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Chapter 29

As the PCPD had rolled up the mini war had ended abruptly. It allowed some of Jason's men and some of the PCPD to put the fire at the back of the house out in a relatively short amount of time. Mac had surveyed the scene while the occupants of the cabin had gathered in the communications room away from the dead bodies in the lounge room. Mac Scorpio, much to Elizabeth's annoyance, had insisted on taking the details of all of Jason's men, and told them to make themselves available for questioning the following day. Mac had arranged for all of the injured men to be transported to hospital. Including Sonny and Francis despite both protesting that they were fine to Elizabeth. She had won that battle though, and both men were spending the night in hospital for observation. Only one other of Jason's men, apart from Max, had been seriously injured. Trey had taken a bullet to the shoulder and one to the stomach and both required surgery. He was listed as serious but would make a full recovery, and Elizabeth vowed to visit him the following day. When a final count of Helena's men was taken, there had been 45 men in Helena's private army. More than half were dead and the rest were either wounded or captured to hand over to the police. After initial questioning it appeared all the remaining men were in the US illegally and Mac had informed Jason and Elizabeth that he had called in the FBI and US Immigration to handle their deportation. They were to be deported within the next two days and handed over to Russian authorities.

Jason remained quiet and uncommunicative through out, and Elizabeth was worried. She felt him distancing himself from everyone but Cam and Jake, who he seemed to cling to. For Elizabeth his behavior was like dejavu and she knew she had to speak to him, for there was no telling what strange thoughts were racing through his mind. Despite all her attempts though, the opportunity to talk to Jason didn't present itself to Elizabeth until much later that night. Mac had finally given clearance for all to leave and Johnny had driven them back to Elizabeth's house. Jason had left his bike for Shawn to ride back. Alarm bells rang for Elizabeth when Jason had asked Johnny to wait while he settled Elizabeth and the boys down for the night, but she never said a word.

They quietly and efficiently put both boys to bed kissing them and both were asleep as the light was switched off. Elizabeth headed downstairs with Jason following silently behind her. She moved off to the lounge room, leaving Jason hovering near the front door. The longer he hovered there the more her temper was stretched, until finally she snapped.

"Right out with it" She told him her voice dangerously low.

"Out with what?" He said looking longingly at the door.

"What's eating you? Why the silent treatment? And why are you behaving like the condemned man?" She demanded.

"Elizabeth you're exhausted and emotionally drained" he began only for her to interrupt.

"So are you"

He paused and shook his head "I'm okay."

"Bullshit" she replied. His head snapped up at her profanity. "You are not okay'."

He took a deep breath "Okay you're right I'm not okay. I almost got you killed this afternoon and I…."

"Oh my god" she whispered her face contorted in pain "You are going to do it! You are going to give me the "danger, danger, danger" crap again aren't you? After promising me more than once in the last few days you were in this for the long haul, that you would stick it out and not break a promise to me AGAIN." she paused watching Jason's face twist in pain and confusion, so she decided to hit him right in the heart. "Actually Jason, you swore that to me while you were inside me, making love to me." his head snapped up and for the first time in hours he looked her directly in the eyes "But you are going to do it. You are going to walk away. You asshole"

"What? WHAT? WHAT are you rambling about? I'm not walking away." he demanded.

"I'm not rambling. You just said and I quote "I almost got you killed" that little statement is the precursor, punctuation and full stop mark for ALL of your "danger danger I can't be with you" speeches over the last decade" She accused.

He looked stunned "OH" he mumbled.

"OH? Is that all you have to say for yourself" she asked annoyed. He looked at her hurt.

"I have real fears about your safety and you or the boys getting hurt, I don't think it's necessary to make fun of me" he vented.

"Well too bad. If that what it takes to wake you up, that's what I'll do. You are not walking away from me and the boys" she paused and then remembering another grievance she continued to vent. "and while we are at it I don't appreciate you shutting down on me like you did this afternoon."

"I'm sorry." his apology was heart felt "I didn't realize I was doing that, but I needed, no I need to get it straight in my head where I went wrong and not make the same mistake again." Jason admitted.

Elizabeth absorbed that piece of information slowly, still not convinced he wasn't going to end things and walk away, but he said he wasn't so what was he doing and how could she get the man notorious for saying nothing to tell her.

"WHY did you ask Johnny to wait for you?" she asked with suspicion.

"I didn't want to presume…" he began.

"Jason" she warned, not in the mood for any prevarication.

"Alright, alright. Like I said I haven't gotten it straight in my head and I knew we needed to talk about this afternoon and well I didn't feel up to it right now. So I guess I was going to go back to the PH get drunk and try to figure it all out. But I wasn't walking away from you and the boys" he confessed "I was taking some time out."

"What is there to talk about? You and your men saved my life and the world is rid of Helena. End of story. Oh and just so you know, you don't get time outs in this house unless you do the wrong thing or break the rules" she clarified.

"Elizabeth! Don't act like nothing happened you almost died and were forced to kill someone because I screwed up" Jason told her, his voice cold.

"What? NOW who's babbling. You are talking about one incident in a series of things that happened today. How can you bring it all back to one thing, considering what we went through?" Elizabeth demanded not at all phased by the exasperated look on Jason's face. "Forget it! GO and tell Johnny to go home, you are staying the night here with me".

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Oh My GOD JASON If you don't go and tell him now I just may kick you like I did Mac Scorpio"

"Okay I'll tell him." Jason mumbled as he headed for the door.

While he was gone Elizabeth poured two glasses of whiskey. She downed hers to calm her nerves and then poured herself another one taking a seat on the sofa to await Jason's explanation. He appeared not long after and closed the door behind him, spying the glasses on the coffee table. He walked towards her and sat down reaching for the glass and downed it in one gulp. Elizabeth watched and then mimicked him. He turned slightly towards her, the expression in his eyes vulnerable and Elizabeth melted. Whatever was on his mind was causing him pain and they needed to deal with it.

"Jason" she sighed and he reached for her and pulled her on to his lap and in to his arms.

He buried his face in her neck, his arms holding her close and she wrapped one arm tightly around his body and the other around his head to hold him close. For long moments they stayed locked together, just enjoying the silence and the comfort of each other.

"You saved me and the boys, Jason, I don't know why you can't just pat yourself on the back for that. Or let me" she whispered pressing a kiss to his ear.

He pulled back abruptly "That guy had a gun to your head all because I called you. You came out of the relatively safe bathroom because I called you" anger at himself rising.

"Yes and I don't regret it. I'll always come when you call, Jason, no matter our situation" she responded. He dumped her abruptly on the sofa and stood quickly to pace, tension and barely controlled emotion radiating off him in waves.

"But don't you see, I let my emotions get the best of me. I should have done what I always do, approach the house after Helena entered with my usual control" he muttered as he paced.

"Jason you killed the man with a gun to my head" Elizabeth pointed out.

"and his gun could have gone off and killed you" he ground out harshly.

"But it didn't" she reminded him. "I'm fine and that's thanks to you. I wouldn't change a thing about how it went down" she assured him. He stared at her in disbelief, then she saw the muscle tick in his jaw his emotions playing out on his face and in his eyes.

"YOU had to kill Helena. I never wanted that to happen. I never wanted you put in a position like that. But I not only put you at risk I made it so you had to take a life to save yourself" he told her as he remembered the fear that had swamped him when he saw Helena enter the cabin. His anger directed at himself was palpable and she wanted to take it away and make it right for him.

"Why shouldn't I take a life to save myself?" she countered in a soft voice.

Jason stopped pacing, the war within him between his emotions ending abruptly.

"I…don't know. I just know you shouldn't have to do it." his voice low like hers.

"Besides technically I didn't kill her. You did" Elizabeth reminded him.

"She wouldn't have survived those wounds Elizabeth. I just put her down like a miserable injured dog" he denied.

"How long are you going to beat yourself up over calling me out of the bathroom? I'd really like to know because I don't blame you. It worked out." she asked him.

"Look I just don't want that to happen again. I don't want to ever make a mistake like that again" he told her as he knelt in front of her and took her hands.

"Okay here is my version and it's gospel from now on. You saved me and the boys. Helena had to be dealt with and I'm glad I was there to participate, considering the crap I've put up with from her over the years. Jason, I was a scared, an emotional mess when I found out Tom and Helena were both after me. But you came for us, you helped me be strong and to fight back. SO no more thinking about it and no more beating yourself up over saving me and the boys. End of story. Now I'd like to move on and start our life together. What do you think?"

Jason stared at her for a moment, not sure he wanted to give the subject up so soon. He needed her to see what he'd done wrong. But as he continued to look at her, her eyes softened, the love she felt for him made her eyes darken, her lips stretched in to a loving smile and slowly Jason's gave in to her demand that he let it go. His own eyes softened with love and when she saw it her thumbs started to stroke his knuckles as his hands tightly held hers. She leant forward and pressed her lips to his.

"I love you Jason and I really don't appreciate you beating up on the man I love" she teased.

He chuckled, relief and love washing over him. He moved to sit beside her and wrapped his arms around her once more.

"I can't believe you thought I'd walk away from you again. After everything we said to each other" he stated.

She moved her head to look at him "I'm not the one who had the car revved and Johnny primed for my get away" she countered.

"I felt" he started "I felt uncertain" he told her awkwardly. "I screwed up. No matter how you look at it I did" he countered as she started to protest. "I guess I didn't want you to see me uncertain about what happened."

"I know, I've known it all afternoon. But you never said anything and I was a bit annoyed you didn't open up. I know you have fears about our safety. I have fears about your safety too, doing what you do. But you have to talk to me about it. Don't shut me out." she told him.

"I know I do. It's just not easy for me. But I'll learn, I promise I will"

"Alright so end of topic NOW?" she asked.

"Yes" he smiled.

"Good we have a few decisions to make." she told him.

"I know like a wedding date" he responded smiling.

"Yes that but there are lots of things like where we'll live?" she asked.

"Here! I don't want to uproot the boys. The house will need to be extended and security included, but Max and I can make it work."

She smiled "I love that you always think like a father. I didn't want to uproot them either, but I would have if needed. I do love this house though, I have some happy memories here and Emily found it for us"

"I love this house too. Mostly because you and the boys are here, but also because Emily picked it" he agreed.

"Jason we have to go see your family tomorrow, and introduce Jake. Explain what we've been doing the last two years lying about him. Are you up for it?" she asked.

"Yeah! I think a grilling from Edward is called for" he joked.

"OH MY GOD JASON!" she yelled in distress.

"What? What?" he asked straightening in alarm

"What day is it? The date I mean?" she asked staring at him with wounded eyes.

Confused he tried to remember the date Mac told him when he signed his statement

"It's" he began and then stopped abruptly "tomorrow is the 10th, we missed Jakes birthday" he muttered, himself wounded. They stared at each other for long moments and then both began to chuckle.

"It's not like we weren't occupied" Jason laughed.

"Yeah a war with the Russians can do that for you" she laughed back "The good thing is Jake will never know"

"I feel awful" Jason muttered.

"Don't worry I'll call Robin first thing in the morning and well do a surprise party in the park in the afternoon" she told him. "OR" she enthused as she warmed to a new idea "Why don't I call Monica and Edward now and see if they'll get Cook to bake a cake and we can do a little surprise party for him at the mansion tomorrow. You know introduce him to his family and give him a party, kill two birds with one stone"

"I think they would love that" he responded.

They spent the rest of the evening talking and making plans before finally retiring to Elizabeth's room, their room now. Both were exhausted, but not too tired to make love.

The Following Day Quartermaine mansion -

Elizabeth sat back drinking lemonade with Emma cuddled up on her knee. Jake's belated party was a roaring success. Not surprisingly, Monica and Edward were overjoyed at the prospect of hosting an impromptu birthday party for Jake. Cook had outdone her self with party food and a birthday cake for Jake. Edward and Monica had outdone themselves with presents for Jake, even one to Jake from Cameron. Jake of course did not realize it was belated and enjoyed every second of the jumping castle Edward had managed to organize that morning. He'd also hired a pony for an hour so Cameron, Jake and Emma could take turns having a ride. Elizabeth decided the pony was the best part and every second of the hour had been utilized. Photographs galore were taken of the children individually riding the pony and a couple with all three kids on the pony. Elizabeth seeing all three of the children perched atop the pony for one photograph was inspired and knew her next painting would recapture that moment.

Introducing Jake to Monica and Edward had gone off surprisingly well. As Jason attempted to explain, Edward to everyone's surprise had cut him off saying he knew they had their reasons and while he may not agree it was in the past and he wanted to look forward to the future. Edward and Monica were equally as welcoming to Cameron, which made Elizabeth and Jason happy. When they had arrived Jason had immediately gone to see Michael and invited him to come down and meet Jake and then come to his party. He did come down and stand in the background as Jake met his family. Afterwards, Michael excused himself to go back upstairs. Jason, Monica and Edward all tried to persuade him to stay for the party, but as had happened so often before with Michael he declined. Jason didn't admit it, but Elizabeth knew he was hurting from Michael's rejection, had been hurting for months by it. The boy had shut himself off from Jason and his parents. Elizabeth pondered ways she could effect a reunion and a thawing of familial relations between Michael and his family. It would have to be subtle because Michael was suffering too.

At the present moment Elizabeth watched as Jason, Robin, Patrick, Matt, Spin and some of the guards were playing football with Jake and Cameron. Edward, much to Elizabeth's amusement, was refereeing.

The hair on Elizabeth's neck stood on end as she got the feeling she was being watched. She turned and gazed up at the second storey windows. He was quick but not quick enough. Elizabeth caught a glimpse of Michael standing looking out of Jason's old bedroom window.

"Elizabeth' she was distracted by Sonny's voice calling out to her. She turned to see Sonny, Carly, Jax, Morgan, Kristina, Molly and Alexis walking towards her.

She stood moving Emma to her hip and greeted Sonny with a one armed hug and the rest with a brief smile.

"You guys want to join in with the game?" she asked the children. To which Morgan and Molly took off with a "thanks" yelled over their shoulders. Kristina hesitated but was prompted by Jax to join him. Together they ran off to join in the game, with Alexis following at a leisurely pace.

Carly hovered, while Sonny made a fuss of saying hello to Emma. Taking pity on them she put them out of their misery "Michael is up in his room. Jason invited him to join in but he said no"

"Oh" Carly muttered through a half sob half sigh looking anywhere but at Elizabeth. Sonny head bowed mumbled "I'm going to go fix this game" and slowly walked off.

Carly pulled herself together and turned to stare at Elizabeth, arms crossed.

"It's good you are okay." Carly admitted.

"Thank you" Elizabeth responded "Are you okay?"

"Me? Sure. Sonny let us know yesterday when it was over so we flew back early this morning. I was worried about Jason. But now that you and the boys are okay I'm sure he'll be fine." she sized Elizabeth up "She was one crazy bitch Elizabeth. Sonny said you shot her?" she paused as Elizabeth nodded "and that stuff about Sam? Man I always knew she was trouble but I put up with her for Jason" she stopped as Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow at her "Alright it was for my sake. She didn't interfere with my relationship with Jason"

"I know" Elizabeth told her "I don't want to either. But I won't be pushed aside or attacked because you are jealous"

"I'M NOT.." Carly denied. Then mentally counted to 20, because counting to 10, like Jason told her, wasn't enough for her when it came to Elizabeth. "I was going to say I'm not jealous but we both know that is a lie. I will try to be civil to you for Jason and Jake's sake. But I'm not making any promises"

"I don't expect you to" Elizabeth replied "and I will do the same."

"Oh stuff it Elizabeth you are always civil, it's one of the things that irk me about you" Carly accused.

"Would you rather I pick fights with you?" Elizabeth asked confused.

"Well it would be more honest" Carly shot back.

"Maybe for you Carly, but not me" Elizabeth replied "This may come as a BIG shock to you but I don't like fighting with people, I prefer to have a quiet peaceful existence and I really DON'T want to fight with you because it hurts Jason"

Carly looked shocked at the last statement. Elizabeth was right, it did hurt Jason when she fought with Elizabeth or attacked her. She hadn't thought of it like that before, she'd always considered she was protecting Jason. But now, like Elizabeth, she didn't want to hurt Jason anymore just because she didn't agree with his choice of someone to love. Rather than give her a victory though Carly had to try and get one last shot in

"I find you passively aggressive" Carly stated with some accusation.

"Where as you are just plain old aggressive?" Elizabeth countered rolling her eyes. "Look I know I'm repeating myself, but I don't want to fight. Honestly" then spying the curtain in Michael's room move again Elizabeth made a decision and handed Emma to Carly

"Here take Emma, I have to see to something in the house"

Carly stared at her flabbergasted, then looked at Emma who smiled at her as Carly shifted her to her hip "Hello cutie! How on earth did Robin produce you?"

Elizabeth ran up the lawn and in to the house encountering Alice. "I'm just going to get Michael" she informed Alice as she raced passed her. Alice nodded in approval, if any one could do it, Elizabeth would be the one.

Elizabeth knocked on Jason's old bedroom door. She knew it was his because Emily had shown it to her many times after Jason had left Port Charles the first time. When there was no answer to her knock Elizabeth opened the door and walked in to find Michael seated at the desk with several books open in front of him.

"Hi Michael" she greeted. "I know a two year olds party is hardly the epitome of excitement for a 16year old, but I'd like you to come down stairs and join in."

"Thank you for the invitation Elizabeth, Jason already asked me but I said no, I have homework and a lot of catching up to do" he replied not looking up.

Elizabeth crossed her arms and wondered what approach to take.

"Do you remember when you were a little boy and your mother was gone for a while. You and I spent a lot of time together" she began only to stop when he turned to face her.

"I'm not like Jason I didn't loose my memory" he cut in.

"No just your manners" she shot back and he started at her abruptness.

"I'm sorry" he mumbled. "Yes I remember. You taught me to paint, baked me brownies and took me to the park. You talked to me and explained stuff to me. But then you disappeared"

"Oh great! wrong approach Elizabeth" she thought. Then tried again.

"Yes I did. I'm sorry if that hurt you and I'll admit it was not one of my best moves but we all make mistakes Michael. Adults don't have all the answers so we make mistakes and screw up" she told him. He turned away from her "I don't pretend to understand what it was like for you Michael. But I'd like to be your friend again, maybe be someone you can talk to." when he made no move she continued "You have to talk about it Michael! You are growing up, becoming a man and sulking up here is not the way to deal with things"

"I'm not sulking, I'm just really angry" he muttered, slamming his fist with force on to the desk.

"Explain it to me. Explain it to your parents and Jason let them help you" she begged him.

Michael whirled around anger contorting his face "Explain it to MY PARENTS? Are you kidding me? Have you ever known Sonny or Carly to shut up long enough for something to be EXPLAINED to them?" Taken aback by the out burst Elizabeth didn't respond and Michael continued "They don't want to hear how I'm feeling they just want to fix me. But they can't"

"Okay I'll give you that, Carly and Sonny may react that way, but Jason? Come on"

"Oh him I'm angry at for a whole different reason" he ground out.

"Well get over it or tell him about it, because I swear he doesn't know" Elizabeth snapped back, angry on Jason's behalf.

"I knew about Jake you know. He told me while I was in the coma, I have very vivid memories of his conversations with me. See I could be trusted then. My Uncle who claims to love me couldn't tell me about Jake until I was in a coma. I had a cousin and he never told me." Michael accused. Elizabeth frowned, that was something she hadn't considered. She knew the best tactic was to be honest, Michael was over being protected he just wanted the truth from people.

"OH well that falls under the "adults are human and can screw up too" heading. Plus that was mostly me. I wanted to protect Jake from everyone" she replied.

"Even from me?" Michael asked deflated, his eyes showing his hurt.

"From EVERYONE Michael" she paused "Look you are old enough to know that shit happens and no one really is to blame, but me, for keeping Jake's paternity a secret. So now that we have that out of the way. What else have you got to sulk" at his sharp look she winced "sorry, be angry about?"

"Lots of stuff." he looked at her taking in her exasperated stance "I remember you talking to me too. You were very bossy telling me I had to wake up. I wanted to tell you to shut up"

"Dangerous thing to say to your nurse Michael when I'm the one who removes catheter's, takes blood, inserts enemas' and gives you sponge baths." she joked. Michael shot her a look and choked back a burst of laughter. But the corners of his mouth turned up in amusement and only then did Elizabeth realize he was really listening to her.

"Look we can talk this all out any time you want. But for now there are a lot of people downstairs who love you and were hurting while you were in the coma. They are still hurting with you awake, because you have turned your back on them. I would really like you to try to spend time with them and understand them. Your brother Morgan has probably been hurt more than anyone" he looked at her his anger rising again "and I refuse to believe you want to hurt your brother" she watched as his eyes softened "Right! It's no longer an invitation Michael it's a demand, come down to the party and I promise if it gets too tough and they start to piss you off I will be your buffer. Just please come down and meet Jake and Cameron and spend time with them as their older cousin and spend time with Morgan and Krissy"

He hesitated for a long time, then finally "Alright but I'm holding you to it. From now on you are my buffer between me and my family, Elizabeth"

"Done! Lets go" she held out her hand but he ignored it.

"Ladies first please" he countered with a smile. She stared for a long while judging his mood and finally found him to be sincere.

"Thank you"

A few minutes later Elizabeth stopped next to Carly as Michael stepped around them

"Hi Mom" he greeted and continued down to the football game.

From the distance Elizabeth and Carly heard Michael greet Morgan, Krissy and Molly.

Then greet Jason and Sonny each with a clap on the back. All were stunned except Cameron and Jake who excitedly welcomed Michael to the game.

"Whatever you did, thank you" Carly told Elizabeth in a quivering voice without looking at her.

"I think everything will be okay Carly".

Only then did Carly look at her, unable to speak. "Let's join the game" Elizabeth suggested. "Do you want me to take Emma?"

"No she's fine, she likes me. Not many babies do" Carly responded quietly.

Elizabeth and Carly walked silently down to the game. Unbeknownst to the other each was thinking the same thing, that maybe now life would get back to normal. Well at least as normal as life in Port Charles with Mob could get.