood tests before we go any further."

"I just had a physical. Just before vacation. I get a blood panel done every year." Liz had to request it because lab work wasn't standard. "As a sexually active adult it's just smart. I'm perfectly healthy. I can show you if you like." She had the paperwork downstairs in her file cabinet.

"I believe you. I had a physical last month. I get it done around the same time as my yearly neurological exam. I do all the medical stuff at once. I also get a blood panel done, and I'm also healthy." Jason liked that they could talk about this. "I told you that Robin was HIV positive, we were careful. We never actually had intercourse though. She was worried about making me sick, even though her viral load was low."

"I know that you wouldn't be here with me like this if you thought you would make me sick." Liz was safe with him. "So how long has it been since you've been with someone?"

"Just over two years." Jason admitted with a half grin. "A couple of years after Robin died I had a fling with someone I had known for a while. It was purely a physical thing because neither one of us wanted to be in a relationship. She moved away before Carly introduced you to me. Have you been with anyone since Ewan?" Jason didn't think so, and honestly it didn't matter. He wasn't going to judge her.

"No. Our breakup left me in not so great of a space emotionally. I was angry for a good long while, and I was nervous about putting myself back out there. I didn't want to pick another jerk." Liz said being truthful. "So I took some time to just work, and hang out with my friends. I didn't want to make the same mistake I made with Ewan, and the guy before him who was incredibly immature. I figured when it was time to start dating again I would know it. I also wasn't going to settle for a little boy, I wanted a grown man this go round."

"How did Ewan never learn what you did for a living?" Jason wanted to know.

Liz just laughed. "He never even asked. I told him that I worked in publishing when we met. My job never came up again. He liked for things to be about him, and I didn't want to share what I did with him. That should have had me walking away. I wasn't looking for a lifetime with Ewan, but I think deep down inside I knew he was a jerk."

"I'm a grown man." Jason let her know. "And I'm ready for a woman who expects that of me."

"It's okay to be worried." Liz didn't want him to think she saw what he struggled with as a sign of weakness. Because it wasn't. Weakness would be never trying again. "I told you that I'll always worry about you."

"I'm grateful that you care about me. So we don't need blood tests, but we do need protection." Jason would go shopping tomorrow.

"We can decide when it's best to stop using that protection. I'm also on the pill, just so you know." Liz leaned forward and kissed him. "I also made my former boyfriends use condoms. We never got to the point where ditching them was an option. I'm looking forward to getting there with you." She said in a husky whisper.

"I've never gone without latex either." Jason wondered if he would survive it. "I'm looking forward to it as well. For now though I think we should more kissing before you go home."

"Best idea I've heard all night." Liz said bringing her lips back to his.

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