Two days later Caroline came downstairs to find Rey and Jason wrapping up a meeting. She didn't say anything and just flounced down on the couch so he knew it was something. Rey figured it was going to be good 'cause she was wearing the same expression she had when she didn't want to admit taking out Brenda. Jason looked over at her and rubbed his temple to stave off the headache.

"What?"

"Um, remember what I said about not having anymore kids?"

"I'm not a doctor but I'm pretty sure we didn't manage that recently."

"Ha. Update from Lucky. Everybody's well. Aunt Laura just found out she's pregnant."

"That's good, but what's that got to do with us?"

"Uncle Luke needs back up and she can't do it."

Obviously, she can go if she wants or needs to. She's free to come and go as she pleases but Jason has gotten used to having Caroline in all parts of his life and Luke's work is gonna take awhile.

"You?"

"Nope. I'm not qualified enough."

Rey tried to stay out of the conversation but choked on those words. Jason wondered how high Luke's standards were.

"More details. How are you not qualified enough?"

"Certain stuff only mama, Luke and Laura know or are familiar with. It would take too long to bring me up to speed and train me for the specifics. He's got a lot of work to do. Some of it Cassidine related."

Jason thought for a moment.

"Lucas?"

"Yeah, do you mind if he moves in with us til mama gets back? They might be gone for awhile."

He looked at her and saw that she was actually concerned he'd say no.

"My little sister lives here, why shouldn't your little brother?"

"You don't understand. The last time uncle Luke was 'gone for awhile' was 10 years. He wasn't running from Frank Smith. He likes people to think he's running so they don't see him til they see him."

Jason nodded because it made perfect sense he just didn't get one part.

"And Bobbie?"

She exhaled.

"Mama wasn't always a health care provider. I told you not to let that nurse Bobbie routine fool you. Anyway, I'm not saying it will definitely be that long but she won't be back anytime soon. Lucas has to be somewhere stationary so that mama can keep in contact and get to him when its safe enough to meet somewhere. He can't be in the middle of it. Look, I can get him to aunt Laura and then...."

Jason had no problem with Lucas moving in. He didn't mean for her to get that impression, he was just curious about the Bobbie thing after he got over the anxiety of thinking she was taking off.

"Caroline, there's no problem. This is as much Lucas' home as he needs or wants it to be. It doesn't matter how long that is. And I understand its probably going to be permanent. Its better that he live with us anyway. Lucky and Lulu are used to a lot of changes. Lucas has lived here his entire life."

That was a major relief to her. Their situation was strange enough with Michael. Emily added a new twist because she has special needs and some scars to heal but she's not 7 years old. Plus, she's his little sister. The two of them weren't a couple and now they were going to have three kids from three completely different age groups under one roof. If he said no to Lucas, she really didn't know what she was going to do.

"Good. Letisha and the kids will stay there until after we get back from Puerto Rico. I'll go over later and pack up his things. He'll need them for when school starts and to make his room here nice. Though he'll change it completely just because a girl did it."

Jason's nodding in agreement to everything she says before answering.

"Sounds good. This will make it easier to schedule time for guy stuff."

She looked at Jason carefully and saw that he was completely serious so she kept her comment to herself. She caught Rey's eye, though, and both were shining.

"Oh before I forget, mama said to tell Johnny not to fuck up her place or she's coming after him right before she comes after you."

With that last part she hopped off the couch and left as quickly as possible.

Lois Cerillo was all about business. She was wheeling and dealing signing acts and booking performances before she met Ned Ahston and opened her own record company. Well, that is how she met Ned Ashton and managed to sign him to her label. So she already had the skills to be just as much of a partner and a player as Ned when they decided it was time to wage a war of their own.

Lois Cerillo Ashton was all about business and Ned could only sit back and smile as she started putting things together on their end.

"No sense advertising to the world, ie the Quartermaines, that Brook and I are back in town. I'd love for her to spend time with Lila but that'll have to wait."

"What are you thinking?"

"We got plenty of room here in this mini palace and the rest of the floor. We're planning to fight a war, we need a war room. This way I can work close to Brook and you don't have to worry while you're at the office. Get some computers and tie 'em to ELQ's main frame so I can start trying to track anything else Tracy's started doing to the business."

"That's smart. I'll get a couple of guys to help you searching the records. But I'm gonna have to talk to Jason for more information."

"Yeah, he'll know Soleto's entire operation and then we can find out many of his legit business from there. Those are definitely on Tracy's list to use as weapons against us in addition to the other stuff."

"What else do you need?"

She hated to say it and wasn't comfortable with it. Ned waited patiently for her to work it out.

"Someone to help with Brook. When I was starting up L&B, it was a lot of long hours and I had to concentrate. We didn't have her back then. I don't want her neglected even though I'm gonna be working from home."

"Lois, there's nothing wrong with having a nanny. Its sensible because it will ease both our minds. Plus, when we're out in the open she'll already have a relationship with Brook and we'll feel more comfortable leaving her home."

Ned said several things in that last statement that she had to address but first things first.

"I don't want some Quartermaine type nanny trying to prepare her for the girl's version of that boarding school all you Q's are shipped off to at the age of 10. I need someone around I can deal with who speaks my language and understands how I want our child raised."

Ned laughed.

"Sure. And Brook is never going to boarding school. Even if she begs its off the table. I'll talk to Vinnie see if he has any idea. I'm not sure they have a wise guy opar training academy but something is possible. Jason and Caroline have had Letisha since Michael came home from the hospital."

"How did that work? Neither of them seem like they'd want to have someone else dealing with their child, especially a newborn. And considering his work, security is a major factor."

"Michael was premature. Caroline fell down the steps in the penthouse one day when she was alone. Jason walked in unexpectedly and found her unconscious lying at the bottom of the steps covered in blood. They had to do an emergency C section and she had a stroke. She was in a coma for a few days and Michael was in pediatric I.C.U because of congenital heart disease. It was real touch and go for awhile and he almost lost both of them.

At the same time, grandfather was trying to get a court order for custody two hours after he was born. Monica and Allen were giving Jason medical advice for Caroline that he felt was so suspect he had to call in Bobbie and was consulting with an OR nurse rather than the Chief of Staff and head of Cardiology. The whole thing was a mess.

Anyway, when they were finally released from the hospital Caroline was still recovering so she couldn't pick up Michael or do anything and she was in a lot of pain. Jason is real good. Emily, grandmother and I were the only ones welcome to come over and visit. I saw how he handled taking care of the baby and was impressed. A little jealous but still impressed. But he works and didn't want Caroline alone again after the accident so that's why they got the nanny."

Lois was amazed. She hadn't heard any of the details of what happened. She wasn't surprised by the Quartermaine reaction or Edward's maneuvering. One of the reasons she doesn't want Brook anywhere near him. She also caught that jealous comment and knew that was a slip because Ned never blamed her for leaving. Lois was determined to make sure he had all the time with Brook he needed but it was hard with her in Brooklyn. They haven't been in PC a full week and she can tell that he's gotten more than comfortable having them both there and spending so much time with his daughter. That's a concern she'll deal with later. For the time being, she's gonna make things easier for both of them.

She picks up the phone and asked Vinnie to come up for awhile to talk. After he enters the room he takes the temperature and is assured there's no problem.

"Mrs. Ashton?"

"Ned and I were talking about getting someone to help out with Brook once we get started and we wanted your opinion and help."

He knows both of them have an understanding of certain things. He doesn't even comment on his association with Ned prior to this happening. It wasn't uncommon for 100% legit corporate types to have occasional dealings with a boss or two. The fact that Ned helped one when he really needed it turned out to be a blessing for his family. Vinnie worked with Ned a few times before being brought on full time as head security specialist. Yeah, Vinnie was real special alright.

"Usually how it works is that the boss gets someone who's related to another employee. Someone who's been around enough and is trusted. That way the connection is already established and everyone knows what's what. Basically, keep it in the family. That's what I understand Mr. Morgan did."

Lois and Ned are peeked by that tid bit but Lois has another concern.

"You're not checking up on Jason are you?"

Her tone made it very clear that would be a bad thing for him to do. Surprised again at the depth of the connection between them, he shakes his head.

"No, Mam. Its not a secret and I had to consider the circumstances when trying to work out security for you and your daughter. His nanny is the niece of their maid. Well, that maid is retired now but Mr. Morgan brought the nanny in at 19. That means she already understood what was what."

Lois nodded to the first part of his statement, satisfied there was nothing going on against Jason. Ned didn't say anything 'cause if she started yelling at Vinnie he wanted no part of getting caught in the cross fire.

"Ok, something like that is doable for me. I gotta check her out for myself in the way only a mother can. Get me a couple of candidates on paper first before bringing anyone in. She's gonna have to live on the floor as well so we have to be prepared for that. And, she better not know how to spell Soleto let alone have the slightest whiff of a connection to him. Something goes wrong with my daughter and I'm coming after all of you."

Ned wasn't surprised and he knew she was serious. Vinnie shouldn't have been surprised but he did take an involuntary step back.

"I understand completely. I'll go start checking on things for you now."

"Thanks."