A/N: Hey guys!
So I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you for the great outpouring of reviews last chapter. Both from new and old readers alike, I loved hearing from each of you and your thoughts on the mystery man reveal. As I told many of you in those reviews that while this reveal has come out, there is still so many other secrets and identities yet to be unmasked. So keep reviewing with your thoughts, your reactions and your ideas. This chapter is inspired by a review actually.
So klj5017a - you asked for more perspectives of our main characters and this chapter delivers. It is a Jason-centric perspective chapter with a pretty good ending of what is going to come next. Hope you and everybody else enjoys it and comments with your thoughts!
Disclaimer: This chapter includes a Sam mention at the beginning, FF at will ;)
Antajk:Hey Amanee! Thanks for the review! It means so much to me that you love this story and are looking forward to what happens next. I hope I'm keeping you excited and on the edge of your seat. I look forward to hearing more from you soon!
Jen: Thanks for the review Jen! So you weren't expecting Lorenzo? Good! Haha, I was really trying to find someone who would be unexpected and glad I did. You too will get your wish soon. Jason is about to find out that his secret isn't so much a secret anymore. And yes, Elizabeth will find out. I just haven't decided yet how and when. I think AJ's drunken slip-up is going to affect some things though, like the fact of if he even remembers what he said to Michael. And both he and Jason will be visiting the boys absolutely. Definitely coming soon!
Guest: Hello! Thanks for the review. I am so glad you liked the last update. I'm curious to hear any other thoughts you might have on the story or ideas of what to incorporate. I love hearing from reviewers such as yourself!
And now, back to the story!
Jason wasn't surprised when Elizabeth never returned.
He realized he was probably the last person she wanted to see or be around. The things she said to him, they jarred him to his core though and he just wanted a chance to talk to her, to explain. But then she left, reminding him of what he left behind and what he, at least in her mind, chose instead.
Sam and Danny.
The more Jason thought about it, the more he realized Elizabeth was right. As much as things with Sam were delicate, he couldn't possibly leave her in the dark, especially since he had no intentions of going back to their home. He was staying in Port Charles and that was a fact.
Obviously Jason knew it would take some convincing on his part, but Sam owed him at least that much. And if she wouldn't do it for him, Jason had no doubts she would do it for Danny.
But as Jason thought about his youngest son, he realized that bringing him to live in Port Charles wasn't that easy either. When, and he had to believe it was when, Jake woke up, how would he react to meeting his brother for the first time? He was the brother who took his father away as far as Jake was concerned and Jason couldn't envision the two getting along.
Maybe under different circumstances they could have.
Jason sighed as once again he reflected on his decisions and his mistakes. Liz deserved so much more, not the least of which was the truth. He owed her the truth and he knew it was only a matter of time until he would have to tell her. And he wanted to, but he couldn't.
Jake and Cameron were both unresponsive after their surgeries and neither had woken up yet. Elizabeth was completely focused on her boys as she should be. There was no reason to lay this on her, not now. And at the same time, Jason wasn't sure if he could believe the so-called accident was really an accident.
Yes, he had killed the man who ruined his life and watched him die in front of his eyes, but that didn't mean the threat was over. Jason knew as long as he was who he was that his sons would be in danger. Could he protect them forever though?
Jason never thought about what would happen when Cam and Jake went off to live their own lives, but the reality was it was going to happen. He hadn't been in their lives so how would he have known that Cam was living with Michael? Sure, Jason had guards on his godson at all times, but had Cameron gone somewhere else, Jason never would have known and never would have been able to protect him from threats or danger.
And the same went for Jake. As long as his son lived in Elizabeth's house he could keep him safe. But what would happen when Jake went off on his own? He was 16. College was going to be soon. Jason would have no idea where he was going, who he was with, how he was spending his time. Jake could have been targeted or hurt and there was nothing he could have done about it,
because he didn't know.
That had started to bother Jason more than anything else.
Even when Jake was a baby, Jason had always been able to rationalize his decision to stay away from his son if it kept him safe. He believed that a life with Lucky and Elizabeth was better than one that ended with Jake in constant danger. And Jason was sure of this when Jake was kidnapped by one of his enemies. He had no choice but to return him to Lucky's arms.
But even though Jason had guards on Jake and Elizabeth at all times, there was this feeling in the pit of his stomach that he could never protect them enough. He never understood how Sonny could do it.
Michael, Kristina, Morgan, their lives were in constant danger. They lived behind walls with bulletproof windows and doors. They had their own personal guards on them at all times. They never went anywhere without someone who Sonny trusted to keep them safe, to protect them.
And Jason had done all of that for Jake, but there was one difference.
Sonny had always been a father. He loved his kids more than anything else in the world and would have done anything for them. He knew that danger could touch them, but he would have died before that happened. Jason had never seen anything like that before.
Initially and somewhat selfishly, Jason disagreed with how Sonny kept his kids safe. It was in part because not a day went by when Jason did not fear for Michael's life. He had raised that boy for a year as his own and he was always afraid of something happening to him. But the more time Jason had to observe Sonny playing with Michael, telling stories to Kristina, taking Morgan to Yankees games, the more he realized above all else, Sonny was a wonderful father.
Jason had wanted that himself. As soon as AJ found out the truth about Michael and took him away, only for Carly to have Sonny adopt the boy a short time later, Jason knew he wanted to be a father. He knew he wanted kids.
And when Elizabeth told him she was pregnant with his child, nothing in the world made Jason happier. He was determined to do right by her and their son. He wanted to love both of them. He wanted to protect them.
But she had been hesitant. Elizabeth's worries compounded Jason's own fears and when she asked him to let Lucky raise their son, he knew it was the right thing to do. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do but it was the right thing. Jason was only more convinced of that when he got the call.
Michael had been shot in Sonny's warehouse by one of their enemies.
The ripple effect was real. Carly begged Sonny to sign over his paternal rights of Morgan, Alexis limited his contact with Kristina and Michael languished in a coma. Jason reminded Liz she needed to be with Lucky and safe and without much of a choice, Liz agreed.
But Jason couldn't stay away. He found himself catching glimpses of Jake at the park, at school, at Kelly's. He couldn't walk away from his son. It was selfish but Jason had to be selfish. He would protect Jake, he could do it. So when Elizabeth and Lucky announced their divorce, Jason realized he had to step up and be a father.
That had been over 10 years ago when Jake was just turning six.
Jason wondered what had changed between then and now. He was so convinced back then that the best way to protect Liz and the boys was to be with them. He didn't need to worry about possible threats because he could and would protect them himself. Sure they had guards, but as Liz told him so many times, he was the best guard they needed.
But then when Jake was 8 and his life was threatened, Jason didn't listen to his instinct. He wanted to kill Alcazar immediately before he harmed a hair on the boy's head. But instead he played the games. He disagreed with almost every decision he made but Sam, she convinced him this was the best way to protect the boys and keep them safe. She convinced him that the worst thing he could do was move, because if Alcazar even got wind of it, he could have put a bullet in Jake's head.
And that image of seeing Michael in a coma just wouldn't leave Jason's head. Maybe Sam was wrong and he could have outmaneuvered Alcazar sooner, but Jason wouldn't take that chance. He couldn't forget about Michael and he was not going to be the reason Jake ended up the same way or worse.
So against everything he ever believed in, Jason made the decision that the best way to keep his family safe was to stay away until he could fix it. "It" took eight years to fix and even then, Jason only came back to Port Charles when he heard his son was in a coma.
The threat had been eliminated as far as he knew so the first thing he should have done was come home to Liz and the boys. But he didn't. Jake was 16, Cameron 18. They had lived their lives without a father and Jason knew his reappearance would only complicate things. He couldn't put them through that, not again. So he and AJ decided it was best if they continued to stay away.
Jason regretted that decision with each passing minute he sat alone in that hospital room. He regretted it and he regretted ever leaving in the first place. He knew now the best protection he could have offered those boys was his being there.
And as Jason continued to think about what he did wrong, he remembered something Sonny had said to him when Michael was about Cameron's age:
"I know our business has added danger but like any other kid, you can't protect them forever. You want to, but eventually, those kids are going to grow up and be on their own and live their own lives. You can protect them from the world no more than you can from danger. And not just our business but all kinds of danger. The best thing you can do is love them, support them and never let them forget it. And if you do that, you've done a good job as a father."
Jason smiled a bit as he thought about the words Sonny had said. He was glad he remembered them, because at this time, he really needed the advice only his best friend could give.
"You never should have died," Jason said softly. "I should have been able to stop this. I should have told you about it sooner. Maybe things would have been different. You would have had me follow my instincts, to strike when he was vulnerable, but I didn't. Why did I let this get so out of hand before finally taking action?"
"That's what I'd like to know," a voice said upon entering the room. Jason recognized it immediately and turned around to see the nephew he hadn't seen or even spoken to in nearly five years.
A/N: Yes, this means the Michael/Jason confrontation is coming up next chapter! So, other than the obvious, that being the truth coming out, what would you guys like to see Michael say to Jason? I am open to any and all suggestions and will include as many as I can in the chapter.Until next time!