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Thanks Liason102 for the edit!

Tricks and Treats

"Who do you think is going to have a baby next?" Liz looked over her shoulder and asked Ritchie. "What is the word on the street?" She was in the baby center looking over the registry of Bernie's daughter. Liz wouldn't be going to the shower, they weren't that close, but the Morgans were sending a gift.

The guard followed his charge into the aisle with the high chairs. Small people needed an insane amount of things. There seemed to be even more things then when he shopped for Johnny and Nadine's shower. Ritchie wasn't anywhere near fatherhood, he wasn't even dating anyone right now. No lady meant no kid, he wasn't having a child outside of a relationship. He didn't knock folks who did. It just wasn't' his plan. "Most folks think either you and Jason or Sonny and Carly. No betting is happening though."

"Really?" Liz thought that was surprising. The guys tended to bet on anything. They even bet on Sarah and Cooper's baby. Marco took the pool getting the sex and weight correct. Her nephew was adorable.

"Its bad luck to bet on a baby before month three." Ritchie explained how these things worked. "That includes conception." Mobsters tended to be pretty superstitious as a rule.

"Huh. You learn something new every day." Liz said chuckling. "This one." She pointed to the chair covered in infant versions of the characters from a popular children's show. It converted to different seating options as the child grew which meant the family could get a lot of use out of it. She grabbed one of the slips with the barcode so that she could make her purchase. "We need to go upfront. I give this to someone the customer service desk and they will go into the back to get it."

Ritchie nodded. He liked shopping with Liz, she didn't dawdle. Today wasn't bad because the store was fairly empty. He hated the mall though, so did everyone else on the security details. Particularly at Christmas. "Are you excited for your visitor?"

"I am." Liz grinned while they waited for her purchase to come to the desk. "The owner's suite at the Port Charles Hotel is ready and waiting." She was grateful, and humbled, that Lila offered the space. The entire Quartermaine family had been incredibly supportive of her writing career. It went without saying that her family was the same. "It's kind of funny, I'm a little nervous about meeting him. We've been working together for months now. We've talked on the phone countless times, plus we've face timed, but this is the first in face meeting. An electronic friendship might not translate to a real one."

"I'm positive you guys will be fine." Ritchie also hoped the guy was nice.

"Thank you." Liz said as the high chair was put in a cart and she took it to the cashier to pay. "Okay. Back to the house. I need to get this wrapped and delivered to Bernie's house." She was on her lunch break. Her first book had made it onto the children's best seller book list, so she had served notice at the end of the school year. That had caused only a minor freak out. She was taking the leap to full time writing and the worry that she would fail was very real. Jason had been on hand to assure her that she could make it as an author. His support was everything.

"I'll carry that." Ritchie hefted the box as they left the store. He would take her home and then head back to the warehouse since this was Liz's only trip out today.

Jason opened his front door and walked into his home. It was quiet which didn't surprise him. They had an established routine during the week, and he was currently not following it. Generally he arrived home somewhere between five-thirty and six. By then Elizabeth was done working for the day and in the kitchen fixing dinner.

That was another well-established routine. He made breakfast for them in the morning, and his lovely wife arranged the final meal of the day. If one of them needed to make changes to that schedule it was fine, the world wouldn't end. One phone call or text message took care of things. Only today he hadn't warned her he was coming home early. Because he had a surprise for his girl.

Actually he had several surprises.

He put the item that he carried into the house down in the foyer so that Elizabeth didn't see it just yet. Before the night was over he would share that with her, now he needed to get started on dinner. That was why he was home early. He wanted to make something special to start their night of surprises off. The recipe was one he'd never made before but Sonny promised that it was simple. That wasn't really all that reassuring as his partner thought cooking brunch for fifty was no sweat.

The main thing that Jason had to be sure to do was add the ingredients in the right order. Overcooking the proteins would wreck the dish. His friend did warn that it was highly fragrant so Jason was expecting that once he started cooking his wife was going to pop out of her office to see what was going on.

Now he needed to start prepping, so that cooking could begin.

The happy land where critters mingled as they addressed issues that small children might worry about had all of Liz's attention. The Badger family was getting a new addition. This book was inspired by her watching the twins adjust to the fact that Sarah was having a new baby. Things hadn't been exactly smooth in the Barrett household. The girls did not want another baby in the house, and they really didn't want another brother. Liz had learned a lot watching her sister and brother in-law ride out those choppy waters.

The book was about half complete, she expected to wrap it up in a few weeks. Just before Halloween and her birthday. This year they weren't going to the charity costume ball, but they were making a donation. Not going was her idea, she figured that they could go every other year. That would be fair to Jason, because he really wasn't into dressing up. Instead they were leaving for their cabin two days before Halloween to have some time away.

She hit save just as the most incredible smell wafted into her office. Looking over at the clock she had to smile. Her guy wasn't supposed to be home for another two hours, but apparently he had snuck in. Unless someone had gotten past the guards, broken into the house, and decided that cooking was the next order of business. Since that second scenario wasn't very likely then that meant her husband was here.

She shut down her work station and walked down the hall. Jason was facing away from her so right now she was looking at his back. Since it still warm out he hadn't yet switched over to his long sleeved shirts. If asked Liz would have to admit to loving him in his t-shirts. They were more him, then the other tops. From her vantage point she stood for a moment and watched the play of his biceps. "I need to call the police, a sexy man is standing in my kitchen cooking."

Jason just grinned but he didn't turn around. The dish had a lot of components that needed to be put together. He was cooking the chorizo sausage now and he didn't want to burn it. His wife leaned against his back and the smile on his face got wider. "If you call the police you won't get dinner." He said going along with the joke.

"True, I'll also lose my amazing view." She was laughing as she moved to his side. "That smells wonderful, what will it be when you are done? Or is it a surprise?" There were a lot of bowls on the counter with various ingredients waiting to go into the pot. There was also a cutting board with chicken covered in spices.

"I'm making paella." Jason had other things to share with her, so Elizabeth knowing what's for dinner was fine. "This is just one of the things I have planned for tonight."

"Really?" Liz asked intrigued. She loved it when her husband got all mysterious. "Can I do anything to help?" Them cooking together was one of her favorite things. It happened most often on the weekend.

"Nope." Jason shook his head as he took the sausage from the skillet and added the chicken. During this part of the meal preparation he would be transferring food in and out of the skillet for about the next thirty minutes. After that he would add stock and then the seafood. "You can sit on one of the barstools and keep me company. Or you can go into the living room and relax. Whatever would make you happy."

"That's a no brainer." She said sitting across from where he was cooking. Spending time with him made her happy.

"How was your day?" Jason wanted to know. When they could they talked at lunch. Today he'd worked through the mealtime so that he could get everything he wanted done completed before leaving early.

"Productive." Liz leaned on the counter and enjoyed that her husband was taking care of her. "The baby gift was selected, wrapped, and sent to Bernie." She had selected a card last week, and they both signed it. "I swung by the hotel and checked the room again." Ritchie hadn't minded the unplanned stop. "I'm still so grateful to Grandmother for letting me have the suite for the week."

"It was empty." Jason just shrugged as he moved onto the next ingredient. "Grandmother lives twenty minutes away so she isn't going to stay there. Dillon is the only one who regularly uses it." Jason's cousin lived full time in Vancouver where he worked as a director's assistant. When he came home he didn't want to stay in the mansion because it put him too close to his mother. "It's empty this week so why not let your friend use it."

"How deep of run did you do on Felix?" Liz asked with a smirk.

"Pretty deep." Jason wasn't going to pretend otherwise. "He came back clean."

"I figured as much. Otherwise you would have objected to us working together." Liz knew how things went.

"No." Jason's eyes met hers. "I would never interfere in your career. Who you do and don't work with is up to you. If there was an issue Felix coming to visit would have required more security." He finished with a shrug. Ritchie would be with Elizabeth no matter what. If Felix worried the guard, then they would assign him a partner.

She knew that he respected what she did, still from time to time just how much he believed in her left her speechless. It was right there in his eyes that he supported her writing, and would do whatever was necessary to make sure she had what she needed. She and Felix had been trying to arrange a face to face meeting since she picked him to work on her books. The only request Jason made was that the meeting be here in Port Charles. Liz instantly agreed.

"What are you guys going to be doing?" Jason got that she needed a minute. Elizabeth was still adjusting to being a full time writer. One best-selling book did not equal a career. She was aware of that. Her second book was coming out just before Christmas, when that one was a success as well, then his talented wife would start to relax.

"Sightseeing is on the agenda. Felix has never been on the east coast. So I'll take him around here. We are also going to Buffalo and Rochester." Liz had told this to Ritchie already, so he could make travel arrangements. Jason trusted his guys to handle things so he hadn't asked before now. "Between seeing everything we are just going to hang out. I'm going to try to keep us from doing any work." She said with a grin. "I want him to have fun." Working together had laid the foundation for what turned into a friendship. They had gotten close enough that they talked at least once a week about what was going on in their lives outside of work.

"The plane is at your disposal if you want to go down to New York." Jason reminded his wife.

That made her laugh. "Felix is convinced that New York is a den of crime. He's been reading too many online stories. With his overactive imagination that is not a good thing. So I don't see that taking place. I'm hoping this is the first of many visits, so maybe during a future get together we'll go down." It went without saying that she would be going out to see him too.

"I'm sure no matter what you'll have fun." Jason added the next ingredient to the pan. "I know everyone is looking forward to meeting Felix." Sonny was hosting a party for the illustrator at Polluzo's.

"I hope so." Liz just wanted him to enjoy his time in Port Charles. Jason was putting everything that he had prepped into a stock pot and adding broth. "That smells so good."

"Sonny said if I followed the recipe, it would be fine." Jason put the lid on the pot and washed his hands. "Let's take a walk. This needs to simmer for about an hour then we can eat." He came around the island and stole a kiss as he helped her down. "We can set the table when we come back, after dinner I have more surprises for you."

"Really?" Liz gave her guy a smile. Looks like her night of pampering was just starting.

"That was delicious." Liz exclaimed as she put down her spoon. "I'm going to have to learn how to make that." It was clear he enjoyed it too.

"I can make it whenever you want it." Jason finished up the meal as well. "There is quite a bit left so we can freeze it and pull it out later. Or you can have it for lunch during the workday." Over the next week she would probably be having the midday meal with Felix.

Liz just nodded agreeing. "I was promised surprises." She said smiling across the table.

"We should clean up first." Jason said being difficult.

"Nope. Not gonna fly Morgan." Liz gave him a look. "Fork over the goods."

He put his hand on the table and she instantly covered it with hers. His thumb rubbed across the back of her hand and once again he was amazed at how soft she was. "First surprise."

"Yes." Liz wasn't expecting anything big. She didn't constantly need gifts from her husband. Just his attention, which he gave freely, was more than enough.

"We are going to the Halloween party." Jason told her. He didn't have to clarify which party he was talking about.

"Seriously?" Elizabeth hadn't expected to hear that. "You got tickets?"

"I did. Costumes too." Jason laughed at her surprised look.

"Do I have to wait to find out what we are going as?" Liz would understand if he said yes because she made him wait last year.

"You are going to be Princess Leia and I'm going to be Han Solo." Jason had the costumes in his office. He had to go through her closet to get sizing right.

"You're messing with me." Liz looked at him trying to decide if he was joking or not. That meant he was wearing a real costume.

"I'm not." Jason promised his wife laughing. "Last year I didn't really dress up. This year I'd like to put a bit more effort into the night." He liked how his girl lit up, and he wanted to see that again. "Han Solo is a good next step. Plus Leia is his girlfriend so I get to kiss you all night."

Leaning forward she kissed him. "Thank you, we don't have to go."

"I'd like to go. I did have fun last year." Jason promised her. "I'll have fun with our friends this year. We will leave for vacation on the second so that we can spend your birthday with the family since I took you away last year."

"I'm looking forward to our time away." Liz loved that they had so much family around them, but she loved it even more when it was just them.

"Speaking of that time away." Jason was ready for surprise number two. "We aren't going to the cabin. I wasn't going to tell you until we got to the plane, but I want to give you a chance to shop if you want." They had clothes where they were going, but during the last trip she took some new things over.

"Where are we going?" Liz was fine with the change of plans. She loved that he was doing all this for her.

"Sicily." Jason knew that his wife was planning to not do much writing in November and December. So traveling was fine. Plus if she wanted to work while they were in Italy he wouldn't mind. "Our summer vacation was cut short while we waited for our newest family member to make an appearance. I'm selfish enough to want to make that time up. We'll be back before Thanksgiving, unless you want to spend the holiday in Europe."

"Will AJ be home?" Liz wanted to know. "I mean home here, in Port Charles."

"Nope." Jason could guess her answer based on that question. "So we are staying in Europe."

"If you don't mind. I'd like to get to know your brother a little better. They can join us, or we can go to London." Liz suggested and watched as her guy nodded. If those plans fell through, they could return and spend the holiday at Sonny's.

"I'll call AJ and together we'll figure that out." Jason knew his brother wasn't going to be coming to the states. He always spent Thanksgiving in London. If he came home for a holiday it would be Christmas. Even if they spent the day in Sicily, a trip to London for a few days could happen. He wanted to show Elizabeth more of the world.

"This has been a great night." Liz was already getting excited for their trip.

"It's not over." Jason said with a boyish grin. "Stay here." He got up and left the dining room. When he returned he was carrying a case from the architect that worked with his construction company.

"What is that?" Liz wanted to know. They hadn't talked about building anything.

"The last surprise of the night." Jason let her know. "I need some room." He picked up their dishes and took them into the kitchen. When he came back he removed the blueprint and rolled it out. "These are the plans for your new office."

"An office." Liz had no problem with her work space. The house had one outbuilding when they moved in and Jason took that as his office. That way he could keep his job out of their home. Her office had not been designed as such, but she made the space work.

"Yup." Jason had designed what was essentially a small cottage that matched the building his office was in. When it was done her work space would be larger than his. He wanted something big enough that later down the rode there would be room for an assistant. That was the real reason he was having this designed. At some point his wife was going to need someone to deal with the rest of the world so she could write in peace.

"That's huge. Your space isn't that big." Liz looked at her husband. "Are you planning on moving me out of the house full time?" She asked joking.

"I wanted you to have your own work space. This is the design the architect came up with. You can make any changes you like. I thought you could put your office in the back room so that leaves the front vacant for an assistant." Jason let her know what he had been thinking. "My assistant is at my office downtown, so I don't need her out here. This is your only workspace, so you will eventually need room for staff."

There it was again. His unconditional support and belief in the fact that she was going to succeed. "Thank you." That was pretty much all she could say. Of course that came with a kiss. Liz didn't ever imagine needing help, but she did like the thought of having this space. Sometimes being in the house meant she ended up doing other things when she should be working.

"You're welcome. It's still light out, we should go pick where you'd like this office to be." Jason rolled the blue print back up. "My foreman is waiting to hear from you. He'll come out and make sure the site you want is viable." Something like a tree root might mean they couldn't build there.

"Let me get my jacket." Liz already had a spot in mind. "After we come back we can curl up on the couch." Snuggling was the perfect way to end this day.

"That sounds perfect." Jason said leaning in for another kiss.

"Welcome to Port Charles!" Liz had a wide smile on her face as she hugged Felix. "How was your flight?" They were in lobby of the hotel. She had sent a limo to meet him at the airport.

"Fantastic." Felix said looking around the open space. The decorating style was opulent without being gaudy. Lots of luxury hotels felt that more was the way to go with interior design. Whoever picked out the furnishings and other touches had incredible taste. "Took off and landed on time."

"Go on over and check in. I'll wait here with the bell boy." Liz didn't want to crowd Felix.

"Be right back." He said before walking over to the marble counter.

"You okay over there?" Liz checked in with Ritchie.

"Yup." The guard was keeping a close eye on things, but he was trying not to hover.

"All set." Felix said holding up his key card.

"This is Ritchie. He's going to be hanging out with us, and saving you from my bad driving." Liz joked as they stepped onto the elevator. She pushed the top button.

"At least you have a license. I live downtown in a big city, so I tend to walk everywhere. When I leave my neighborhood Uber is my best friend." Felix said laughing at her joke. What he didn't say out loud was that if you had to be driven around a hot guy was the way to go.

"This way." Liz said leading the way to the hotel room.

"Am I up here by myself?" Felix asked looking around as he tapped his key on the electronic lock. He was paying a decent price for his suite, because he refused to let Liz cover the cost just like with his flight. However he hadn't paid enough to get the room that he was stepping into.

"You are." Liz followed him in while the bell hop and Ritchie brought up the rear. "I had them upgrade you." She saw the objection. "You are still paying the deluxe suite rate because I promised you I wouldn't mess with that. You are just paying it for this room that normally is kept empty. So in a very real way you are making the hotel even more money since they can now book the room you were going to be in."

"Thank you. If I say anything else I'll sound ungrateful. However I'll be keeping my eye on you because you are sneaky. I like that." Felix said with a smile. "I may want to film a Cribs episode while here."

"Is that show still on?" Liz wanted to know.

"I have no idea." Felix said with a shrug. Beautiful flowers were spilling from the vase on the dining room table and he wondered if they were Mrs. Quartermaine's. He had seen pictures of her roses. There was also a very large fruit bowl with several bottles of water beside it. Finally there was a large box of chocolate. As welcomes went it was one of the best he'd ever had.

"Would you like some time to get freshened up?" Liz would take her cues from him. Some folks needed time to relax after traveling.

"About ten minutes." Felix wanted to splash some water on his face and get acquainted with the space.

"We'll wait for you downstairs." Liz would leave him to it. "You can call me if you decide you're tired."

"Not getting rid of me that easily." Felix said arching a brow. "Ten minutes."

"Alright." She said laughing. "Come on Ritchie." Liz would have the desk order her guard some coffee while they waited.

"Loitering?" Carly asked grinning at her friend.

"Yes. I like to come down and sit in the lobby to make faces at the guests." Liz responded being cheeky. "What brings you out?"

"Lunch with Lucas." Carly pointed over her shoulder to the entrance. "He is outside. We ran into one of the other doctors at the GH, and they started talking about some lecture that is happening next week."

Carly's brother was doing a lot better. He had complete his rehab and no longer needed a cane to walk. His depression was also a thing of the past. Liz didn't see him much because he basically lived at the hospital, but both Bobbie and Carly were no longer worrying about him. Liz didn't know Lucas well when he first moved to Port Charles, but now they both stopped to speak if they passed each other. "There he is."

"Liz." Lucas nodded at the newly minted writer. "How are you?"

"Good." Liz stood up since both her friends were standing, which of course brought Ritchie to his feet.

"Are you meeting Jason for an early lunch?" Carly hadn't seen her friend in a few weeks. The Corinthos family had been in South America for the last two weeks on business.

"Felix is upstairs." Liz told her friend. "He was able to catch an earlier flight, so I told him to go for it." Originally he was arriving in the late afternoon, almost around tea time.

"It's going well?" Carly knew that Liz was excited about the visit.

"For the ten minutes we've been together, I'm confident in saying its going fantastic." Liz said with a smirk. "If we don't get arrested tonight then the first day will be a success. Right Ritchie?"

"Sounds like a solid plan." Ritchie wasn't expecting any problems. It wasn't like they were going to Jake's.

"Smartass." Carly said laughing at her friend.

The elevator opened and Elizabeth looked over smiling. "That's Felix." She waved him over when he hesitated and began to slow down after seeing she was with others. "Come meet some of the crew." She had told him about her friends. "Let me introduce you to Felix Dubois, the best illustrator ever."

"She's so sweet." Felix said laughing. "You must be Carly." He extended his hand.

"I am. How did Liz describe me?" Carly wanted to know.

"Tall, stunning, legs up to the ceiling, amazing hair." Felix started the list. "There were a few more compliments in there, but those were the best."

"You are so getting an amazing birthday present." Carly said to her friend laughing. "Let me introduce you to my brother, Dr. Lucas Jones." Liz more than likely wouldn't have talked about him, or at least not much. She would respect Lucas's privacy because he didn't really hang out with the gang often.

"A doctor, your mother must be proud." Felix would love to get an exam from the hunk in front of him.

"She is." Lucas said with a slow smile. Felix was not hard to look at, not at all. "Becoming a doctor was the only way I could compete with my sister. With her running an extremely successful international cosmetics company, saving lives was my only recourse."

"We are going to lunch, you three should join us." Carly said after watching her brother flirt. If Felix was here then Jason ran him seven ways to Sunday, so the illustrator was safe. It was time Lucas got back out there. True a guy who lived across the country wasn't the most ideal, but it was a start.

"I could eat, how about you Felix?" Liz had also picked up on the fact that both men were looking mighty hard at one another. She would step aside with no problem if Lucas wanted to play tour guide at some point.

"An early lunch would be great." Felix gave his approval. Yeah he was going to eye up the sexy doctor, and flirt, but he had no intention of ditching Liz. He came here to spend time with her and that was what was going to happen.

"Come on Ritchie." Liz said to the guard. "Make sure you tell Jason I fed you. I know he thinks I treat you horribly." She joked as they headed to the restaurant.

"I barely survive some days." The guard chuckled as he followed his charge.

Jason was stretched out on the couch watching television. He'd spent most of his nights this week on his own as Elizabeth played hostess. The visit was going well which he was happy about. Felix was a nice guy, Jason talked with him during the dinner party at Polluzo's and came away liking the illustrator.

The problem was that he didn't share well. He could admit that. He missed hanging out with his wife. That thought was followed by a voice telling him to suck it up. They were going to be in Italy, alone, for close to three or four weeks. The only guests would be AJ and Keesha who were confirmed for Thanksgiving week. So Jason could share his wife this week.

He was flipping through the channels when the security system beeped. Switching over to the gate's camera he watched a SUV come through the open wrought iron fence. That had to be Ritchie, anyone else would call before coming up to the house. The question was why was he here? If something had happened Jason would have gotten a call, but Liz shouldn't be home for another couple of hours.

He was in the hall when the door opened. While he was standing there Elizabeth turned and waved at her guard before stepping into the house. "What happened?" Jason let his eyes move over her outfit.

"I took one for the team." Liz said with a grin.

"What does that mean?" Jason asked confused.

"Felix and I went to Kelly's to grab a coffee before the play started. While we were there Lucas came in. He got to leave work early because the ER was slow. He was stopping off to get coffee too. I know Felix and Lucas are attracted to each other. They spent a good amount of time talking at the party." Liz said yes right away when Carly called to ask if her brother could come. "The number of days Felix is going to be here are dwindling. He should have dumped me at least once already to spend time with Lucas." Liz thought they would be cute together. Carly agreed. She thought her brother needed a hot vacation fling to get back into the swing of things. "But he's being a good friend."

"How does the fact that Felix is being a good friend fit in with you wearing a cup of hot chocolate?" Jason asked his lovely wife. He knew that's what it was because he could smell it.

"We had two tickets to the show and I flat out offered to give mine to Lucas. He said he didn't want to crash our visit. While Felix said us going to the show together was the plan, and we were sticking to it. All the while they were eyeing each other up. So I went to the bathroom, and I texted Ritchie to find out who was in charge tonight. He said Shawn, so I called him and asked that he send someone over to Kelly's to bump into me while I was walking across the courtyard." Liz was rather pleased with her plan. "I got covered in my drink, and with no time to go home and change without being late, which is rude, I was able to talk Lucas into taking my ticket. Now they are off having what I'm sure is a great time."

"What if after spending time together they don't like each other?" Jason asked playing devil's advocate.

"Then they will know instead of wondering after Felix leaves." Liz knew that was a risk, but she was thinking it was going to go well. "I need to shower. What were you doing before I got home?"

"Watching television, and missing you." He leaned down and kissed her now that she was standing closer. "Want some help getting clean? After we can cuddle on the couch, and I'll make you a new hot chocolate."

"That sounds great." Liz leaned up and kissed him again. "Especially the hot chocolate." She laughed heading for the stairs.

His girl was hot when she was playing cupid. And she was upstairs getting naked, which was enough to get him moving.

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