A/N – Thanks for all the comments. Loved reading them! * Kcke2pen – lol like your 2x4 idea with Carly.

Chapter 21

Carly grinned when she saw her son walk in, but that soon dissipated when Elizabeth came into view.

Michael threw his arm around his mom's legs.

"Hey, little man."

"Hi mom. Go play?"

"Yup. Your friends are waiting for you over there."

He followed her finger and took off.

"Carly. You know Elizabeth," AJ said.

"Hi."

Liz smiled. "Hello."

Sonny patted the seat next to him. "Have a seat."

Liz sat next to him and AJ sat on the other side of Carly.

"So, how's the patient?" Sonny asked.

"He's doing a lot better. His cuts and burns are healing nicely. He just has to work on his stamina."

Carly rolled her eyes and clenched her jaw so she would say what was on her mind. He wouldn't be hurt at all if hadn't of been dragged into her mess.

AJ stood and held out his hand. "Come on. Let's go take some pictures of Michael."

Carly took his hand and let him pull her up and they walked away.

"She hates me."

Sonny's head turned in Carly's direction. "I don't think it's anything personal. She's just very protective of Jason."

"Who got hurt because of me."

"Jason is a big boy. He doesn't do anything he doesn't want to. Carly just wants his world to revolve around her."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"She chose me and Jason doesn't want her. Their bond is just something that I live with. Besides, I'm pretty territorial about him too, so I have no room to criticize."

"Do you think that she'll give me any problems?"

"I'd like to say no, but she probably will. Just hold your ground and don't let her bully you."

"Sonny, I spent a long time cowering. I'm not doing that anymore. If Carly does something, I'm going to fight back."

Sonny nodded. "I can't really argue with it, but she is my wife. For the most part, I do have her back."

"You should, but I do hope that if she were to do something unforgivable that you wouldn't just excuse it. I think Michael needs a better example than that."

Sonny watched her walked towards the others and fought a smile. It had taken a lot of guts to say what she did to him and he had to admit, he respected her for it.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

John walked into Felicia's and she pulled him into the kitchen.

"Where are the girls?"

"In their rooms."

"Good." Without pretense, his pushed her up against the wall and playfully nipped at her lips before kissing her torridly, making her slightly moan.

She suddenly slipped away and then ran to the oven and pulled out the chicken she was baking. "Maybe I shouldn't invite you into the kitchen."

He sat at a small table and watched her whip up some potatoes. "You're very sexy when you cook."

She smiled. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

Georgie ran into the kitchen. "Mom!" she yelled as Maxie skidded to a halt behind her.

"Girls, we have company."

They turned to look at their guest.

"Hi John," they said in a sing-songy voice, making him chuckle.

"Hi girls."

Maxie pulled a shirt from under her sister's arm and ran away.

"She is such a brat," Georgie said before pouting and sitting across from John. "Are you good at math?"

"I did pretty well in it. Why?"

"I'm stuck on my homework."

"I'll help you out."

"Dinner is almost ready. He can help you afterwards. Did you set the table?"

"Yup."

"Help me take the plates out."

Georgie jumped up and assisted.

"You want me to carry something?" John asked.

"Just yourself."

He followed them and sat where a beer bottle had been placed.

Maxie sat across from him. "I tasted beer once. It's disgusting. Wine is better."

John frowned. "Where did you get it from?"

"A party I snuck into."

Felicia and Georgie placed two more dishes on the table and then took their places.

John couldn't help feeling that Felicia was definitely going to have her hands full with Maxie.

"Mom, can I take a bus to Rochester on Saturday?" Georgie asked.

"For what?"

"There's a comic con."

"Really?" John asked.

Maxie's fork clattered to her plate. "Seriously? Not you too."

Georgie and John started talking about comic book characters and Felicia had to fight a chuckle.

"Maxie, you are spending the night at your girlfriend's house on Saturday, so I'll drop you off early and the rest of us can go," Felicia suggested.

"The tickets are on me," John said.

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want too. You sure you don't want to go, Maxie?"

"Oh I'm positive, but there is a fashion convention coming up. I'm sure you'll love to join me."

John almost choked on his beer as Maxie grinned and took another bite of her food.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Jason watched Liz walk into the room with a stuffed animal. "Did you win that?"

"Nope. Micah helped Michael win it for me."

Jason smiled. "Did you have fun."

"Yup. I had an interesting talk with Sonny."

"About?"

"Carly."

Jason frowned. "Do I even want to know?"

She climbed on the bed and sat facing him. "I just let him know that if Carly got in my face, then I was going to fight back."

Jason remained silent so she kept going.

"I think he respected me for it."

"Elizabeth, I spoke to Carly about you and warned her not to go there. I'm not going put up with that."
"I just don't want to make you choose between us."

"If I have to, then it's on her and if Sonny has problem with that then I'll deal."

"Okay. He did say that she is his wife and that he mostly has her back, but I got the feeling that if she went too far, that he wouldn't like it. Can I ask you something?"

He nodded.

"Why did you forgive them?"

He knew she was going to ask that. "I was so messed up after the accident. I think it was partially loyalty and also being afraid to be alone. I kill people for a living. How can I judge other people for their mistakes when all my job does is hurt people regardless of whether they deserve it or not?"

"I understand."

"And while I do love Carly, I wasn't in love with her. It hurt, don't get me wrong, but we never would have made it. We want different things."

"Just know that you deserve loyalty too. People like Carly and Sonny will always have an excuse because their worlds revolve around what they need. I've thought about forgiveness a lot. Could I forgive my family? Yes, if they really were sorry, but they are not."

"Sonny and Carly apologized."

"But were they really sorry? They were probably sorry they got caught, but if they were worried about hurting you instead of what they wanted in the moment, they wouldn't have gone there. And yes, I understand that people make mistakes, but from what I've seen and know, Carly doesn't listen to you and repeatedly puts you in bad situations. She is not learning from her mistakes. I really hope that I never do anything really bad, but I know people are human. I'm not trying to tell you to break off your friendship, I just hope that you're honest with yourself about it and don't let them hurt you again."

He totally got what she was saying. "I've backed off from them a lot for that reason. I need to tell you something. I don't know if it's true or not, it's just a hunch."

"Go ahead."

"Lisa said something to me before James killed her. She said Carly didn't have my back and that I need to be careful and then she started to say something about you and he stopped her."

"So you think Carly did something?"

He closed his eyes, hating that it could be true. "Yes."

She reached out and touched his arm. "It's not your fault."

"I just hate that she's so selfish that she would hurt me like that." Carly was complicated, but he was tired of making excuses for her.

She moved closer so she could hug him. "I'm used to having people against me and can handle it, but I don't like anyone hurting you."

"That's my line."

Pulling back, she gently brushed her hand against his cheek. "I care about you and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again."

"Ditto."

She leaned forward until their lips connected and then tilted her head to kiss him more fully.

"Ewwww."

Liz chuckled against his lips. "Did you get them?"

"Uh—huh," Michael said before running forward with a bag.

Liz grinned. "You are the best!"

"You had him steal cookies for you?"

"No. He asked. Right?"

Michael nodded vigorously.

"Okay. Thank you!"

Michael ran out and Jason tried not to smile.

"Go ahead and laugh at me."

"I'm not. You ready for our date tomorrow night?"

"Definitely."

"Will you stay there with me for a while?"

"If you want me too."

"I do. I'm not ready to give you up yet."

She blushed. "Thanks."

"I hope you're not disappointed."

"I can't imagine how I would be. You know, Grams would do little things for me, like write messages on my zip lock bags, telling me she loved me or wrote something positive. That meant more to me than any huge gift because it was from her heart. I don't want you to think that you have to go overboard or not be yourself. Just spending time with you is enough."

Jason slightly smiled. "I don't think any has ever said that to me."

"Well, get used to it."

"Thank you."

They kissed languidly as their mouths merged over and over and their tongues mated.

"You make my head fuzzy."

Jason grinned. "I don't think anyone has ever told me that before."

Her face flushed red.

"Come closer," he whispered.

He used his left hand to tilt her head and then slowly kissed and nipped at her neck and ear.

"Jason," she breathed out as she gripped his shoulders.

That only spurred him on more as his hand slipped under the back of her shirt sending shivers throughout her body. He was driving her crazy.

She pulled back and then dove at his throat, completely throwing him off guard as she duplicated what he had down.

Jason hissed as she found his sensitive spot and her tongue darted out. He cursed under his breath and then she started to giggle and couldn't stop.

"Elizabeth…"

She pulled back. "Sorry."

"Are you going to tell me what was so funny?"

"I have no idea what I am doing."

He moved her chin so she'd look at him. "You were doing just fine."

She bit her lip and his eyes narrowed.

"Shut the door and lock it."

She drew a shaky breath and did what he asked and then stood in front of him.

"Straddle me."

"I don't want to hurt your leg."

"You won't. Trust me."

Carefully, she climbed onto his lap.

"I don't know what to do with my hands."

"You can touch me. Do whatever you want."

He closed his eyes as she lightly traced his face with her fingertips and then ran her digits through his hair. When her finger lightly touched his lips he sucked it into his mouth as his eyes slightly opened to watch her reaction. Leaning forward, she peppered his face with light kisses and then he captured her chin between his lips and sucked and nipped it. Their eyes locked for a long moment.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"The way you make me feel, I just never thought it would be like this."

"Are you scared?"

"You don't scare me, Jason."

"Even when I make demands?"

She shook her head.

"Good. I need you to know that you can always say no. Okay?"

"Okay. So, you learned from practicing?"

He nodded.

"Is there anything you don't like?"

"I don't think so."

"Are you scared of anything?"

His eyes smoldered as he gave her question some thought. "To be honest, I'm not used to taking it slow and I'm scared of hurting you more than anything."

A sly smile crept onto her face, making his head tilt.

"What's that for?"

"So I'm going to drive you just as crazy as you are going to drive me?"

"Probably."

"I'm looking forward to the day when you don't have to hold back."

He swore and then crushed her mouth with his, taking what he wanted as Liz struggled to keep up.

There was a knock on the door and their heads jerked apart.

Liz climbed off the bed and straightened her clothes and then opened the door.

Emily was standing there pretending to be mad. "Were you making out with my brother?"

Liz's face turned beat red.

"That's what I thought. Do I need Edward to give you the safe sex talk?"

Liz's mouth dropped open and Emily burst into a fit of laughter.

"You are just so wrong."

"I need to talk to Jason. You can go to my room and talk to Nikolas."

"Okay bossy. He's not naked, right?"

Emily laughed again as she walked away. "Hey," she said before sitting next to Jason.

"You have crappy timing."

"She'll be right back. Now, I got her a pretty dress and you an outfit too."

His brow rose.

"Relax. It's a button down black shirt and black dress paints. It killed me to buy it, but I did it for you."

Jason cracked a smile. "Thank you."

"No problem. Siobhan and I are decorating."

"Nothing crazy please."

"I do know you and I won't go overboard. We put a small table in front of the fire place. I put clothes for Elizabeth in the room on the right and she likes bubble baths so I put some products under your sink."

"I owe you one."

"Nah. You've done a lot for me, so I enjoy returning the favor." It wasn't often that Jason included her in this way. "Besides, Elizabeth deserves some spoiling. You're like her Richard Gere."

"Richard Gere?"

"The movie Pretty Woman."

He still looked perplexed.

"Okay, so there was a hooker played by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere hires her and they end up falling for each other and he changes her life."

Jason looked at her like she was crazy. "Elizabeth is not a hooker."

Emily busted up laughing. "I'm aware of that Captain Obvious. Don't you get it?"

"No."

"He was her knight in shining armor."

"Now I'm a knight?"

"Yes, except you have a motorcycle and a glock instead of a horse and jost thingy. Really Jason, you are so literal," she said as she walked towards the door.

He started to chuckle and she spun around.

"Were you just messing with me?"

"Maybe."

She gave him a playful glare. "Just for that, I'm taking your outfit back and getting a Hawaiian shirt."

"You wouldn't…"

She ran out of the room, leaving her brother with a big smile on his face.