Chapter 38

Elizabeth stood over the sink brushing her teeth. Sure she was exhausted and some muscles were sore that she hadn't used in months but it was completely worth it. They'd had the perfect night together.

She started angry and slightly frustrated but once she had the chance to talk to Jason, she felt much better. She had banned him from the house and was standing firm on her decision but she knew deep down that he would find a way in, in fact, in some deep part of her, she wanted him to. She wanted him to fight to see her and he even said all of the right things, what she wanted and needed to hear from him after everything they had been through.

Jason was still sleeping when she'd gotten up and jumped in the shower. Cameron would be up soon, if he wasn't already and it was Elizabeth's day off which meant that he expected breakfast other then cereal or microwave pancakes. The past couple of weekends that he'd been there, Sal took charge for breakfast, making a huge spread for everybody but Elizabeth was determined to beat him to the kitchen and get to cooking.

For the first time in six months Elizabeth was ready to start her day, as a matter of fact, she was looking forward to it because she had Jason back. She quickly tied her hair back in a loose bun, quietly left the bedroom and made her way down to the kitchen.

"Good morning Liz… or are you Lizzie this morning?" Sal teased.

Elizabeth sighed and leaned against the doorway, he'd beat her to the punch. "Morning."

"I thought Johnny was crazy when he was telling me that you have a feisty side of you but you are one tough cookie."

Elizabeth shook her head, "Are you kidding me? I was a mess yesterday."

Sal grabbed a package of bacon from the fridge and walked over to the stove, "I think you were very strong and held up well. You stuck to your guns and didn't let Jason in and a good night of sleep probably did you some good."

"Well…" Elizabeth started but stopped when she heard footsteps behind her.

Johnny appeared from around the corner as he wiped his hands down his face. "Coffee" he growled taking a seat at the table, Elizabeth followed, sitting across from him.

"Almost ready." Sal answered, nodding to the coffee pot that was filling up all too slowly for Johnny. "Didn't sleep good kid?"

Johnny's eyes narrowed at Sal's question. It always annoyed him that Sal was such a morning person and on the average day would beat the sunrise. "No, I didn't…" he turned back to look at Elizabeth, "This house has got some thin walls."

Elizabeth's face instantly turned a deep shade of crimson. She had not once thought about the fact that Johnny and Spinelli were staying in the main house because the guards house was over-full.

"Thin walls-" Big Sal started to ask then turned and looked over his shoulder, instantly noticing the shade of red covering Elizabeth's face. "Jason was here?"

Elizabeth nodded, unable to look at either Sal or Johnny. She was mortified that Johnny had head them and even more mortified that she had forgotten he was even there and didn't even try to muffle the sounds in her bedroom.

"Jason is here." He said as he entered the kitchen and immediately went to Elizabeth and kissed her on the forehead. "Morning… what's wrong?" he asked when he noticed her expression.

"I uh…"

Johnny shook his head, "I was just about to suggest that Elizabeth get a contractor out here because the walls need some insulation."

Jason frowned and his eyes narrowed, "Huh?"

"I um, I forgot that J-Johnny and Spinelli were staying in the spare rooms upstairs because the back house was full." Elizabeth mumbled out.

Jason's face showed awareness but he wasn't embarrassed, in fact he was rather pissed that Johnny would even mention it.

"Don't worry, I'll sleep in the fucking recliner in the back house toni-"

Sal slammed the pan down on the stove, "Johnny… lady… language. My gosh, we come back to the mainland and all the guys lose respect around the ladies." Sal groaned, shaking his head.

Elizabeth had her face now buried in her hands. "Just shut up about it Johnny!" Jason spat and quickly changed the subject. "What do we have for today?"

"Diane will be here at ten but other then that, nothing."

Jason nodded and started opening cabinets until he found the one with the coffee mugs. "After that I need to go over and meet with Sonny."

"I never did ask, how did you get in here last night?" Elizabeth asked, lifting her face from her hands. "I mean with the crazy security set up…" she trailed off.

Jason smiled and did not answer.

"Oh, Jason is good." Johnny teased. "I haven't found a security system yet that he can't get through."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Especially when you let him in."

"Are you complaining?" Johnny asked. Jason looked at her wanting to hear her reply to Johnny's question, curious for her answer.

She hesitated and was saved when Cameron entered the kitchen rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Good morning baby."

Johnny laughed and Jason turned to the coffee pot, pouring himself a cup of coffee out of the now full pot. Cameron sleepily walked over to Elizabeth and she pulled him into her lap. "Are you hungry?"

"Uh huh…" he said before noticing that Jason was in the kitchen. "Jason!" the tired boy yelled, suddenly wide awake. He slid off Elizabeth's lap and ran to Jason, tightly hugging his leg. "Are you here to take us to the beach again?" Cameron innocently asked.

Jason shrugged, "Not today but maybe soon ok?"

Sal looked over his shoulder to Johnny, "You know, its going to be a few minutes before breakfast if you want to show Jason the changes you've made around here."

Johnny shook his head, "How about Elizabeth and Cameron handle that."

Cameron immediately grabbed Jason's hand and urged him toward the door, "Come on, I'll show you the pool!"

Jason looked at Elizabeth and frowned. "Pool?"

Cameron started toward the Livingroom instead of the back door. "It's in the back room. Mama said I couldn't use it without you and… and… and you're finally here!" the little boy stuttered.

Jason let Cameron lead him out of the kitchen and toward the back of the house. Elizabeth rose from the table and followed close behind. They arrived at the room in the back of the house, the one that he imagined would be perfect if she'd decided to start painting again. There were a lot of windows and the light was perfect. Cameron wrapped his little hands around the door knob and turned it then entered the room. Immediately, Jason stopped in his tracks and looked back at Elizabeth.

She smiled at him, "I had extra money since I didn't have to buy any furniture." She teased, raising an eyebrow. "Johnny picked it out. Apparently my idea to run to the department store to get it was bad. There's certain sizes and something about slate, I don't know. I do get the feeling that it cost more then I gave him for it, but whatever… I wanted this here for you."

Cameron ran over to the wall and lifted a long stick from it's holder. Jason ran and caught it in his hand before it could fall to the ground. "Cameron, I told you not to touch the cue sticks." Elizabeth groaned.

"Will you show me how to play with the pool Jason?" Cameron innocently asked.

Jason kneeled down in front of the boy, "Cam, the game is called pool." He pointed to the table, "This is a pool table."

"Duh!" Cameron said crossing his arms. "So are we going to play with the pool?"

Jason laughed and shook his head, no longer able to argue the point.

"I know, I've tried correcting him but it's no use." Elizabeth said. "You can't play right now Cam, we need to go eat breakfast, maybe later today… if Jason has time."

Jason stood up and ran his hand across the newly laid felt as Cameron ran from the room, probably to the kitchen to look for his breakfast. "You got me a pool table?" Jason asked, surprised by the gesture.

Elizabeth walked over to him and nodded, "I hoped that you'd be spending time here, eventually."

He snaked his arms around her waist, "This is the best gift anyone has ever bought me."

"Well, it is for the both of us." She smiled. "Maybe I can arrange a private lesson." She started to move in to kiss him but stopped, "What the hell is that buzzing?"

Jason dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "I turned the ringer off last night and haven't answered any of the calls." They both looked at the screen as Jason scrolled through the missed calls and Jason ticked off each phone number, "Sonny… Sonny…Carly… Sonny… not sure… Sonny… Max… Sonny… Emily…"

Elizabeth turned away and walked back toward the door, "Let's eat because it looks like we are going to have a long day."