CHRISTMAS EVE PT II
CHAPTER 51
FERNCLIFFE
Andre watched as the woman let herself in to see Spencer. Did she really think that she could get away with slipping in to see her son. Laura Spencer was not as clever as her ex-husband. Whatever else he thought about Luke Spencer, the man had been an admirable adversary for Madam. Unfortunately his offspring had inherited her weaknesses.
"Lucky, it's all under control. The lawyer is going to file papers the day after tomorrow. No one will be expecting them until at least after the New Year. Your son will be back in your arms in no time. Robin Scorpio has been a great help. I just don't understand why you would agree to her terms. Why go through all this trouble to get back your son, only to give her the means to raise a child of yours, without you."
"Robin will be a great mother, unlike that slut Elizabeth."
"Lucky, I understand the need to protect your child but you shouldn't talk like that, no child should ever hear her mother referred about way. Besides I thought the entire purpose of this was to get Elizabeth back. I thought you loved her, until death do you part remember?" Laura reminded her son.
"I did, she is the one spreading her legs for Morgan. Not me. I have been faithful to my vows."
Robin stood outside and listened to Lucky tell his mother that it was all Elizabeth's fault. She knew she needed to put a stop to the lies before Jason hated her even more than he already did. For the rest of her plan to work she had to straighten this out.
Thanks to Lucky's lies she was in serious danger of losing Jason's friendship permanently. Taking a deep breathe she walked into the room to see Lucky restrained like usual and Laura in the scrubs she had arrange so that she could visit her son.
"Lucky, if you want this plan to work, you need to tell your mother the truth. Laura, Lucky is lying. He slept with Maxie Jones that is why Elizabeth slept with Jason last year. Then when their marriage was in trouble he slept with Sam McCall, a con artist pretending to be a Cassidine and Jason's ex-lover."
"You must be mistake Lucky would never cheat on Elizabeth." Laura knew her son, he was an honest and caring man, Elizabeth and he had loved each other since they were fifteen. Now was their chance to let of the past. It was unfortunate that she had a child by another man, but Cameron was Elizabeth's son, so it didn't matter to Lucky.
"Lucky tell her the truth. When this goes to court, Elizabeth will use the information."
"Mom, she is right I did cheat on Elizabeth, that doesn't make what she did right though." he informed her.
"Neither is your trying to take a child that isn't yours, Lucky." Robin was furious with him for endangering her plans.
"Lucky isn't asking for custody of Cameron, just his biological child. We are hoping that the attorney will allow him to have visitation with Elizabeth's older son, like he will allow with Jake."
"Except Jake isn't his son, is he Lucky?"
"Yes, he is. You know that Jason faked the DNA test, to help out Elizabeth." he blustered.
"Lying again. I ran a DNA strand for Edward and then ran Jake's. There is not doubt that Jake is a direct descendant of Edward Quartermaine. I did this after I did a facial bone structure comparison between Jake and Jason. I had planned on giving you a picture of your son as a gift for helping me. I have the picture right here. Laura look at the picture of the two of them, Jason and Jake are obviously father and son. Now my own plans are shot to hell, thanks to your lies, Lucky. So you are on your own."
Laura looked at the photo of her grandson, other than a similarity in the eyes, she didn't see what she was talking about. "Robin, your wrong. You are seeing what you want."
"No because if I was seeing what I wanted, Lucky would be that baby's father. He isn't and I am out of here. I have arranged for the donation to the sperm bank to be destroyed. Laura your ride back to Shadybrook is waiting."
SONNY'S HOUSE
Jason entered the study to see Sonny throwing glasses against the fireplace. "What is going on in here?"
"Alexis is letting that bastard near my daughter. I told her I didn't want Johnny anywheres near Kristina. I can't trust Alexis judgment. She told me that Johnny is her son and I have no right restricting contact between them. That she doesn't tell me to keep Micheal and Morgan away. Didn't she learn anything after Ric."
"You need to calm down. If you aren't, this plan is going to be fail. Besides Johnny is no threat to his sister. We need to deal with the threats."
"Your right, I just am not sure how to deal with this." He knew how, he wold have Francis grab Kristina when they took Micheal and Morgan, tomorrow."
"What do you want me to do about the meeting on the 26th?"
"If they agree to give me the Zaccarra territory, things will be fine. You can run things until you are arrested. Then I will arrange to take over and Diane gets you out of the charges. They aren't going to press so hard on you as they would me. We might have to move some of our operations around after that." Sonny said with complete confidence.
"If they don't give us the territories?" he asked.
"Then things will get ugly. You need to get things done quickly. Once you are arrested, it's over. Your family should be safe, with Anthony gone."
"What about yours, what about Carly?"
"They will be fine. Carly is no longer my wife, and Kate is just my girlfriend. She should be fine as well. You are the one at risk."
"We will be fine. I have set precautions in place." Sonny dismissed Jason and start to finish his packing. He wasn't taking much with him, he had what he needed on the Island but there were certain things that needed to be brought along to ensure his protection.
Mike saw Jason leaving and entered through the French doors, he needed to talk to his son. "What are you doing about the false allegations they are saying about your sister?"
"Nothing. You need to let this go, Mike. Merry Christmas." Sonny tossed an envelope with a wad of cash at his father and nodded to the guard to escort the old man out.
KELLY'S
The two women sat down while trying to get out of the way of, Serena waved to her friends as she and Lulu along with the two new waitresses tried to handle the crowd. Georgie wanted to help but knew that she shouldn't. Finally giving in she grabbed an apron and offered to take care of the counter customers.
"Elizabeth can I get you anything?" offered a harassed Lulu.
"Just some milk for the boys and a decaf tea for me."
When things finally quieted down, Georgie rejoined Elizabeth just before Johnny walked into the diner with Nik and Spencer.
"Merry Christmas, everyone." They all turned to see Dylan walking in with his brother and Lois.
Merry Christmas to you, thought Johnny. Stay away from my wife. He was not happy with Lulu's game with Dylan and didn't trust the blond man who had hurt his wife last year. Lois came over and greet Elizabeth and the boys.
"So I hear you gave Edward an early Christmas present, that Jason and you are pregnant again. When we came down for breakfast this morning, the party tonight and the new baby was all he could talk about. In between yelling at Eddie and me to stop living in sin and to get married again."
Elizabeth told Lois "He is acting like he can order a girl from a catalog. He said he has three great grandsons and only one great granddaughter. Ned, Lois I don't think you meet Johnny earlier, this is Georgie's husband Johnny. He is Alexis' son."
As the three awkwardly said hello Johnny offered his seat to Lois and stepped over to grab a free chair from the next table.
Lulu grabbed a round of coffee and as they settled in discussing the weather and telling Dylan about the crowd at the Christmas party. Georgie took another sip of her milk and Dylan watched her grimace as he went to help himself to a piece of pie. Deciding to try and be a friend he grabbed a cup and made her some hot cocoa.
When Dylan returned, he brought himself his pie and Georgie some hot cocoa. "No thank you, Dylan. I can't drink it."
"Why not?" he asked confused.
"It's not good for the baby." she said. Not realizing that no one had mentioned the baby to her ex-husband.
"Your pregnant." he said in disbelief as he sat down in a chair, "When?"
Johnny felt for the man, he was clearly stunned at the news. "August."
"Wow, con-congratulations." he finally stammered out. "What about your schooling?"
"I am going to be finishing school. Johnny is going to arrange for help and I am going to arrange my schedule so that my classes are in the morning if possible." Georgie was starting to realize that Brooklyn hadn't mentioned it to Dylan and she felt a tad bit guilty that she hadn't even thought of her ex.
Maxie entered the dinner, she had gotten the strangest call from Mac asking her to pick up some pies and cookies from Kelly's and to bring them over to Alexis Davis's penthouse. She saw Georgie and was hoping that Johnny or her could offer an explanation. "Georgie why am I delivering food to your mother in laws house?"
"That's my fault, with Georgie still recovering we are moving the party to Alexis house. This way the girls won't be out after dark and she won't have to drive home afterwards.?"
"And you are feeling guilty about yesterday. According to rumors at the party, you got Cameron and your sisters drunk yesterday?"
Johnny flinch as he saw the look in Elizabeth's face at the reminder of the babysitting fiasco. "Thanks, Maxie, like I forgot about it."
"You gave children alcohol?" Ned was astonished that Elizabeth was even talking to the man.
"No he gave them some chocolates that had rum in them. It was only partly his fault. The two of you need to head home if you are going to be at the Towers on time." Elizabeth tried to rescue the young couple from the obviously uncomfortable situation.
"Thanks Elizabeth. Merry Christmas everyone." Georgie and Johnny started out the door only to be stopped by Spinelli on the way in as they wished each other happy holidays.
SCORPIO HOUSEHOLD
Mac finished shaving, not sure why he was really bothering, then looking in the mirror told the reflection to stop lying at least to himself. He was hoping to see where the kiss from the other day lead. Alexis had shocked him, she was someone he had always thought of as a purely business colleague. Now his mind was going places his body hadn't been in quite a while.
Stopping to grab the tie on the nightstand, he changed his mind and tossed it down, he was certain than Johnny would not be wearing one, so he was going to skip the tie for the evening, then changing his mind, he at least wrapped it around his neck. On his way down the stairs he heard someone in Felecia's old room. Stopping to check he saw the blond sitting on the bed looking through the old photo albums of him and the girls. "I thought you left with Frisco."
"I had planned to but I change my mind at the last minute. Anna is on her way to pick up Robin with Robert and asked me to stick around."
"Good, I am on my way to Alexis's house to celebrate, do you want me to call and see if you could come along."
"No, Georgie and Maxie don't want me there. Neither do you. Thank you for being polite but I am going to stay here and spend the evening with Robin. We have a movie marathon and some ice cream to while a way the hours. Go have fun."
Mac felt guilty but knew that she was correct about the girls. So telling her Merry Christmas, he bent down and kissed her on the cheek as he left to spend the evening with her daughters. Stopping on the stairs he called Alexis who told him to invite her, that Brenda was on her way over to spend some time with Robin and that she was bringing Coop with her.
QUARTERMAINE MANSION
Edward was excited, the boys were coming, and the train was working. Now if only Spencer would go away. That man tended to crowd any gathering he was at. He was not the only one excited, he saw as Skye and Lilarae were walking down the stairs, Edward was happy to see them joining them for the holidays. Skye had rejected his offer to stay and return to work at ELQ telling him that she was happy being back in Pine Valley.
"Edward, thank you, but I am happy being a Mom and thanks to Lorenzo's money, we will never want for anything. I came back to sell off his estate. Then I arranged to donate the proceeds to the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center here in town. I found it appropriate to help those he hurt."
Monica was happy to see Brooklyn and Lulu changing into dresses. She had seen that Dylan was a little down and when the young man mentioned Georgie, she understood. The brunette had moved on and was planning a family with the man she loved, he was still dealing with the loss. Hugging him she suggested he head downstairs to keep things calm between his mother, brother and grandfather.
He gave a half smile at her, then went down the stairs to hear Skye asking Lois for more dirt from the past. He recalled the night of Emily's will reading and the astonishing stories she had told. So grabbing a seat on the ottoman he joined the interested audience.
Jason and Elizabeth walked into the foyer Monica had already grabbed the boys as they carried in the presents she had picked up.
COTTAGE
Georgie walked into the house, and kicked off her heels. Her night was finally beginning. They had spent the last three hours at Alexis' place. Johnny was carrying in the bags, which landed on the floor right inside the door, before he joined his wife on the sofa. "I thought we were never getting out of there."
"I know. Between your mom and Alexis. Did you know she was going to be there?"
"No, Mac told me that he felt guilty and invited her. He also mentioned Robin was acting strange before they left as well. At least the girls liked their presents. I think I played at least ten games of Candyland as well as Shuts and Ladders with Kristina. Though I think you managed to qualify as a great big brother. I wish I had photos of you playing tea party with Molly though."
"Hey I can drink invisible tea with the best of them. Did Maxie get accused of cheating by Kristina or was the a product of my imagination."
"No she really did cheat. Kristina wanting Mac to arrest her for it went a little far though. Did you get any kind of weird vibe between Alexis and Mac tonight?" she asked as she started to take the pins out of her hair.
"I just figured they disagreed on a case or something. What was up with your mother and Francis though. The ice between them was a little thick."
"Mom was partners with this guy named Roy De Luca. I was surprised that Alexis invited her. I was too young to really notice at the time, but I think it had something to do with her sister Kristina's death in one of Sonny's warehouses. It was pretty ugly at the time. Jason would probably know. I think that he helped Roy get out of town around then."
"I think we need to put the ornaments on the tree. It looks a little bare." Johnny lifted Georgie's legs from his thighs and went to find the bags from their shopping trip. When he returned he saw he was alone in the living room. Looking around he finally heard light footsteps on the stairs. Turning he smiled and raised his eyebrows at his wifes idea of something comfortable. "We might just have to skip ornaments this year."
"Oh no, back off Casanova. No unwrapping gifts until Christmas morning." Georgie held her hand out for an ornament and hook as Johnny could not take his eyes off the gown. He didn't recall this one in the bag from Couture. He had thought he had looked pretty thoroughly.
"Johnny if you help me we can get this done faster. I might let you unwrap this one tonight." She was soon finished with the ornaments, as she handed Johnny the stockings she had picked for the fireplace.
"Aren't we a little old for these?" he asked as he hung the stockings off the mantle.
"No, by the way. I want my list back. When I asked Maxie to bring it over, she told me she gave it to you. She knows better."
"You will just have to wait until morning." Johnny slipped his arms around her waist, as he plotted out his next move. Telling Georgie to stay right there, he went to grab the bed linens, then turning the light off until the room was lit only by the white lights on the tree. Georgie grinned as she hit the button to light the fireplace and then she lit the candles on the mantle.
After placing the blanket and pillows of the sofa, Johnny went to the kitchen to grab the glasses and grape juice. As they settled in, he pulled out one last surprise. Two books. He had two and a half hours until midnight, then he had every intention of unwrapping his gift. For now he was going to curl up and read with his family.
Georgie picked up the books then slipped into his arms after removing the robe to her gown. Johnny joined her, his belt and socks joining his dress shirt on the arm of the chair. As they started to get comfortable with his back against the arm of the sofa and her head using his chest as a pillow he picked up the first book and started to read A Christmas Carol.
Waiting until Georgie fell asleep Johnny placed the call to his miniature elves and had them slip in to place the presents under the tree. Johnny knew that she had placed her presents for him in the spare closet before she had ended up in the hospital so he asked Nadine if she would grab them for her before thanking Milo and her for her help.
"No thanks needed. Are you sure you don't want a guard out here?"
"No the alarm system is set, Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." Nadine and Milo slipped off to spend the rest of the holiday together.
When the clock struck midnight Johnny kissed his sleeping wife and finally fell asleep. He had gotten his present a little early this year. A new life. Tomorrow was the end of his old one. Thanks to Morgan and his plan, the next year would be a lot better than the last.
MORGAN HOUSEHOLD
Jason walked back down the stairs after placing Cameron in bed. The little boy had been so excited about Santa Claus visiting. Jason was glad that he was here sharing his second Christmas with Elizabeth. The first with their sons.
The night at the Quartermaine mansion had not been as bad as he had feared. Edward had been restrained with the presents. He had argued with Elizabeth earlier in the week about it, but she had told the old man no. That she did not want the boys growing up spoiled rotten and that he needed to obey their wishes in regards to their sons.
Jason had seen the toy room upstairs in what was a spare bedroom. Edward had not given the boys everything he had wanted to, but he had redecorated a room and turned in into every little boys secret toy fantasy. Jason had keep the peace about it, for Monica's sake. She had given him a photo album, telling him to look at it later. That what was inside might amuse them.
Skye had thanked him for his help and then wished him well on his marriage, when he had asked her if she was staying for it, she informed him that she intended to be home that night. That she was moving on with her life and walking away from the old. Jason could understand that. After all he was planning on doing the same thing.
When his mother had told them about Elizabeth's dress, Ned had recalled seeing Chloe and Lila plotting about a wedding dress. He wanted to see if it was the same dress. Dylan had been quieter than normal but Lulu had tried to cheer him up.
She had told Jason and Elizabeth that he had just found out about Georgie and her baby. It had been a lot for the younger man to deal with.
Finally coming to the landing Jason was upset to see Elizabeth holding a book and crying. "Elizabeth, what's wrong?" Jason pulled her into his arms as she just sat there not making a sound as tears coursed down her face.
Seeing how upset Jason was, she told him about her dream the previous year, and how his carrying Cam up the stairs had brought it all back. That this had been what she had wanted for a long time. Kissing her on the lips Jason pulled her into his arms and held her with his eyes closed. What she had described was something he had seen once. Not recalling when he had seen it, he could recall the actual scene with a strange clarity.
"Me too. When we meet on the docks that day, when Santa gave Cam, Charlie. I was wishing it was me tucking him in bed and spending time under the tree with you. " he had envied Lucky Spencer for being the one she had spent the holiday with. Now knowing that they had wasted so much time, Jason vowed to make all their dreams and wishes come true.
"We need to place the presents under the tree, so that we can head up to our own bed. I have a Christmas present I need for you to unwrap later."
Seeing his smile and feeling his reaction, Elizabeth laughed and said "Just help me get this done. You need to eat a couple of those cookies, I will drink the milk."
As the parents arranged the presents under the tree, the guard outside watched the man in the costume standing on the corner looking at the house.
Seeing the lights go out, he left the corner and headed back to his transportation feeling ridiculous.
Elizabeth and Jason stopped to check on the boys, when she saw a light filtering out from her brothers room. Knocking on the door, she was invited in.
"Spinelli, good night. Get to sleep soon or Santa won't come visit." she teased the twenty one year old. "Thanks for doing that Santa tracking program for Cam. You made his night."
"The little dude is excited that Saint Nicolas is coming, I was only helping. Merry Christmas Fair Elizabeth. Night Stone Cold." Jason told the pain in his neck good night, then pulled his fiancée back to the door for their room. He hoped that she liked the presents he had placed under their tree in the bedroom.
As they closed the door, Elizabeth saw the fireplace and their small tree lit. Candles were placed at strategic spots all over the room. Turning to Jason she asked if this is why he took so long returning down the stairs. "No Damian did this. I just wanted to make sure he took care of it all in the right order." Jason hit the button on the small stereo and she heard carols softly playing as he escorted her to the pathetic tree she had felt the need to rescue.
He had thought the one eight years ago had been sad, this one made that one seem like a redwood. Elizabeth saw a few small packages under the tree.
"These are more like pre-presents. " he grinned sheepishly at her. "Open them, please." When she had settled in the chair he sat on the floor next to tree and in front of the chair. Handing her the first box, she opened it to find a charm bracelet with three charms. Lifting it to the light she saw a motorcycle, an artist easel and what looked to be a boxcar. Jason leaned up to kiss her and said open the next one.
Seeing a set of legal papers inside she opened them to see what looked to be legal documents in Italian. Looking at Jason in confusion, she was told to lift them out. Inside was a photo of a house on a canal by the Ponte di Rialto. "Jason, this is beautiful but you shouldn't have."
"Well, since we are taking the boys on our honeymoon, I thought buying a house there would be easier than staying in a hotel. Kate's real estate agent found it for us." Jason reached up took the paperwork out and showed her the photos of the interior and told her about the boat that came as transportation with the villa.
"Jason, I just. Thank you. Its beautiful. Are you sure we can get away after the wedding?" she was a little unsure that they would get to go.
"Yes, Johnny and Francis and Max will be handling things while we are gone. Epiphany and Monica were thrilled to be able to help arrange this. Audrey and Mom were fighting over who was going to come help as a babysitter. You know, your grandmother could give Carly lessons in manipulating people. She was rather smooth in out maneuvering my mother." As they kissed, Jason found himself being pulled onto the chair, when they heard a noise downstairs.
Jason froze, then grabbing his gun from the lock box told Elizabeth to stay upstairs. Quietly slipping down the back stairs after checking to make sure it wasn't Spinelli, he slipped into the living room to see a man in a Santa costume standing in front of the tree. Closing his eyes then reopening them he took the safety off his gun and said "This was a really bad idea."
The man in front of the tree turned to see the enforcer with his gun in his hand, at least it wasn't pointed at him. Max was feeling ridiculous enough but having Jason get the drop on him was just the last straw.
Jason felt his mouth twitching, then the outright laughter began. Elizabeth heard the sounds and slipped down the back stairs to see Max standing in the living room in a Santa costume telling Jason to quiet down before Cam woke up and he ruined it all. Jason raised his eyebrow at the warning and asked "What does my son have to do with that outfit?"
"Diane and Kate ordered me to wear this, then after you were in bed, I was to sneak in and drop some packages off. So please go back to bed. I would like to find my own bed this evening." he pleaded with his current boss and soon to be partner.
Elizabeth slipped into the kitchen and grabbed her camera discreetly taking pictures of Jason having a conversation with Santa. Monica would love this. Finally taking pity on Max, she asked him why the women had arranged for the costume and made him deliver this tonight. "Why didn't they just give us whatever you put under the tree in person?"
"That crazy friend of yours. Lucy Coe came up with this idea. This way in the morning Cam would find the sleigh tracks and the paw prints, I was supposed to slip in and leave evidence that I was here for the little guy."
"There is a sleigh and reindeer in my yard? she asked skeptically.
"No reindeer, just horses. The sleigh is out there, yes."
Not believing the bodyguard she looked out the door. Sure enough there was a sleigh being pulled by two horses.
Hearing footsteps above Elizabeth pushed Max out the door and went with Jason to catch Cam before he came downstairs. "Mommy, Santa Claus is outside." the little boy struggled to get loose as his new Daddy carried him to the window and showed him Santa driving away. with Max saying Merry Christmas as loudly as possible.
As Elizabeth calmed down an excited Cam she finally talked the little boy into going back to sleep by telling him that Christmas would come quicker if he went to sleep, Jason went in to check on Jake who had slept straight through it all.
Jason wished he had witnesses to this. He now had Max right where he wanted the ex-bodyguard. Maybe he could find out what he had missed the last couple of weeks and when the man had started dating his attorney. Elizabeth had refused to answer his questions.
As they meet back in the bedroom, Jason decided to unwrap his gift. Elizabeth had told him to open it while she changed into her bedclothes. Jason opened the square flat package and found three different packages underneath. The first was labeled Cam, inside was his amended birth certificate reflecting his adoption, baby photos and finally the picture she had snapped today with his holding the boys at the party.
The second was a similar one with Jake, the third had only two items in it. The written test results confirming her pregnancy, and an ultrasound of the baby. Jason sat down on the chair as tears flowed It was perfect. Placing the albums next to the one from Monica, he opened her gift for the first time.
The photos were astonishing. Pictures of Lila from her youth all the way to a photo taken with Monica and Emily a few weeks before her death. Followed by pictures of Alan and him from the beginning up to the time of his accident. Followed by pictures of him with Emily.
The last group where the ones that held his attention. A copy of the picture on the Hardy's wall was the first followed by more pictures of Elizabeth with a few pictures of a very young Jason and AJ with a sulky little girl wearing a puffy party dress in red velvet with shiny black shoes. Jason knew even before he removed the picture what the back was going to say. With shaking hands he returned the photo and continued on through the album.
The last picture was of Elizabeth and him from the first Christmas they had spent together. She was in her elf costume and he was teasing her, it looked like it was taken right before he had stolen her hat. He smiled at the photo, then hearing a noise turned to see Elizabeth standing in the doorway in a burgundy nightgown with the Santa hat.
"Your Mom told me she found the photos in Lila's room. I know that it's not the Elf costume but how about unwrapping your other present."
"Gladly." Jason reached over and turned off the bathroom light behind her as he kissed her and sliding his arms under her shoulders and knees carried her off to their bed.
