A/N – Thanks for the comments! I'm glad the food fest is over. My soon to be son-in-law's team won the Grey Cup in Canada and he had 2 interceptions. It was a crazy game and I thought I would lose my mind, but so happy for them. * Guest – Jason never claimed to be better than anyone else. He understands the necessity for torture in his business. And since he is in that mindset, he would want to hurt someone like they hurt him, to make them suffer. They are in the mafia and that is what they do and it's the world he knows. Does it suck being on the receiving end, yes, but that's a risk you're willing to take when you're in the business. I would find it strange if he didn't want the person who hurt him to suffer. He's having a flashback because of what happened to him, not because he doesn't want to hurt Zander. Let's be honest. Jason is a trained killer, but I try to deal with his PTSD differently because of the brain damage. For him to even be affected shows how deeply he was hurt. However, in the same breath, once he learns how to compartmentalize it, he'll be able to deal with it.

Chapter 25

Francis ran towards Elizabeth's desk.

"What is it?"

Jax stepped out of his office. "Is everything okay?" They were still on edge, wondering if James would be able to infiltrate the offices. Jerry was still in town and they had a series of secret words he had to say in order to get into the building and it changed daily.

"I need Elizabeth to come with me."

The color drained from her face. "Jason?"

"He needs you."

Jax stood by Elizabeth's side. "Do you need me to come with you?"

Something in Francis's eyes told her to say no. "That's alright. I'll be fine, but I have to go."

Jax gave her a reassuring hug and then watched her disappear into the elevators.

Francis hurried Liz to the car and once they were inside, he filled her in.

"He had an episode."

"How bad?"

"Johnny has him in a room and it took a while before he came out of it, but Jason was exhausted so he fell asleep. We thought it was best if you were there when he woke up."

"Thank you for trusting me."

"Where I'm going is top secret."

"Okay. May I ask what he was doing there?"

"I don't know if that is for the best."

Liz wrung her hands together. "Okay."

After a half hour, Francis pulled up to a building and they got out. She looked down the whole way to the room they were going. At one point, Zander heard the sound of her heels echoing in the hallway and yelled for help.

She paused only for a second and didn't ask any questions.

Francis had to admit, she was going to make a great partner for Jason. He held the door open and Liz rushed to Jason's side.

"He's been sleeping for an hour," Johnny said quietly.

"Thank you for being there for him."

Johnny nodded and motioned for Francis to follow him.

About five minutes later, Jason stirred and then jerked to a sitting position.

"It's okay. You're safe."

"Elizabeth? What are you doing here?"

"Johnny sent Francis to get me. They were worried."

He seemed angry that she was there and that threw her a bit.

"What's wrong?"

"I just—I never wanted you around where I was doing my job."

She understood. "I don't know why you are here and I'm not going to ask. I did hear someone yell for help and can make assumptions, but I figure whoever it is must deserve it."

Jason wanted to smile at her thought process, but he was still a little weirded out by her presence. Torturing people is a necessity at times and inflicting pain is something that he is good at.

"You need to understand that I'm not going anywhere, no matter what I see or hear. I judge you by how you treat me and who I know you are in here," she said pressing her small hand against his heart. "That's all I need to know. What you do on your job, while it might bleed into my life from time to time, stays at your job. When you come home to me, it's about us and I want it to be your escape. I want you to be free."

He reached up and ran the back of his fingers against her cheek. "You're my home."

She launched herself at him, kissing him passionately as he pulled her closer, relishing the way she trusted him and gave herself completely. God he wanted her so badly. It was getting harder holding back, but he had already decided they were going to start moving forward. Physically, he could handle it now.

When she pulled back, she had a big smile on her face.

"What?"

"Just being around you makes me so happy."

"I feel the same way."

"Can you leave?"

Jason was definitely done for the night. "Yeah."

They went into the hallway and Francis pushed off the wall.

"Need a ride?"

"If you're not busy," Jason said.

Francis smirked. "I think I can squeeze you in. Come on."

Jason whispered something into Francis's ear.

"I'll meet you outside." He went back into the room Zander was in.

"Is he coming back in?" Johnny asked.

"He told me to ask you to handle it."

"Really?"

"Honestly, I think he got to inflict some pain and he's realizing what a toll it took on him. He's not ready and you can't really blame him. It hasn't been that long."

"I'm going to look forward to terrorizing Zander over the next few days."

"Do you want me to give your girl a message?"

"I already let her know that I'll be really late. If you're not busy, maybe you can swing by and eat with her. She hates eating alone."

Francis fought a smile. "I hate when you ask me to do horrible things like that, but since you're such a good friend, I'll take one for the team."

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Just don't try and use your Italian charm on her."

"I just like hearing her curse when I'm beating her at Mario Brothers."

Johnny laughed. "Her accent does get pretty interesting."

Zander couldn't believe they were having such a casual conversation while he was sitting there bleeding.

It was like they both sensed his discomfort and their attention went to their hostage.

"You ain't seen nothing yet, kid," Francis said with a smirk. Johnny and Jason were pretty interchangeable when it came to torture.

Johnny smiled. "Later."

"Call me if you need an assist."

"Will do."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Elizabeth pulled Jason into the apartment. "Have a seat. I'll order some dinner."

She was just about to pick up the phone when there was a knock on the door and then John opened it.

"I hope you're hungry," Emily said as she carried in two bags followed by Nikolas with a larger one. "We bought Chinese."

Liz smiled. "I was just about to order."

"Well, I'm glad that I saved you the hassle."

"It's good to see you," Nikolas said before sitting across from Jason.

"You too. How's it going?"

"I've been trying to catch up at work. Helena and Alfred are freaking me out because they are working on something together."

Emily put some plates down. "I think she's going after James."

"I'm fine with that, but I want to know if she catches him."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Nikolas is having a party."

Liz smiled. "Really? When?"

"The night before Halloween."

"That's only about three weeks away."

"I know. We have a lot of planning to do."

"It's going to be a black and white ball," Nikolas explained.

"You're going to make me wear a tux?" Jason asked before taking a bite of his food.

Nikolas smirked. "I think you'll clean up nicely."

Jason made a face, making the girls laugh.

"We're going to have go gown shopping," Liz said.

Emily smiled. "I can't wait."

"Did you want to go shopping with me?" Nikolas asked Jason.

"Yeah. I'll get right on that."

Nikolas chuckled. He liked messing with Jason who at least now had more of a sense of humor.

There was another knock and Siobhan dragged Francis into the room. "We heard that you had food."

The guards gossiped like little girls.

Liz laughed. "Come on it."

Emily got up and retrieved some more silverware and a few more plates.

"Nikolas, do you know Francis?"

"I've seen him around."

Francis pulled up two more chairs.

"Are you Johnny 2.0?" Jason asked him, noting his other friend's absence.

Francis chuckled. "I'm the new and improved version."

Jason had heard a rumor that Francis was seeing someone and he was itching to tease him about it.

Siobhan laughed. "Jason would probably like that because he can understand you."

Francis rattled off some Italian and Liz grinned when Jason quickly retorted back. Nikolas laughed and then joined in.

"You know Italian?" Francis asked.

"Yeah and Greek, Russian, and French. I had a boring childhood, but it comes in handy."

"Nice."

Siobhan was a hoot and totally livened up any room. Her and Johnny together were a lot of fun.

Jason had bided his time and decided to go in for the kill. "So, Francis, how's Chloe?"

Francis stopped chewing and their gaze connected.

Emily's eyes grew big. "You're dating Chloe?"

He wiped his mouth. "How the hell?"

Jason grinned. "I know everything."

Siobhan was cracking up. "Busted."

"Chloe Morgan huh?" Nikolas said chiming in. "Does that mean we'll see you for Thanksgiving dinner?"

Francis groaned. "Only if Jason is there."

Emily laughed at the look on her brother's face. "Give it up, Jason. You know you have to come. We'll have the pizza place on speed dial."

Francis cracked up. "That's what you get for calling me out like that."

Liz smiled. "Actually, you'll be going to two Thanksgiving celebrations."

Jason's brow quirked. "How so?"

"Well, we have to celebrate with Felicia and the girls and they usually go to Mac's."

"You want me to eat dinner with Mac Scorpio?"

Emily snorted, throwing Siobhan into a fit of laughter.

"Are you scared of him?" Siobhan asked.

"No, but I don't think he likes me."

"He'll get over it," Liz said. "Besides, from what I know about the Q holidays, it might be our only good meal."

"She has a point," Nikolas said.

Jason shook his head and took a sip of his beer.

"He won't fight it because he's whipped," Francis said.

Jason's eyes narrowed.

"Now you've gone too far," Nikolas said.

Jason pulled out his phone and dialed as Francis curiously watched. "Hey, it's Jason."

Chloe choked on her drink. "Jason Morgan?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. To what do I owe this honor?"

"Well, first, I just called Francis out about your relationship."

Chloe laughed. "So you managed to catch him off guard?"

"Yup. And second, I was wondering if I could convince you to stop by in the next couple of weeks. My girlfriend needs a dress to Nikolas's ball which is the day before Halloween."

Liz's mouth dropped open. "No way."

Siobhan grinned. "Smooth…"

"I would love to. Do me a favor and have her text me all her measurements and maybe I could have a face chat with her so I get a feel for her personality."

"I'll make it happen tomorrow."

"Perfect. And Jason?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad that you're alive."

"Thanks. You want to talk to Francis?"

"Sure."

He handed his phone over and Francis got up and went into the kitchen.

"Thank you," Liz said softly.

He squeezed her hand.

"Who wants to play charades?" Siobhan asked.

They all laughed at Jason's perplexed look.

"Jason's on my team!"

He shook his head.

"You can take me out to the pinelands later."

They split up into teams and even Jason ended up having fun, mostly laughing at them because pop culture pretty much went over his head.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Once everyone was gone, he pulled Liz into his arms.

"Jason, I need you to do me a favor."

"Anything."

"Jax introduced me to an old friend. His name is Shawn."

"Go on."

"Well, he has PTSD and he was willing to talk to you about it. I know you don't like doing things like that, but he was a merc and I think he's someone you could talk to."

Jason grew quiet.

"I'm just worried about you. At some point, if you don't deal with this it could get worse and put you in danger."

He took a deep breath. "Okay."

She threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

Their kiss started out slowly and then quickly got a little out of hand.

He pulled back. "I want to go slow with you."

"Jason, we don't have to."

"Yes, we do."

"Fine. Do you have a plan?"

He nodded and hoped to God he could stick with it. Slowly he pulled off his shirt. Most of his bandages were gone.

She reached out and ran her fingers over his chest and when they glanced against his nipple, he inhaled sharply. Her eyes snapped to his making sure he wasn't hurt.

He saw the question in her eyes and licked his lips. "It felt good, but it's a little sensitive."

She nodded and continued her exploration. Even with scars, Jason's body was beautiful. Tugging off her shirt, she shuddered under his intense stare as his eyes traveled to her cleavage and then back up. A little smirk graced his face and her eyes filled with amusement before she pressed herself up against him, liking the feel of their skin touching.

He rubbed her back and then fisted her hair and attacked her neck, making her moan as his tongue flitted to her sweet spot.

"Jason…," she breathed out.

He lightly moaned as he moved to the other side. When his thumb brushed against the side of her breast she jumped and then laughed, making him grin. "I see someone else is sensitive."

Her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink.

Lightly, his lips brushed against either side of her face and then slipped back to her ear, nipping her lobe between his teeth before he suddenly collapsed back against the cushions.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I was just leaning forward and got a little sore."

She leaned against him as she played with his hair. "Thank you, Jason."

"For what?"

"For being patient with me."

"Always. I don't want you to feel any pressure."

"I don't. I feel safe with you."

His eyes twinkled. "Not too safe I hope."

She grinned. There was so many things she was curious about and she had a feeling that Jason wouldn't mind teaching her at all.

"What are you thinking about?"

She blushed and the gnawed on her lip.

"That's lip abuse you know. I could have you arrested."

She smiled. "You would do that to me?"

"I'm kind of partial to them and you didn't answer my question."

"I just like making out with you."

"That's a relief."

"Ha! You like teasing me, don't you?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

She thought for a minute. "Alright, I will give you lip visitation.

His eyes narrowed. "How much?"

She tapped her lip with the tip of her finger. "Hmmm. Twice a day."

His brow quirked and then he laid a kiss on her she wouldn't soon forget.

She gazed at him in a daze. "What was I saying?"

"That I get visitation any time I please."

"I said that?"

"That's what I heard."

"Then I guess I better keep my word."

He smiled and then his lips descended on hers again and he took his time savoring them.