A/N – Thanks for the comments! The Sam situation is going to be different, so she's not totally the same Sam as on the show. I have a method for my madness. Trust me.
Posting today because tomorrow I won't be able to.
Chapter 4
Jason checked his phone and called Johnny. "Is she okay?"
"He didn't hurt her, but I just don't trust the guy."
"Neither do I…"
"Are you coming back soon?"
"I hope so."
"Alright, Emily will be here soon."
"Later."
Ric is going to have to be dealt with at some point and Jason is dreading the confrontation with Sonny.
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Liz wiped a tear away. "This movie is so sad."
"I know, but it's so beautiful too."
They are watching A Walk To Remember.
"They were meant for each other and she's sick. I mean, how much does that suck?"
"I understand."
Liz nods. "Yeah, you do. It just comes to show that fairytales and happy endings are complete bullshit."
Emily's jaw dropped. "Take that back!"
"I will not. Love sucks."
"Well, aren't you Debbie downer?"
They busted out laughing.
"I hope you don't give up on love."
Liz sighed. "I'm not very good at this relationship thing. I think I'll just focus on being a mom. Maybe I'll do better than my parents did, you know?"
Emily joined their hands. "I think you're shooting too low."
"Emily!"
They laughed.
"Your parents sucked. You could do better than them in your sleep."
"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence."
"May I?" she said hovering her hand over Liz's stomach.
"Yes."
Emily pressed her hand on it. "It's the only piece of Zander we have left."
Liz put her hands over Emily's. "Yeah…"
"I miss him."
"Me too…"
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The next day, a weary Jason entered the house just as Liz exited the kitchen.
"Hey."
He threw his keys on his desk. "Hey."
"Is everything okay?"
"No, but it's nothing you have to worry about."
"You look like you're about to fall over."
He nodded. "I didn't sleep."
"Lay down. I'll wake you up after lunch."
"Thanks…"
"Just turn your phone off. You won't be good to anyone if you leave it on."
He turned it off and headed upstairs.
Liz sat on the couch and sketched for a bit, and then felt a little restless. She has about four hours until she has to wake up Jason, so she decides to go down to the docks, so she can sketch something different, and then maybe get a donut. She needs something sweet.
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Jason woke up two hours later and when he didn't find Elizabeth or Johnny, he texted the guard.
"We're at the docks. She wanted to draw."
"Good…" He's glad she's trying.
"Shit, Ric just showed up."
"I'll be right there."
He grabbed his keys and then headed to the garage where he jumped on his bike. Ric needs to be warned to stay away. Elizabeth doesn't need the stress.
At the docks, Liz rolled her eyes when Ric sat next to her.
"It's a beautiful day."
"It was…"
"Don't be like that."
"What is it going to take to make you go away?"
"I can't give up on you. We can still raise this baby together."
She shook her head. "No, we can't."
"Don't you ever wish our baby would have made it?"
She closed her sketchbook. "What do you think? You are the one that put me in danger with Faith."
"I know I screwed up, but please, Elizabeth. You said yourself that no one knows who the father is, and I'm willing to claim it."
Jason's eyes narrowed. "Get away from her."
Ric stood. "Ah, the knight in shining armor. I'm surprised you took time away from protecting Carly from whatever god-awful scheme she came up with to even give Liz the time of day."
Jason's jaw clenched.
"You are the one that should stay away from her. After all, your life is dangerous. It already killed Courtney's baby."
Jason lunged forward, but Liz stepped in between them and placed her hands on Jason's chest.
"He's just goading you. Please ignore him."
Jason's whole body is tense. "Leave…"
"You don't own her, and you are not the father of this baby, so why do you care?"
"You are a sick bastard and who is to say that I'm not the baby's father?"
Liz gasped. "Jason…"
"No, Elizabeth. It's time we told the truth." His eyes plead with her to go along with it.
She swallowed hard as Ric took in the scene.
"No. Please don't tell me that Jason is the father. There's no way!"
"Believe what you want. Do you think I give a shit? Stay away from Elizabeth and our child. I'm not going to tell you again."
Ric is so angry he could break a tooth. "Elizabeth, tell me he is lying."
Liz took a deep breath as she turned to face him. If believing that this baby is Jason's will make Ric go away, then she'll go along with the ruse for now but will try to keep it quiet so fewer people will be hurt in the end.
"I can't."
Ric swore under his breath. "Elizabeth, Jason is going to get you killed. Please, I'll still protect you."
"Why, so you can throw it in my face and get your revenge?" Jason said.
Liz grabbed Jason's hand. "Let's go, please."
He squeezed her hand and then pinned Johnny with his gaze. "He gets nowhere near her again."
A confused Johnny nodded.
He led Liz to the warehouse, and they went inside his office.
"Why?" she said with tears in her eyes.
"He's dangerous and won't give up. You know how he is and he's still messing around with Faith. I won't let him hurt you again, Elizabeth."
A sinking feeling stilled her. "What if he tells people? Not only will Courtney be devastated, but what about your family? God, Jason. What have we done?"
"You know I hate lying, but we have no idea what Faith will do if Ric goes after you again and she is nuts. Do you want to take the chance that they could kidnap you or hurt the baby in some way? He hates me, but he knows that if he does one more thing to piss me off, I'll bury him."
She starts to cry, so he grabs her hands.
"Is saying I'm the baby's father that horrible?"
She shook her head. "No. I just don't want to ruin your life. This is going to change everything. Everyone is going to be on our backs. My blood pressure is already high."
He tugs her against him and closes his eyes as he feels her energy. "Take deep breaths."
She clutches the back of his shirt. Everything just seems so out of control, and she's so tired of crying.
Sonny burst into the room. "Oh, sorry."
Liz pulls back and wiped her face. "No, it's okay. Johnny can take me home."
"Are you sure?" Jason asked.
"Yes. I'll see you later."
He nodded.
After she left, Sonny studied Jason. "Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"I just ran into Ric. You lied."
Jason plopped onto his chair. "He's harassing her."
"Fuck!" Sonny starts to pace.
"What's the problem?"
"I was going to see if you could move Sam into your place."
Jason groaned. "Sonny…"
"I'm pretty sure the baby is mine, but Carly will leave if it is. I was hoping that she could stay with you and then we could have you pretend to be the father to buy us some time."
Jason shook his head. "So, you want me to lie to Carly?"
"You're lying for Elizabeth. Why not?"
"I'm not going to claim to be the father of both kids for one thing. Sam means nothing to me. I know she can hurt your marriage, but Elizabeth has been a part of my life for years, and you and Carly are not even fully together."
"She walked away!"
"Where is this coming from? A few days ago, you were on her side."
"I'm just frustrated." Everything is falling apart, and he doesn't know how to fix it. "And what about Courtney? This will crush her. Are you going to tell her the truth?"
"No."
Sonny is livid. "I told you not to get in involved with my sister and you fought me on it and look what happened. Your relationship destroyed her."
"And that is not all on me and you know it."
"So, I'm supposed to just stand around while you hurt her again? If it were Emily, would you?" Things aren't the best between him and Courtney, but she is his blood.
Jason's head hung low. It always ends like this with him feeling he has to make some kind of sacrifice and he's tired. While he regrets what this will do to Courtney, Elizabeth is his priority now. Courtney made her choice.
"What if we moved Elizabeth to a different apartment? Carly will understand why you lied to Ric. She won't have a problem with that and then you could move Sam in and say the baby is yours."
Their gazes are locked, and Jason isn't even moving while Sonny prays that his partner caves.
Jason suddenly headed for the door. "You know, Sonny, when it's your blood you make every excuse in the world, yet I didn't hear you once give a shit that AJ was my blood." When Sonny started to speak, Jason held up his hand. "Yet I was willing to do what it took because I felt he deserved it. Maybe I should have done what you do with your family and given him millions of chances no matter who he hurt. Maybe Michael wouldn't be such a spoiled brat if you did the right thing instead of just caving to him and letting him rule you, so he'd learn to cope when he doesn't get his way."
When the door slammed behind him, he got on his motorcycle to clear his head.
Sonny went back to his office thinking that maybe Jason just needs time.
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Two hours later, Elizabeth jumped when Jason came inside.
He hastily put away his gun and then went to the kitchen for a beer. When he saw a glass on the counter, he picked it up and hurled it across the room.
Elizabeth rushed to the doorway and watched as Jason leaned on the counter. When she perused him, her gaze locked on his hand. "You're bleeding."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
She left to put on her shoes and then grabbed a broom and started to clean up.
"You don't have to do that."
"I know. If I started breaking things, you'd have no plates or glasses left."
"Everything is just out of control." Jason sucked in a breath when he moved and felt a glass shard.
"Go sit on the couch, please."
He didn't feel like another argument, so he listened and once she was finished, she retrieved the first aid kit and then sat on the coffee table and perused his hand taking note of the callouses.
"I see the shard." She grabbed some tweezers.
"Ouch."
"Hold still…"
"How can I when you're doing that?"
She eyed him. "You've survived worse." Focusing on his finger, she carefully pulled the shard out and placed it on a napkin. Quickly, she wiped the cut with some antiseptic and then bandaged it. "Better?"
He nodded.
"Good, because you're too big to kiss things better."
"Maybe…"
"Why are you so upset?"
He sighed.
"I won't tell anyone else."
Usually, he wouldn't talk, but this isn't business, and he wants to show her that he's able to confide in her. "Sonny was sleeping with Sam McCall while he and Carly were having some problems."
"Okay." She knows who she is from the diner.
"After Michael got hurt, Sonny made a deal with God and he and Carly decided to move back in together because Michael was so upset and wanted them together."
"What? He doesn't want to give up Sam?"
"No."
"Does Carly know?"
"Yes, to an extent. Sam is pregnant, but she doesn't know if the baby is Sonny's or Jax's."
"Wow."
"If it's Sonny's, he doesn't want to tell Carly and wants me to cover."
"How?" She gets a sinking feeling that things may be changing for her.
"He wanted me to move her in here and say the baby is mine."
Liz grimaced. "I see. Did you say yes?" It's what he usually does, so she won't be surprised if he had buckled.
"No. I was upset and left. I told him I'm not moving you out. Ric already came to him and told him that I claimed to be the father of your baby."
"But you want to say yes to protect Carly and the kids?"
"Yes and No. I committed to you that I'm not backing out. Ric is dangerous, and while I worry about Michael and this will kill Carly, they will survive."
"It's crazy that you have two pregnant women at the same time needing you to claim their child."
"Yeah."
She stood and then moved toward the fireplace. "I don't want to be yet another person that uses you and you lose out. What are we going to do, Jason? You shouldn't have to be tied to my child because of his lie and I don't want to hurt the baby because he or she will get used to you and love you. Did you think that far ahead? What if you want to walk away because you meet someone else?"
"I won't."
"This is a lifetime commitment. Were you going to change the test?"
"Yes."
"Jason…"
He stood. "I know we've had problems, but we were friends before. I thought of Michael as my own and I can do the same again. Should I be worried though?"
"About me taking the baby from you?"
He nodded.
"No."
"Even if there is danger?"
"We'd probably be more in danger away from you. They'd still know you are the father."
"Did you ever wish…" He can't even say it.
"Do I wish this baby was yours?"
He nodded.
"It's a little painful to go there, but it would be a lot easier. You would be a great dad, Jason. I feel like I'm putting you in a position to possibly lose or feel obligated and I don't want to do that to you. I can say we lied and then just deal with Ric on my own."
"No. He almost killed you, Elizabeth. You have just as much to lose as I do."
She moved closer to him. "Promise me that we won't let anything ruin our friendship again."
"I have no intention of doing that."
"But it's still hard being around me?"
"Don't you feel the same way?"
She averted her gaze. "Yes."
"We'll have to figure out how to be okay again."
"What are you going to do about Sam?"
"Nothing…"
"Sonny won't like it."
It had been a strenuous year. The night Sonny had fired him and yelled at him in front of everyone had hurt and he hopes it won't go back to that if he doesn't bend.
"I don't want to be the reason you fight with him."
"You won't be."
There's a knock on the door, so Jason answers it.
Sam almost falls against him.
"What the hell?"
"Get her to the couch, Jason," Liz said.
"I'm fine, I'm just upset. I'm sorry. I didn't know that she was here."
Jason and Liz shared a look.
"I'll go upstairs."
Jason started to object. "Elizabeth…"
"No, it's okay."
Sam eyed Liz. "How far along are you?"
"I'm five months."
"Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"I'm three months along. You were with Ric, right?"
Liz grimaced. "Yeah, but the baby isn't his."
"Oh." Sam glanced at the floor. "I shouldn't have asked. It's none of my business."
"I'm the father, Sam."
Her gaze snapped to him. "You never said anything."
"We don't share things like that."
"I—" Sam sighed heavily. "I just can't seem to say the right thing."
"I'm going to go," Liz said before going upstairs.
Sam and Jason stared for a long time. "Do you love her?"
When he didn't answer, she slowly stood. "She seems nice."
"She is…"
"Not exactly who I pictured you with after Courtney."
"I knew Elizabeth before her."
"I see. I didn't realize you were living together."
"It's recent."
She seriously wishes that he'd be more forthcoming.
"What did you want?"
"This is harder than I thought."
"You can't bail, Sam. Just find out who the father is and then you can make decisions."
"I feel like the walls are closing in around me. I mean, I never thought this would happen to me. What if I suck?"
Jason sighed. He doesn't know who she'd be better off with, Sonny or Jax, as the father. They both suck in different ways. "I took care of Michael the first year of his life and I just learned along the way. The most important thing is love. Everything else will fall into place."
"I guess you're right. Can I sleep on the couch? Please, Jason." Sonny would never look for her here and she just needs a break.
Liz ducked into the closet and then grabbed an extra pillow and blanket and went downstairs. "Here. I was going to get some water, so I'll bring you a bottle."
"Thanks."
Liz disappeared into the kitchen.
"Is she always this nice?"
Jason smirked. "Just don't piss her off."
Sam smiled, something Liz caught as she returned.
"Here you go."
"Thanks."
"Good night."
"Night…"
Jason tracked Liz until she disappeared into her room.
Sam laid the pillow down and then kicked off her shoes and once she was settled, Jason turned off the light and went upstairs.
