AN: I need some sort of coping mechanism to deal with the news of 10 episodes, so I'm posting this. Other people need to clean out their WIP files so I have something to read to distract me. Please! ;)

Chapter 2

Elizabeth and the nanny, Miss Janie, stood on the back deck watching the kids play in the backyard. Elizabeth had been back from Iraq for six months, the same amount of time she was gone. Most things had returned to normal, with only one glaring exception. It seemed just as she thought it, an opportunity presented itself for her to be slighted.

Two and a half year old Jason tripped in the grass and face planted in the yard. It was obvious that he wasn't truly hurt, but he needed comfort. Elizabeth darted off the deck, and raced across the yard to scoop up her crying son. "No!" Jason screamed shrilly. "Janie!" He kicked and screamed and writhed against Elizabeth until she let him down. He marched back across the yard to Miss Janie and held up his chubby arms.

Janie offered an apologetic glance at Elizabeth, who did her best to remain neutral. She nodded. Her son needed comfort, even if he preferred almost everyone to his own mother. Elizabeth watched longingly as Jason wrapped his arms around Janie, clinging to her, just as he'd once clung to Elizabeth.

She looked away quickly, begging the tears to stay at bay, trying to tamp down the jealousy that threatened to spill out. It wasn't Janie's fault that she'd taken on more responsibilities during the six months that Elizabeth was stationed in Iraq, helping Henry get the girls off to preschool and school a few days a week or spending the whole weekend when Henry had those couple of conferences he was required to attend.

It had been Henry and Janie that potty trained Jason in Elizabeth's absence. At the time she'd been thankful. He was ready and there was no reason to miss the window when, the usually very opinionated, Jason was compliant. Now though, it was just one more thing that she hadn't been around for and it pierced her heart.

In the days when she first returned home, Jason wouldn't even acknowledge her. He would hang back, clutching Henry's leg or he'd have to be pried off of Miss Janie so she could go home. The girls tried to camouflage it by always jumping in and asking their mom to help them fix their hair, read a book or make them a snack. Elizabeth grew wise to this pretty quickly, but let it continue as much for her own sanity as to keep the peace.

The third time Henry woke to an empty bed and found Elizabeth curled up in Jason's crib stroking his hair, whispering "I love yous," to their sleeping son, they moved him to a big boy bed, for Elizabeth's sake.

Now, she'd been home six months, and things were better, relatively speaking. Jason would let Elizabeth fill his cup or fix his plate at meals. She could give him a bath and read him a bedtime story as long as Henry wasn't home.

Elizabeth did her best to fight off the feelings of jealousy. She knew that Jason was young and he didn't understand and that he wasn't choosing others over her, with the intention of hurting her. The pain and guilt she felt was a byproduct of her time away. The fact that it was necessary time away was beside the point. This was just how it was. Each day she put on a brave face and did her best to ignore the slights.

It was in the early hours of a Saturday morning that Elizabeth found herself curled up on the couch going through an old suitcase where she had reports stored as reference for the new one she was writing. Elizabeth thought she heard the floor above her squeak, but then it seemed to be nothing, so she returned to her work. That was, until she was pulled from it altogether by the sniffling of her son.

"Jace? Baby what is it?" She pushed the papers off her lap and crossed the room to pick him up.

He wrapped his arms around her neck and broke out in heaving sobs. " No go mama! No go!"

"Baby. Mama's not going anywhere for a long time. I'm right here."

The look of indignance Jason gave her might have been humorous if he hadn't been so distraught. He kicked and fought to get down and stomped over to where she'd been sitting. "You do go," he cried, patting the suitcase that sat on the couch.

Confusion abounded as she struggled to figure out what her son meant. She moved over to him and placed him in her lap. "Mama's home baby. I'm not going away again."

He shook his head vehemently. "No. You take soo-cay. You go." He reached out and touched the suitcase. Jason looked back at her, his eyes wide with fear. "Take soo-cay and go."

She studied her son and she thought back to this suitcase sitting in the doorway before she left. How she'd hugged her babies and handed Jason to Miss Janie before picking up the luggage and walking out the door.

Upon her return, the suitcase sat untouched for two months until she was prepared to go through it and wash all of the fatigues and relive the heat and sand and-the other stuff, the stuff she didn't talk about for quite a while. Jason once tossed his ball and it landed in the same corner and no one could understand why he wouldn't just go pick it up. Eventually Stevie got the ball and handed it to him. How did she not see what was going on?

Over the past few months, it moved from place to place and now that Elizabeth understood, she could remember times when Jason broke down sobbing and no one knew why. She held him tight. "No baby. Look. It's just papers. We'll put it away. The suitcase is getting put away because I'm staying home." She swept him back upstairs and lay down with him.

"No go, mama. Stay wiff me." His chubby hands clutched her shirt as he heaved shuddered breaths. Elizabeth held Jason until he went back to sleep. Then she carefully slipped from the bed.

Henry woke to the sounds of crashing in the attic above him. Within seconds, Henry's head popped through the opening. "What are you doing? It's 6:30 in the morning."

It's the suitcase. He associates the suitcase with me leaving." Henry looked blankly, not following. "Jason! The suitcase has been out this whole time, so he's just been waiting for me to leave again."

"Oh. Wow. Who would have thought?" Elizabeth told the story and Henry helped return the item to it's normal storage spot and they came downstairs.

When Jason woke up, he was a different child. He searched all of the main living areas and not finding the suitcase, he visibly relaxed. He ate breakfast cuddled on Elizabeth's lap and didn't move from her side all day, even insisting that she nap with him.

Elizabeth was worried what Monday morning would bring when she had to leave for work, but she was pleasantly surprised when Jason completely ignored Miss Janie's arrival. Janie set about helping Stevie get her shoes on, but shot Elizabeth a look from across the room, who was happily packing the girls' lunches.

Janie caught Elizabeth in the laundry room. "Jason? He's better."

"He is." Elizabeth quickly relayed the story and then looked sheepishly at Janie. "I want to apologize. I've been so very jealous of you and it was never your fault. I rationally knew that, but I didn't handle it very well. It was just really hard to see Jason choose you again and again. Please forgive me."

Much to her surprise, Janie swept Elizabeth into a hug. "I only ever felt bad that it was happening. I'm glad you've figured it out and our Jason is back to being a momma's boy." Elizabeth grinned through her tears, giving thanks that Janie was part of their lives.

She walked back into the living room where Jason played with his large collection of Hot Elizabeth knelt beside him. "Jace, honey, Mama's going to work now. Janie is in the kitchen. I'll be back tonight, okay. His eyes shot up and darted around the room. Her work things sat on the couch with her purse.

Jumping up from his spot, he ran over to the couch and tugged her briefcase to the edge. "This one," he said.

"Yes, baby. This one." She picked him up and gave him a big hug. "Have fun with Janie today."

He smiled and returned to his game and Elizabeth left for work feeling lighter than she had in the past year.