Elizabeth sighed in her sleep and resisted the urge to tell her son to give her ten more minutes. She could feel his fingers running through her hair and she was just grateful that he wasn't bouncing up and down on the bed as he normally did. Blinking the sleep away from her eyes, Elizabeth frowned when she realized that she wasn't in her room, the stark white walls she was staring at resembled that of General Hospital, and those hands…

Turning her head Elizabeth came face to face with a very tired looking Jason. She pressed her hand over her lips and couldn't stop the tears that immediately rose in her eyes, "Hey."

"Hey," he croaked as his fingers caressed the silky locks, "Is JJ okay?"

"JJ's fine," Elizabeth smiled as she reached for his hand, grasping it tightly with her own, "He's with Bobbie and Carly right now, Michael is keeping him occupied. You need to lie very still, you can't move around to much."

"I feel like hell," Jason groaned and then hissed, "Damn."

"If the doctors find out that you're awake the police are going to come in and start asking questions," Elizabeth said quietly as she slid closer to him, "We need another day before we can get you out of here, Jason."

"You're taking care of things," he murmured as he closed his eyes again.

"I am," she whispered as she pressed her hand across his forehead, "You don't have a fever, that's a good sign," she smiled when he opened his eyes again, "I told God that you could glare at me for the rest of our lives as long as He brought you back to me."

"You brought me back," he whispered as he closed his eyes again, "What do they have me on?"

"What don't they have you on?" Elizabeth laughed softly as she pressed his hand against her cheek, "Johnny has all of the medicine taken care of and everything else is ready. We just don't want to move you too soon. It's only been a few days."

"Where are we going?" he asked tiredly.

"I'm taking you out of state," Elizabeth said, "Francis will be taking us and Johnny will be the one escorting JJ there. I have extra guards on Carly and Michael and Bobbie as well but I don't think they'll go after them." Elizabeth had no intention of mentioning the fact that Lorenzo was hovering around the Brownstone making sure no harm came to Elizabeth or her friends.

Jason licked his dry lips. "Sam…"

Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed. She knew it was going to come to this, she should be happy that her name wasn't the first thing out of Jason's mouth when he woke up. Deciding to face it head on instead of avoiding it, Elizabeth opened her mouth to tell him what she did with the little tramp.

"Stays where she is."

She looked at Jason curiously, "What? How did you…"

A small smile appeared on Jason's face, "Elizabeth, we have a lot to talk about."

Elizabeth smiled back as she watched his eyes drift shut again, "That we do, Jason."

"I'm coming, I need one more thing!" JJ called from the top of the stairs.

"I'll be here until you can return," Lorenzo said as he looked at Johnny, sighing when the man rolled his eyes at him, "No harm will come upon this family because of me."

"Just in case," Johnny said, "Because your other brother tried to kill us all, I'm going to leave Max here, make sure everything is on the up and up."

"Don't bother," Carly said as she placed a hand on Lorenzo's shoulder, "Unless you grew up in diapers with Johnny he's not going to trust you. He barely trusts me, ain't that right Johnny boy?"

Johnny cleared his throat, "I have someone at the hospital with your mother. I should be back by this evening. Please stay out of trouble, Carly."

"Who me?" Carly asked as she smiled innocently as Johnny, "Lorenzo and I are going to stay here and watch a movie, that's it."

"You want to do something for us?" Johnny asked looking at Lorenzo, "Keep her out of trouble."

Lorenzo looked at the bodyguard and then at Carly before looking back at Johnny again, "I have a feeling that is going to be quite a task."

"That doesn't begin to cover it," Johnny grumbled and turned when he heard JJ pounding down the stairs behind him, "Ready Uncle Johnny, I have all my stuff. Michael let me borrow some of his toys before he left for school and I wanted to pack them all. Let's go see Mommy and Daddy!"

"Come here," Carly said kneeling down to his height and opening up her arms, accepting his big hug when he ran into her, "You tell Daddy that I love him okay? Tell him to get better real quick for all of us and you be a good boy for your Mom, she's going to need your help."

"I will," JJ nodded, "I love you Aunt Carly."

"I love you too, JJ," Carly smiled as she kissed his forehead.

JJ moved away from her and towards Lorenzo, tugging on his sleeve, "'Cuse me."

Lorenzo knelt down in front of him, "Yes, JJ?"

"Thank you for keeping my Aunt Carly and Aunt Bobbie company. Mama says that you're a real nice man and that I should be nice to you but I like you and I'd be nice to you even if Mama didn't say so. You played trucks with me, I like that," he leaned in and gave Lorenzo a hug, "Thanks," he then ran back to Johnny, "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Okay, alright," Johnny said as he opened the door for JJ, "Hopefully he'll fall asleep on the ride down."

"Yeah," Carly laughed, "Good luck with that." She closed the door behind Johnny and secured the chain, moving over towards the window to watch them climb into the car, Johnny securing JJ in his car seat.

"He's a wonderful child," Lorenzo said quietly, "I see a lot of Elizabeth in him."

"When he throws a temper," Carly said turning towards Lorenzo, "You see a lot of Jason in him," she moved towards the man who was now standing across the room from her, her arms folded across her chest, "You were falling for her weren't you?"

"Elizabeth was the first person in this city to give me a chance," Lorenzo said, "From my standpoint it was a stupid move, I represented nothing but danger, she didn't care and she reached out and wanted to be my friend. She saw past the façade and became my friend despite what anyone else had to say."

"Muffin face is like that," Carly said, "She'll befriend anyone, forgive them, hell she's being nice to me, we're being nice to each other and that's just…" she shuddered, "Its wrong. It's not normal. I can't wait until Jason's back on his feet and we can start arguing again."

Lorenzo laughed, "For your sake, and Elizabeth's and your children's, I'm glad that he's okay."

"He won't come after you, not until he has proof," Carly said, "Elizabeth won't let him."

He smiled sadly, "I knew it was a lost cause the moment she saw Sam and Jason on the steps of the Brownstone. Her face was just…she looked to be in sheer agony."

"Part of me is glad," Carly said, "Glad that she felt the pain I had to feel when she was with Sonny but the other part of me," she sighed, "I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of turning everything into chaos. Yeah, I'm always going to be just a little bit crazy but I want to move past everything else. With Sonny gone its like, I have a second chance, it's like I'm free to start over, to start making the right decisions for my life, for our child. For the rest of my life I'm going to love that man but together…it was just too explosive," she laughed softly, "I'm droning on."

"No, no you're not," Lorenzo said, "I'd like to take you out for a cup of coffee, let you know that I sympathize, maybe even tell you about Sophie."

"Sophie, huh?" Carly asked with raised eyebrows as she grabbed her coat, "Sophie, Sonny, think that's a sign, Lorenzo?"

Lorenzo laughed, "I would tell you that I don't believe in signs, Carly, but I have a feeling that anything around you is possible.'

"Are we there yet?"

"We're almost there, JJ," Johnny said, "Just a few more minutes."

JJ bit his lip and looked out the window, "Are we there yet?'

"Yes, we're here," Johnny sighed.

JJ's eyes grew wide but he then frowned when he realized the car was not stopping, "Uncle Johnny, you fibbed!"

"JJ, I promise you that we're…here." Johnny said with a smile as he turned into the dirt driveway and pulled up to a small house, similar to Elizabeth's cottage. The young woman came flying out the front door and JJ was squealing in the backseat.

"I've missed you so much," Elizabeth said as she threw open the back passenger's side door and started unbuckling JJ's car seat, "Where you good for Uncle Johnny?"

"Uh huh!" JJ nodded eagerly as he reached for his mother.

Elizabeth gathered him into his arms and squeezed him until he cried out too tight. She didn't let him go, only loosened her grip as she kissed his face all over, "I've barely seen you these past few days."

"Mama," JJ giggled, "Where's Daddy?'

Jason slowly made his way out to the front porch, his hands wrapped protectively around his upper chest, stilling healing from the massive wounds he received. His arm no longer hurt from the graze wound but he was still limping slightly with his leg.

"You can go say hi to Daddy but you have to be very careful," Elizabeth said as she placed her son down on the ground, "Daddy has a lot of boo-boo's okay?'

JJ nodded solemnly as he slowly approached his father, stopping in front of him, his eyes wide as he looked up at him, "Hi Daddy."

Jason bent down in front of his son, felt the tears hit his eyes as he replayed Sonny's words, he had to stop running, he had to face the past in order to deal with the future. His son was his future and he was standing before him, a few feet away, afraid to touch him for fear that he would hurt his own father. He hated that he put JJ in that position, hated that Elizabeth was in this life and for the first time he hated that he was a part of the organization.

Not giving a damn about the pain or the wounds that could tear open, Jason grabbed JJ by the shoulder and pulled him into his arms, hugging him as tightly as he could, "I love you, JJ."

"I love you too, Daddy," JJ said as he buried his head in Jason's chest, "I'm glad that you're okay. I was so worried when Mama told me you were hurt."

Jason swallowed the hiss of pain as JJ hit one of his wounds; he pulled back and wiped the tears from his son's cheeks, ignoring the dampness on his own. Jason was glad that he was okay too. He was grateful that he had another day with his son, another day with Elizabeth. He was done wasting time.

"Want me to show you where you'll be staying the next couple of weeks?" Jason asked, "Then maybe we can convince Mommy to make us some dinner."

"Okay," JJ said as he jumped up and down in front of his father. He watched Jason as he stood up gingerly and then held out his hand to him. JJ took it carefully, "Slowly Daddy, don't get another boo boo."

"Don't worry, I've got plenty of reasons to be more careful next time," Jason said smiling down at his son before looking back at Elizabeth. He watched her wave to go ahead before he followed his son into the house.

"You've made it," Johnny said quietly, "You finally got there, Elizabeth, past that damn brick wall."

Elizabeth wiped the tears from her eyes, "I'm not there yet Johnny but I will be. Nothing is going to come between Jason and I, not again, I won't let it. We both have a long road ahead of us but I'm ready to fight and so is he," she turned towards him, "Where is she?"

"Just outside of the city," Johnny said, "I have Marco staying with her during the day and I'm afraid that she's sleeping a little bit uncomfortably at night."

Elizabeth tried to hide her smile, "I'll feel horrible if she's done nothing wrong."

Johnny's eyes narrowed, "Accusing Sonny of…"

"I know," she said quietly, "Did you find out who did this?"

He was quiet for a minute before he sighed, "They're dead. Three shooters and the driver. We found the car abandoned, burned to a crisp, all four bodies inside, no trace of who hired them."

"You're still thinking its Lorenzo," Elizabeth said.

"I'm thinking that it is a possibility," Johnny said, "And you have to think that as well. I know that you feel the need to give people a chance, Elizabeth, to trust them, to…"

"If you would've asked me four years ago where I would be Johnny this would be the last place," Elizabeth said, "I thought for the longest time that I could handle Jason's job and then I started to worry that I couldn't. The moment I found out Sonny faked his death…" she looked away, "But I'm here and I know more about the organization than Sonny ever wanted me to. I know how to detect someone, I know who needs to be taken care of and I know how much funds are filtered in and out of the businesses every year. I'm making myself a lawyer to protect this organization, Sonny's group; I don't want anyone to go down because we're all family now. That said I know that is hard sometimes to figure out who is for you and who is against you. Right now, Lorenzo isn't against us."

"Elizabeth…"

"That doesn't mean that he didn't come to town without an agenda," she looked back towards Johnny, "Find out what that agenda was."

"I'm on it," Johnny said, "And I won't make a move until I have your word. Is Francis already on his way back?"

"He should be there by now," Elizabeth said, "Also keep me updated on Sam's condition and state of mind. Someone will probably need to check on her in a few days."

"She has a guard with her during the day," Johnny said, "When you say somebody; I'm assuming you mean yourself."

Elizabeth looked back towards the house again, "If we find out that Sam McCall had anything to do with this, with Sonny's death, with Jason's shooting," her dark blue eyes met Johnny's, "She's mine to deal with."

"And then there was this loud, boom, boom, boom!" JJ said, throwing his hands in the air, "Michael said that I shouldn't be afraid, that it was fireworks, but I was a little afraid Daddy, especially after you didn't come home. Was it okay to be afraid?"

Jason's eyes moved from his son's to Elizabeth's who sat at the end of the table, her fingers toying with a paper napkin that rested next to her barely touched dinner plate. She looked white and he watched her chew on her lip, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, motions that she made when she was nervous or scared. He could only imagine as she tried to explain to their three year old son why his father disappeared so soon after the loud fireworks.

"Why don't you come sit on my lap," Jason said as he gently pushed the chair back from the table, "On this leg," he said patting to his good thigh.

"Jason, I don't think…" Elizabeth stopped midway across the table and watched as JJ gingerly climbed into his father's lap, careful not to touch any of the places on Jason's body that were pointed out earlier as his boo-boo's.

"We're okay," Jason said as he gave Elizabeth a small smile, but she could tell that his blue eyes reflected pain. Still, she would not argue with him. It was made clear to the both of them these past few days just how precious life was, she would not rob Jason a moment of his son's life and if he needed JJ to be near him, to hold his child while he explained the situation than so be it. She would clear away the dishes and stay out of the way.

"Not a lot of people were happy when I came back to town," Jason said as he looked down to JJ, "And some of them tried to hurt me the other night. I'm okay though and your Mom's okay and Aunt Carly is okay and Aunt Bobbie and you and Michael. I'm going to try my best to make sure that it stays that way. That's why we're on this little vacation. Your mom and I want to keep you safe."

"Uncle Sonny use to say that the most important thing was to always protect Mama," JJ said proudly, "And Mama said that the best person to do that was my Daddy. Mama doesn't lie."

"She doesn't," Elizabeth said quietly as she leaned over and picked up Jason's plate, "Not when it comes to your father."

Jason's eyes followed her as she collected their son's plates as well and disappeared into the kitchen, the noise of the dishwasher being filled soon filling the small domain. He wished that life were this simple, he and Elizabeth together, raising their son. It would be perfect, what he always wanted, but now they had let so many things get in the way, so many other people. He planned to rectify all of that before they left the safe house.

"Your Mama is right," Jason said, "I won't let anything happen to her or you. While we're here you're going to see a lot of us and we're going to spend a lot of time with you, playing and riding your bike that I had Uncle Francis bring up."

"Really?" JJ asked excitedly, "Cool!"

"But when we get home, you're Mama and I might have to send you away for a while."

JJ frowned, "Why are you sending me away? Don't you and Mama want to spend time with me?"

"No JJ, never that," Elizabeth said as she hurried towards her son, kneeling down beside him and Jason, "Your Daddy would be sending you to Uncle Sonny's island. You were there a long time ago, you were born there and it's huge," Elizabeth said with a forced smile, "There's a beach all to yourself and you and Michael will be able to make sandcastles and go swimming in the ocean. We'll make sure that Aunt Bobbie would be there with you too and Aunt Carly."

"We want you here, with us," Jason said, "We're only going to send you to the island if we have to and it's not because we want to get rid of you it's because we love you so much we don't want you to get hurt. We want to make sure your safe so that we can keep you around for a very long time."

"Forever and ever and ever," Elizabeth smiled as she leaned in and tickled his belly with her fingers.

"That's a really long time," JJ giggled, "Are you both staying here tonight? Together? You aren't going to fight are you?"

"No," Jason said as he leaned in and kissed his son's hair, "Your mother and I aren't going to fight, not like we use to, not ever again."

Elizabeth looked up at Jason, startled before her gaze turned back to her son, "Daddy and I both love you very much. We're not going to let anything happen to you."

JJ nodded, "I know, Daddy will protect us both." He slid from his father's lap and wrapped his arms around his mother, hugging her tightly.

Elizabeth sighed as she held her son against her, barely holding back the tears, "It's time for bed. I'm sorry that Daddy can't tuck you into tonight."

"He needs to get better to take me out on my bike," JJ said as he stood up on his toes and waited for Jason to bend down so he could place a kiss on his cheek, "Goodnight Daddy, I love you."

"I love you too, JJ," Jason said quietly as he watched his son move towards the stairs, climbing up them with his hands and knees, taking one step at a time. When Elizabeth stood up to follow him, Jason took her hand, "I'd like to talk to you when you are finished tucking our son in."

Elizabeth nodded as she squeezed his hand, "I'll lock up for the night. Why don't you go get settled into bed. We can discuss things in your room."

He gave her a small smile, "I'm no longer able to run away."

Elizabeth leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek, "I couldn't if I tried, Jason."