Jason Morgan couldn't remember a time when he'd slept better. Or so late. The green numbers on the VCR glowed 11:03. His wife had stayed pressed to his side the entire night long, as they made her small couch into their makeshift bed. Sure, his back hurt and his legs were cramped, but as he looked down at the sleeping brunette in his arms, all the pain seemed to disappear. The only people who existed were the two of them and life outside of her living room had stopped.
But, it only lasted for three minutes. It was then that Jason heard small footsteps start down the kitchen stairs, and a minute later the swinging door opened and their two daughters discovered them. "Hey," Jason whispered into Elizabeth's hair.
She stirred, but snuggled deeper into his chest. "Feels like home," she muttered.
Jason smiled, but continued to try and wake her. "Sleeping beauty, it's time to wake up."
It was her turn to smile. "Well, you should know how to wake Sleeping Beauty up." Her blue eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him. "Where's my kiss?"
His lips met hers briefly, just a light brush of them together, before he pulled away. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "That's no kiss."
"It is when we have an audience," he told her. Jason was aware of his daughters' eyes on them. "Abby and Isa are awake."
"Awww, man." Elizabeth rolled in Jason's embrace and found the children staring at them. "Mornin' honies."
"Mornin' Mommy," the blonde giggled. "Didja sleep good?"
"Well," Elizabeth corrected. "Did you sleep well, Abby."
"Well did you?"
"I did."
Isabelle took a step forward and threw her arms around Elizabeth's neck. "Mornin' Mama." She gave Elizabeth a kiss and looked up at her father. "Mornin' Daddy."
Jason ruffled the smallest child's hair. "Hey, Isa. How are you?"
The child thought for a minute, then looked at her sister. She giggled and said, "I'm well."
Jason bit back a smile and Elizabeth openly smiled. "Someone thinks they're funny," their mother muttered.
"Daddy watch cartoons?" Isabelle pried. Her blue eyes were wide, curious if she would get to watch her Saturday morning cartoons.
"Yes," Jason agreed. He kissed Elizabeth's forehead before he released her and she stood.
"I'll get breakfast. Then we'll all watch cartoons."
Both children squealed with delight as Jason watched his wife retreat to the kitchen. His gaze lingered on the slow sway of her hips, like a slowing pendulum in a grandfather clock. Even when she disappeared behind the swinging door of the kitchen, it took the musical giggling of his children to drag his attention from her.
The girls were whispering to each other, grinning like the cherubs they were. "What's up?"
Abby looked up at her father before she pushed her blonde curls away from her face. "Daddy, are you comin' home?"
"I'm here now," he told them. Jason sat up on the couch, but then moved off the couch onto the floor. Abby sat on his thigh and Isabelle crawled into his arms. "I'll always be here for the two of you."
"Mommy too?" Isabelle asked.
"Yes, Mommy too. I love all of you."
Isabelle smiled. "I love you, Daddy." To emphasize her words, she leaned up to kiss his stubbled cheek.
"Why don't you live here, Daddy?" Abby continued her line of questioning, and it was obvious she had a purpose.
"Because I live across from Uncle Sonny."
"Why? Do you love Uncle Sonny more than us?"
"No," he promised. Jason looked down at his blonde daughter and sighed gently. Reaching out, he touched the side of her cheek and pushed her hair behind her ear. "I live across from Uncle Sonny because he'd get lonely if I didn't."
"Why doesn't Uncle Sonny have a Mommy so you can live with us? We get lonely too, Daddy."
Even if it was coming from a five year old, Jason knew Abby was being serious. He and Elizabeth had never really discussed why they weren't living together with their children, only that this was the way it was. He couldn't tell Abby that he had messed up so much that her mother wasn't sure if she could trust him. He couldn't tell her they were starting over, trying to learn about each other again. He wouldn't tell Abby that losing her had destroyed them. There were so many things he could never tell his children, things he knew he'd eventually want to, maybe. Someday.
The blonde's eyes welled with tears and they slipped silently down her cheeks. "We miss you, Daddy. Me, Mommy, and Isa. We…" she sniffled. "We love you."
Jason pulled his oldest daughter to him and held her tightly. He wished he knew what to say…how to tell her that he loved them too, no matter where he was living, what he was doing. "I miss you too, Abby. Mommy and I…we're working on it, kiddo. We're trying."
Until this point, Isabelle had been watching the exchange curiously, not sure what her sister and father were talking about. "Daddy come home? Please Daddy?"
As he looked from daughter to daughter, Jason didn't know what to say. He desperately wished Elizabeth would show up and explain it all away. He opened his mouth to call for her when she came from the kitchen, carrying two cups of coffee.
His wife stopped in her tracks as she saw Abby's tear-stained face and Isabelle's blue eyes wide with question. "What's wrong?"
Jason waved the question away and motioned for her to come to them. "We need to talk." Sighing, he reached for the remote and turned the television off.
Elizabeth sat both cups on the end table and placed herself on the couch. Instinctively, Abby went to her mother for comfort. Her small face buried in her neck as she silently cried. "Shhh," Elizabeth began. "Honey, you have to tell me what's wrong, so I can fix it."
"Abby misses Daddy," Isabelle explained. The younger child sat happily on her father's lap. "Wants him home, Mommy. Abby and me wants Daddy home."
Elizabeth's eyes widened at Isabelle's request. "Honey…" she looked to Jason for help, but his expression told her he couldn't. Elizabeth cleared her throat and looked down at Abby. "Abby, stop crying so we can talk. You, Daddy, Isa, and I need to talk about this." Elizabeth smiled warmly when Abby peeked at her from under the blonde curls. "You okay?"
Abby sniffled, but nodded. "I'm sorry," she apologized.
"Abby, you don't ever have to apologize for how you feel," Jason assured her. He reached out and placed one hand on her knee and squeezed. "Don't ever let anyone tell you differently."
"Okay," she agreed. Abby lay her head on her mother's shoulder and listened.
Elizabeth cleared her throat to stall a few seconds more. "Abby, Isabelle, you need to understand that Daddy and I love each other." Her eyes met Jason's and she smiled. "And one day, Daddy is going to move back in with us, we promise. Just…" Elizabeth paused as she tried to explain the situation. "Mommy and Daddy had some problems, Abby. We didn't like each other, for a long time."
"Did you love?" Isabelle spoke up.
"Always," Jason told her. He smoothed a hand down the child's back. "We've always loved each other. And you two, too."
Isabelle smiled at his answer, but didn't say anything else. She looked up and waited for her mother to continue.
"We love each other, Isa, don't worry. But Daddy and I, since we didn't get along, we're making sure we still get along now. It's why Daddy and I go out together sometimes by ourselves."
"Why don't you sleep together?" Abby blurted out. "April in playgroup says her parents sleep together."
Elizabeth's eyes widened as she looked at her husband. She didn't even want to think about the question her daughter was asking. "But we do," she assured her. "Daddy and I slept together last night, don't you remember? We were on the couch."
"Oh, okay." Abby's eyes were now alight with hope, her frown had turned into a wide smile.
Elizabeth went to correct herself when someone knocked on the door. Andrew opened it and said, "Mrs. Davis-Jacks is here."
Elizabeth nodded and the pregnant woman entered. "Thanks Drew."
"Hey girls," Alexis said. She took in the scene before her and silently wondered if she had interrupted something. "Are you ready to come with me and Uncle Jax tonight?"
"Yeah!" Isabelle cheered. "Uncle Jax funny."
Elizabeth giggled when Jason rolled his eyes. "Isabelle, Abby, why don't you go upstairs and get the bag we packed last night, so you can go with Alexis."
Both children agreed and ran for the stairs. Abby stopped on the first step and turned back to look at Alexis. "Didja know Mommy and Daddy slept together on the couch last night!?" Before the attorney could respond, the child spun back around and followed her stumbling sister up the stairs.
Elizabeth blushed and Jason groaned. He turned to look at Elizabeth and said, "It's official. When they're old enough, you're giving the sex talk."
At that moment, Alexis wished the floor would open and swallow her. The woman put both of her hands on her back to support her ever-expanding stomach. "Speaking of sex… Jax told me something. Then we drew straws to see who would get to talk to you about it…and well, I lost. I was hoping I could talk to Elizabeth about it."
Elizabeth sighed. She leaned over and took Jason's hand. "Because we want you to keep them all night."
"Yes." Alexis shifted uncomfortably before she finally gave up and lowered herself into an armchair. "He…We were concerned. Can we talk about this alone?" Her gaze shifted from Jason to Elizabeth, then back to Jason.
"Alexis…" Jason began.
"Jason and I don't keep secrets, Alexis. He'll know eventually."
"I feel like a total heel. And I realize this must be awkward, but I want you to know that you don't have to do this. There's no pressure from any of your friends to reunite."
Jason looked at his attorney and felt his respect for her begin to grow. "We know you love us, and we appreciate your concern. Elizabeth and I have talked about this. We came to this decision together."
"What I think Jason is trying to say is thank you, Alexis. And I understand why you're concerned, but eventually you knew it was going to happen. Jason and I…we love each other. You know that. It's natural that we want to be together again."
"Yes, I agree." The Cassadine turned her eyes to the woman whom she thought of as a daughter. "Are you sure?" she questioned sincerely.
Elizabeth broke her gaze and looked down at Jason. His hand tightened around hers. "I am," she assured them both.
"Then that's all I need to know. I'll butt out now." As soon as she'd finished speaking the two children trudged down the stairs, holding the bag between them. "Are you ready to go?" Alexis asked as she began to get up.
When he saw she was having trouble, Jason pushed himself off the floor to help her. Once she was standing, he released her elbow.
"Thank you."
"Sure." Jason looked at his daughters and smiled. "Come give Mommy and Daddy a hug and kiss." The children dropped the overnight bag and ran to their parents. Jason dropped to one knee to hug them both, as they each kissed him on a separate cheek. They repeated the process with Elizabeth and said their goodbyes.
Jason and Elizabeth stood in the doorway as Jax's blue Mercedes pulled out of the driveway and down the street. Jason's arm was wrapped around Elizabeth's waist, holding her to him. When the car disappeared, Elizabeth looked up at her husband. "How about that cup of coffee?"