"This is one seriously beautiful family!"
Jason and Sam looked up from their table at Kelly's to see the tall, muscular man who had approached them slowly, his hands stuck inside the pockets of his peacoat as he smiled down warmly.
Both Jason and Sam smiled back as Jason rose to his feet and extended a hand in greeting, shaking the one he met in response.
"Shawn! It's good to see you!"
"Not as good as it is to be seen!" He looked over the table, the smile on his handsome face spreading wider to enhance a dazzlingly white gleam. "Sam! Look at you - you're glowing!"
"Hey, Shawn!" Sam beamed at the man who had started out as their enemy but who had somehow ended up a very good friend, beside whom they'd fought more than once. "Welcome home!"
"Thanks, Sam! It wouldn't have happened without your help - I can't tell you how grateful I am!"
"We didn't do it for gratitude, Shawn. You deserve to be here."
"Pull up a chair!" Jason pointed towards the empty ones next to them, which Shawn glanced at before he declined.
"I'm actually on my way to meet TJ - my son and I have some major catching up to do. I just wanted to say thanks for what you did - you fighting for me means more than you know."
"Sam was right - you don't need to thank us. Just get settled, spend some time with your son, and when you're ready to go back to work, come see us."
Doubt shrouded Shawn's eyes for a moment. "I have to show my Parole Officer that I have gainful, legal employment pretty soon but my old job won't count as that in their eyes."
Sam looked up from where she'd just wiped syrup from Danny's chin. "Jason's not in that business anymore either. We have a place for you at McCall and Jackal, with us."
Shawn looked from one to the other. "Do you really mean that?"
"Of course - business has picked up nicely and you have the kind of skills we can use. The job's yours whenever you're ready."
"I appreciate that. With the way they're watching me I can't go anywhere near Sonny's business, and not many people will hire an ex-con."
"That's not who you are to the people who know you, Shawn." Jason extended his hand to the man again, who took it gratefully. "You have friends here, don't you forget that."
"One I almost killed." His voice trembled with aching emotion, as his eyes locked on the man who looked nothing like the friend he remembered, but who's actions were every bit him. He would never have been able to live with the guilt and regret, if his bullet had found its mark that fateful day at the garage. "I will forever be sorry for that, Jason!"
"Forgiven and forgotten!" Jason gave his friend's hand one final pump to express the sincerity in his words.
"Congratulations on your other little miracle on the way." Shawn pointed to Sam, "When are you due, Sam?"
Rubbing her baby instinctively, Sam's face morphed into the wide smile the subject always evoked. "Any day now, actually…and I'm ready too." She shook her head ruefully and added, "This one packs one hell of a kick."
"Well, you wear it really well. You're beautiful."
"Okay, enough of that!" Jason interjected goodnaturely. "Not sure I appreciate some man fresh out of jail drowning my wife in compliments." He raised one eyebrow at Shawn. "We're not that good a friend!"
"I don't know, Jason…I'm thinking you'd better treat her right." He smiled teasingly while patting Jason's back, nodded and winked at Sam, then waved goodbye to Danny and headed to the back in search of TJ.
Sam and Jason watched him leave. "He looks good." She saw the look on Jason's face and burst out laughing. "What? He does!" Then her laugh amplified, when he pinched her side playfully.
An hour later they'd dropped Danny off at preschool and were at the hospital for one of Sam's final prenatal exams with Kelly Lee, who was talking them through the ultrasound.
"Everything looks really good. The scarring was so minimal it really didn't present the issue I thought we might have, and as you can see here…" she pointed at the screen as the parents watched in blissful awe, "…your baby has turned. You'll be holding a new bundle before you know it."
Jason's eyes were locked on the gorgeous 3D image of his seed. He'd never had this with any of his children. Yes, he'd seen Danny on ultrasound early on, but not at this stage, right before birth, right at the magical moment before the miraculous transfer from womb to world, to the arms waiting to love and cherish him or her, for a lifetime. He was ready. He was so ready to have a dozen babies with Sam. The type of love that lived between them and the abundance of it, was meant to be shared.
He felt Sam's fingers that came in search of his where they softly massaged her shoulder, and he locked her tightly, his tender gaze falling upon her upturned, beautiful smile.
"I love you," he mouthed to her emotionally, catching his breath on the returned devotion.
"You guys still haven't decided if you want to know whether it's a boy or a girl?"
They both looked at Kelly and shook their heads. "We want to be surprised."
"Very well. Baby is healthy and everything is on track. Have any questions for me?"
Sam looked to the doctor who was handing her tissues to clean the gel off her belly. "I didn't have any reason to ask, last two times I was pregnant, but…does this mean no more sex until the baby gets here?"
She didn't look at Jason but Sam knew he was probably blushing from her question, and when Kelly looked from her to him and smiled, she knew she was right.
"Absolutely not. Your baby is very safe…you can enjoy the pleasures of intimacy right up until you go into labor. If yours had turned out to be another high risk situation, I would've advised against it, but everything looks fine. Matter of fact, sex aids with labor and is encouraged when you get closer to your due date."
She smiled again from one to the other, and this time Sam ventured to turn her head to see Jason's face. She was right…he'd gotten very uncomfortable with the subject being raised in Kelly's presence, the tinge of red to his face and his hands jammed inside the front pockets of his jeans the indication of his unease. The glint in his eyes however, told her everything else she needed to know.
After promising Kelly that they wouldn't venture far from home as labor could come on at any time, Jason took her hand and led her from the exam room. Once outside, Sam couldn't stop from teasing him.
"Was that blushing I saw on my formidable Stonecold?" She looped her arm around his waist as he pulled her body into his side. "I hate to break it to you my love, but my doctor already knows that we have sex."
Jason squeezed her side where he hugged her to him. "Very funny. I just don't want your doctor to think that I can't control my hormones around my very pregnant wife…like I'm some horny teenager jumping you all the time."
They looked at each other and broke out into wider smiles. "Except, you kinda are."
"Me? I'm not the one who can't control it…the last few months of your pregnancy you want it all the time, any and every where, I might add."
"And you oblige every single time, every and any where. Are you complaining?"
"Are you kidding? If I'd known you were going to be like this when you're pregnant I'd have knocked you up every single year. Matter of fact, you'll never not be pregnant again!"
They both laughed and hugged closer, right before they heard the voice behind them.
"Waay too much information…I think I just went deaf!"
When they stopped and tuned around, Sam blushed a crimson red while Jason cleared his throat and tried to pretend he hadn't just talked about his sex life with his mother standing three feet away from them.
"Monica!" Sam grinned sheepishly at the distinguished Chief Of Staff, who was now grinning from ear to ear at their discomfort at being overheard by her.
"I saw that you were with Kelly today so I came by to see how everything went?"
"Everything's great - baby's right on track to pop out anytime now."
"Good. And I hear you have some ideas on how to go about making that happen, so…carry on!" She smiled again and patted Jason's arm as she walked past the chagrined couple.
Sam looked up at Jason, who still hadn't uttered a word, his mother's presence knocking him for a loop when he realized what she'd overheard. Laughing, she squeezed his side again.
"Come on my love, let's go home. You heard your mother - we have serious work to get to!" The look he gave her had her laughing all the way home.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Franco stared at the woman in the hospital bed, her angelic face relaxed in sleep, and he marveled at how misleading a picture she presented to anyone who didn't know her true self. The heavy cast on her right leg and arms had kept her immobile for weeks, each of which he'd spent playing the dutiful lover, constantly by her side and in her corner for everything she needed. During that time, he hadn't once failed to see the looks of anticipation dash from her eyes everytime he entered the room instead of who she really wanted to see, but each time he'd pasted on the fake smile and mussed up the even more fake gusto to be in her presence. She waited daily for somebody else's husband to come to her, to what - pledge his undying love that opened his eyes finally, after she narrowly escaped death and the deserving aches inflicted upon her wicked body? Judging from what he'd seen of Jason and Sam Morgan around town with their blissful little family, his girl was going to be waiting until hell had frozen over. But he would be sure to keep her burning in it until then.
She stirred, as if sensing his presence, her big brown eyes opening up and just like clockwork, they instantly cloaked that veil of disappointment, when they brought him into view. And just like clockwork he queued up the fake, brilliant smile he had reserved just for her.
"Hey, angel! How're you feeling?"
She looked down dejectedly. "Like I got run over!"
Too bad you didn't get ripped into ribbons - I could've had my next masterpiece for the collection. Note to self - new painting idea.
"Can I get you anything?" Except your golden boy.
"Unless you can perform a miracle and get me out of this godawful contraption, no - you can't get me shit!"
His eyebrows raised comically. "Ooh…'shit!' That's got to be the first time I've ever heard one unladylike thing from those perfect, angelic lips! Is the shell finally coming off? Are you finally ready to unveil the real Lizzie Webber to the rest of us peons?"
He circled her bed slowly. "I mean, let's face it - Jason has seen her…after a lifetime of knowing only the pretend you…he finally got the full show and he ran for the hills so fast that you're still spinning." He turned his head to look at the big, doe eyes following his pacing. "Yep…he got loose of the noose that was tightening around his neck and he said, no thanks, Lying Lizzie - gotta go! So you settled for the one person you think will get a rise out of him and bring him back to what - fight for you?"
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Oh, there's nothing wrong with me - not anymore. See, there was something wrong with all the time I spent thinking you were different, thinking you were special and sweet…misunderstood and vilified, by people who had no right to judge you. I mean, you were too good for them…" he pointed directly to his chest, "…you were too good for ME! But you saw past everything and found something good in me, despite the entire town telling you to run, to shun me…you, my angel of light and mercy and goodness, you found something worthy…in ME!" He was genuinely incredulous still to this day.
He could see the fear building in her eyes. Good - she should fear him!
"Franco, you're not making any sense. Can you please get me a nurse? I need another shot of morphine."
"No…no morphine, no sympathy, no compassion…nothing! No more!"
"Franco?"
Her eyes seemed to grow bigger the closer he neared to the bed, and he found himself wondering how come he'd never noticed before just how dead they appeared. The deeper he looked, the more he could see the lacking of a soul…the familiarity instantly recognized from studies of his own in the mirror. Behind the bright light cast by the blinding halo hanging low above her head, she was a bottomless pit of darkness and needy despair. They really were kindred…but there could be only one.
He took a seat on the bed next to her quivering body, locking eyes with the dark depths before him. "What made you think you could use me, little girl? Don't you know I eat lambs like you for breakfast and paint murals with their intestines?" His satisfaction grew at the sight of the unhinged panic spreading fast all through her. Tracing a slow line across her brow and down her cheek he told her, "You were out of your league the minute you said hello."
"Franco, what are you doing? I need you to stop this - you're sca…"
"Scaring you? Good! I want you scared! I want you peeing your pants and sending your stomach to the soles of your feet in fear - it will make for a brilliant work of art. Just think about it - you and I will be creating a glorious masterpiece together - what a gift to the world of art! You should be very proud to go out like this, Lizzie! Your contribution will be talked about and taught in artistic circles for eons."
"You're mad! You've finally lost it! HHEEELLP! HEEE…"
He clasped his hand over her mouth to stifle the sound, glaring at her in warning. "You don't want to do that. No one can save you now!"
When she quieted down again, he slowly removed the hand from her mouth, his eyes warning coldly.
"Franco, I don't know what's wrong but please, don't hurt me. My boys…think of my children!"
He channeled the cold laugh that left his throat. "Your children? Lizzie please, you and I both know you hardly see, much less raise, those boys. Their grandmother is the only parent they've known for years. How many times have I ever seen them - and we practically live together? Your boys were never anything more than the convenient pawn used to control their parade of fathers - admit it! My God, you were willing to change their legal names to 'DOE'…a made up nomer…just so you could tie somebody else's husband to you forever, using your poor children. Way I see it, I'm doing them a favor…with a mother like you, they're bound to turn into me…and we both know that's the last thing this town and this world needs."
"I love my children - how can you say that to me? Jason wanted to adopt them - he always did. He wanted us to be a family for years - I was only giving him what he had always wanted."
"With somebody else though, isn't that right? I mean, we've all seen the man with his real family. He's a happy family man…it's disgusting, but we both see that, don't we? The fact that you wish it wasn't true hasn't done a damn thing to change it all these years, so why couldn't you have just let it go and let me make you happy? Why couldn't you just let us be enough?"
Her frantic voice tried soothing him. "You are…we are enough! I love you - you know that! Where is all this coming from, Franco? I thought we were happy?"
He got up from the bed and swung a forefinger at her, laughing softly. "Oh, you're good, Lizzie. You're good!" Stopping at her head to lean down over her, he whispered in her ear, "But not that good."
Without warning, his hand shot out and covered her mouth, his forefinger and thumb clamping her nostrils shut, while he leaned over her, shushing softly as her casted arms swayed as best they could, her big brown eyes gaping wider in total fear. He watched closely, reveling in the innate pleasure that rushed his core as he saw vapid panic grow and catapult into blatant terror, followed by the light that drained slowly, slowly from her lying eyes. When her restrained movements stilled and her lids grew droopy, he tightened the hold still, after which he lent his mouth to her thin, lying lips, taking one last kiss as he gave her one last thought, as she drew her one last breath.
"Farewell…my Lying Lizzie….fare thee well!"