Chapter 7

The bell above the door signaled his entrance. Her fork stalled mid-poke into her mashed potatoes as she lifted her eyes to identify the person who was now walking towards her. Her heart was thundering in her chest and her breaths were becoming shallow.

She was nervous.

When Elizabeth first came to the realization that joint custody would be the best for all involved, she never thought that she would be so nervous when she brought up her idea to Jax. When she told Lucky it just flew out of her mouth, but as Jax neared her table she couldn't help but feel the urge to flee. It was a little too late for that because the man was already sitting in front of her with kindness in his eyes. That seemed to ease her a bit.

"I'm glad you called me, I wanted to apologize for how I handled the situation yesterday. I should have never offered you that money, but you have to understand that I am desperate Elizabeth. I already love this child more than anything and I-"

"Jax, I understand. You took me by surprise, but I haven't been very easy to deal with. I mean I was threatening to keep your child away from you because you were thrown into a situation that you really could not control." Her interruption made his tense shoulders relax and put them both in a state of calmness. Both of them were nervous about this meeting. She was nervous because she didn't know if Jax would agree to the new arrangement, and he was nervous because she held all of the cards regarding their child in her hands.

He could fight for custody and offer all of the money in the world that he wanted to, but in the end, Elizabeth was the one carrying the child. The courts always favored the mother, and he had broken the contract when he and Courtney separated.

Deciding to dive in head first Elizabeth brought up the real reason she invited Jax to meet her for lunch at Kelly's. "I called you today because I think I have found a solution to our problem. One that I think will benefit everyone involved."

"Really?" She had spiked his interest and he was sitting up in his chair leaning towards her waiting for her explanation.

"I think that we should share custody of this child." There, she said it. A weight was temporary lifted off of her shoulders but quickly fell back on once she took in the disappointed look on his face. "You don't agree."

"I don't know. That seems like the best idea, but I don't know if it is."

"What do you mean?"

"Are you willing to be connected to me for the rest of you life? You are just starting out with Lucky and Cameron; you are all trying to be a family. Do you really want to add me into the mix? Lucky and I don't get along as it is, do you think he will be able to handle me being apart of your life? Can he handle us sharing a child?"

Seeing his point but knowing that there was no other way, she tried to make him understand, "I have grown to love this child Jax. At first I thought that I would be able to give her up because I thought you and Courtney deserved the type of happiness that I have with Cameron and Lucky. But then she cheated on you and now the two of you are separated and on your way towards a divorce. I still believe that you deserve this child, and I know that you will be a wonderful father, but something changed." Inhaling and exhaling deeply she continued, "I have always known that I was pregnant, but it didn't quite hit me until my stomach started to grow. It's not a huge difference, but when I look down and I see this little pouch, I know that there is this life growing inside of me. This child is apart of me and will always be apart of me. How can I give this child up when I have grown so attached to her? I know it isn't fair of me, but I love this child and I can't bear the thought of giving her up… or keeping her away from her father."

"What would you do if Courtney never cheated on me and we were still married?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

He truly understood her attachment to this child. She was carrying the baby and her body was the one that was changing. It was only natural that Elizabeth had grown to love this child as if she were always planning on being the mother. "I think that joint custody would be the best thing for you and me. I want my child to have a mother, and I know that you are an amazing mother, you amaze me with how wonderful you are with Cameron." At the mention of her son and the flattery that Jax was bestowing upon her made Elizabeth smile with pride.

"So yes, I think we should share custody. My only reservations about this is how Lucky is going to handle the situation."

The smile she had been wearing only grew wider once Jax agreed to joint custody, but it fell once he mentioned Lucky. She couldn't help but remember his words from the night before. Even though he had just agreed with the arrangement hours before, it still didn't seem like he really wanted to share custody. But in order to put Jax at ease she didn't mention the fight from the night before, "Lucky thinks that this is the best for everyone also. I'm not saying that it is going to be easy, but I am sure we will all put our own issues behind us and make sure that this child's life is put first."

All of the hurt feelings and angry words were left behind in that moment. Jax finally felt like this was happening the way it was supposed to. At first he wanted to share this child with the woman that he loved, but she turned out to be a whore, and then he just wanted to raise his child and be the best father. Of course he wanted a mother for his child, but that was the least of his worries. But sitting in front of Elizabeth and listening to her talk about her growing attachment to their child, he knew that this was best. His child would have everything that she needed, including a wonderful and loving mother. He just hoped Lucky would get over his insecurities and make this easy on Elizabeth.

During his thought process, he didn't even register the sound of another entrance into Kelly's "So then it's settled. I'll call my lawyer and have the custody papers drawn up."

"What custody papers?"

Both Jax and Elizabeth looked into each others eyes and shared a silent feeling of displeasure at the newest addition to their conversation. They both broke eye contact at the same time and looked at the couple that was standing near their table.

Jax was the first to speak "Hello Courtney," looking at the man standing next to her, the man who had an affair with his wife; he said his name with as much displeasure as he said his soon-to-be-ex-wife's name "Nicolas."

"What did you mean when you said you were going to draw up custody papers?"

"Jax and I have agreed to share custody of this child." Elizabeth decided to cut in.

Taken back by the news Courtney reached for Nicolas' hand "I don't understand. How can you share custody when I am the child's mother? Did you two just happen to forget that fact?"

Both Jax and Elizabeth stared at Courtney with shock. Elizabeth could not believe her ears. Did Courtney really just say that she was the mother of the child Elizabeth was carrying? This, coming from the woman who admitted that she didn't want the child anymore. Courtney had told Jax-after she admitted to sleeping with Nicolas-that she didn't want the baby. Elizabeth couldn't understand this flighty blonde. One minute she was disowning the child and then the next minute she was claiming it to be hers. "Excuse me?"

Staring down at Elizabeth, hard, Courtney let go of Nicolas hand and folded her arms across her chest, "What? Now that I am no longer with Jax, I am just cut out of this child's life? I was always supposed to be the child's mother. That doesn't change because-"

"Enough Courtney," standing now Jax addressed her "you never wanted to be apart of this child's life. At first yes, but after Elizabeth became pregnant, maybe even before, you didn't want it. You even came to me and told me that you didn't want to have anything to do with the child after you rubbed your affair with Nicolas in my face."

"I was upset-"

"You were upset? My wife had just told me that she was cheating on me!" His voice was raising and the situation was quickly turning ugly. Nicolas could tell that Courtney was about to reply to Jax, in an attempt to calm her down he put a hand on her arm.

"How do you figure that you are the mother now Courtney? What, are you going to share custody with me? A man you hate so much that you would cheat on me and then throw it in my face."

Ignoring Nicolas' calming hand Courtney retorted, "No, I am going to fight you for custody and then Nicolas and I will raise the child together."

Every person's eyes in that group grew large, except for Courtney's. She was oblivious to their shocked faces, especially the man who she had just volunteered to be a father to a child that wasn't even hers. Without his permission or acceptance to top it off.

After hearing her words Nicolas chose that moment to speak for the first time, "Courtney, I think we should leave, we need to talk."

Turning to look at Nicolas she protested "No! They are trying to-"

"Courtney," and that was all the warning she needed because she gave in and followed Nicolas out the door without a backwards glance to the people they left behind.

"She won't be able to take the child will she?"

Jax could sense the worry behind Elizabeth's words. He knew that Courtney had no chance in obtaining custody of his and Elizabeth's child; he just had to reassure Elizabeth of that. Covering her hand on the table as he sat back down, he gave it a gentle squeeze, "Don't worry. She doesn't stand a chance against us. I'll make sure of it."

He could tell that his declaration made the worry dim a bit, but it was still there. As he was about to continue his phone rang.

Elizabeth was lost in her own thoughts when Jax hung up from his phone call. "I'm sorry, but I have to go back to work. Do you need a ride home or to work?"

Snapping out of her own thoughts about Courtney trying to take her child, she looked at Jax, "No, I'm good. I don't have to work today, so I was just going to have a relaxing day. I have to pick Cameron up from my Gram's soon, but I still need some quiet time."

"Ok, if you're sure. If you need anything, anything at all, please do not hesitate to call me."

"I will."

Standing up and walking towards the exit Jax was stopped by Elizabeth, "Thanks Jax, I just know that this will all work out." Giving a small smile Jax left the diner and a very confused and worried Elizabeth.

Shock.

That one word was all that could explain the expression on Sonny's' face. Here stood his best friend, the man who had just lost his memory and claimed that he didn't want to be in the business anymore, and he was asking for a job. Sonny thought that the only way Jason would come to him was if he remembered something, but by the look on his face, Sonny could tell that Jason didn't remember anything, about him anyway.

This was just too good to be true and he was not going to get his hopes up until Jason explained this abrupt request. Sonny didn't have to wait long.

"I don't want my old job back. I don't think I ever will, but I thought I could work for you at the coffee warehouse, or maybe even the docks," despite being uncomfortable with the whole situation, he couldn't help but find amusement in his next statement, "your legal business."

His crooked smile happened to be contagious because seconds later Sonny was fighting off one of his own. "You want to work at the warehouse? You are part owner in the coffee business Jason."

Jason cut Sonny off quickly "I want to work. I can't live off of money that I don't want. I want… I want to work for it."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I'll give you a job at the warehouse, if you want to take back your position as co-owner," raising his hand to stop Jason from his protests Sonny continued "just let me know."

Jason knew that he would not be making that decision anytime soon, but he still decided to go along with what Sonny was giving him. "Fine."

"I'm not going to change the name either. You may not be my partner right now, but the company will remain Corthinos-Morgan." Bringing out the dimples he continued "Besides the fact that I want you as my partner, the paperwork to change the name is hell and I don't want to go through that again."

The comment made Jason chuckle slightly. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, he still felt at ease with Sonny. At first he wanted nothing to do with the man, but the more time he spent with him, he realized how deep their friendship was. He couldn't explain it, it was just there. Nodding his head just once in a show of gratitude Jason spoke "Thank you. When do I start?"

"How about tomorrow at nine?"

"Ok." With that he began to make his exit from the living area.

Not wanting his friend to leave so soon, Sonny tried to stall, "How are things going with you?"

Stopping at the question Jason turned around "OK."

"Good… good. I guess I'll see you around." He was disappointed that he couldn't think of anything to keep his friend around, but he had to take things at a steady pace and be happy for the little interaction that Jason offered. He had just asked for a job, that was a clear stepping stone.

Seeing the disappointment Jason decided to add "I moved out of the penthouse."

"Oh. What about Sam?"

"What about her?"

The tone behind his response showed Jason's annoyance with the woman so Sonny decided to leave it alone. He was just making progress with the man, he wasn't about to let Sam ruin it. "Nothing, I just…. Forget it. Where are you staying now?"

"Jakes." He didn't mind telling Sonny about his new living arrangements; he just hoped that a certain someone did not find out about it, "I really don't want anyone to know about where I'm staying-"

"Don't worry about it, I won't say anything."

"Thanks," and with that Jason left.

Elizabeth sat at Kelly's for about two minutes after Jax left. Her thoughts were swimming around in her mind so much that she was feeling suffocated. She quickly paid her bill and left. Her thoughts were consumed with what Courtney had said.

Could she really fight for this baby? If she could, was there a chance that she could win? Sure she had Jax on her side, but Courtney had Nicolas. Both of them were financially secure and they were going to be a two parent home. Would the court favor them because of that?

She needed to stop thinking about that; she needed something to drown out her own thoughts. Thinking about Courtney and her rude interruption was only going to bring on stress, and stress was not good for the baby. Automatically a hand went to her stomach and she began to rub soothing circles as she walked the docks.

As she looked up she was met with a familiar face. Her steps started to slow as a smile appeared on her face. "Hey, I didn't expect to see you so soon."

Her smile was returned with an equal killer smile from the man who stopped in front of her. "I was on my way to Kelly's. I never got my cup of coffee."

"Oh yeah, I'm so sorry about that, I completely forgot that Lucky was going to be there,"

"No, it's ok. I had things I had to do anyway." They stood there in silence for a moment just looking into each others eyes. The silence was comfortable, but Jason decided to break it anyway, "So everything is ok with you and Lucky?"

"What?" at first she was confused with the question, but she quickly caught on, "Oh, yeah… yeah everything is good. Well not everything, but for the most part."

"Are you busy now?"

"No, I still have about two hours before I told my Grams that I would pick up Cameron."

"Cameron, that's your son's name?" He remembered her mentioning that she had a child yesterday. She said that she had to pick up Cameron from her Grams yesterday, but she left so fast that he really didn't have time to process it.

"Yes." Her smile was so bright and her eyes lit up so much that Jason knew her son was the most important person in her life. "He just turned two in May and brings a new meaning to the phrase terrible twos. He runs all over the place, knocking things over and just making a mess, but I still love him more than life itself. Just the other day he…" Laughing at herself Elizabeth apologized "I'm sorry, I just seem to become the proud mommy whenever someone mentions him."

"That's ok; it was nice to hear you talk about him." He didn't care if she talked about her son for hours as long as she was happy. He couldn't explain it, much like a lot of other things, but seeing her light up and talk so freely about her son made him happy for her. He was really interested to hear her talk about the boy. If he were honest, he was interested in hearing her talk about anything, just not Lucky. Jason still did not like the man. "Do you want to go back to Kelly's with me?" Lifting his shoulders in a simple shrug and turning his head to the side, as he squinted his eyes he pondered his next statement. Turning his head back to look at her, his decision was made. "We could finally talk."

She did not want to go back to Kelly's. Too many people kept showing up there. If she was going to have this conversation with Jason, she wanted it to be where no one could interrupt them. Jason had been trying to talk to her for the past two days now, and every time they accidentally bumped into each other, someone or something interrupted them. "Do you think we could go somewhere else? For some reason I just don't think we will get much talking done at Kelly's." Realizing that her statement did not come out right Elizabeth quickly cut in, "I mean, too many people that we know go there and might interrupt our talk."

"Ok, I have my bike back there, we can go to Jakes." He turned around to show her to his bike but stopped once he realized she was not following He turned back around to see her standing in the same spot he left her in. "Is something wrong? Is your baby ok?"

Kicking herself for making him worry, Elizabeth quickly reassured him, "Yes the baby's fine. It's just…." Excitement was bubbling in her belly. It had been so long, too long, since she had been on the back of his bike, the wind rushing past her while she screamed with excitement, encouraging him to go faster. "Where's your bike?"

Her change in demeanor confused him. One second she was a frozen in place, looking petrified with the idea of riding his bike, and the next she was full of excitement and was practically skipping with glee towards him. Scrunching his forehead in confusion while fighting a grin as he watched the excitement overtake her he replied "This way."

They were not on their way to Jakes.

But at that moment, as the wind was swallowing her whole, Elizabeth could care less.

Her head was thrown back as she gazed up into the darkening sky. The sight that awaited her was one that brought out the artist in her. The sun was setting, which turned the sky into an open canvas of unique colors blending together. Pinks, purples, blues, and yellows all interlaced together to form a beautiful scene. Rays of light were peaking out behind the clouds as the sun descended towards the world below, out of view, allowing for the moon to make its presence. The rays truly looked like heavens gate was opening, calling home all that were awaiting their final destination. Her hair was longer than it used to be during their previous rides in the past. The helmet acted as a slight barrier, but her hair was flowing wildly behind her like waves of silk.

This was freedom.

Her arms were wrapped tight around Jason's torso, not out of fear, but out of comfort. Knowing that he was there, deciding where they went, having control of the bike, giving her freedom.

As he gunned the bike into a faster pace she couldn't help but let out a squeal full of excitement. The scenery around them was just one big streak of nothingness. She couldn't make out a single object as they raced towards nothing, taking sharp turns that should have scared her but didn't. But that was the way she liked it. She threw her head back again to look at the now dark sky as she felt the bike slow. Taking her eyes off of the mesmerizing sky Elizabeth studied her surroundings and couldn't hold back the small frown that appeared on her face.

She knew this place.

How did he know to come here?

The bike had been idle for a few moments before he turned it off. He didn't know what made him turn away from Jakes and towards the cliff roads. It just felt right, and his passenger didn't seem to be complaining. From the sounds of her squeals, Jason was able to bet she loved it. He was waiting for her to get off of the bike, but she wasn't moving.

Turning slightly to look over his shoulder he asked "Are you ok?"

She was looking to her left, staring off at the familiar area when his voice brought her back to the present. She turned her face to look at him and was struck by how close they were with his head turned back towards her. Staring into his eyes for a moment she realized that he was waiting for her to remove herself from the bike.

As she broke eye contact and started towards the edge of the bridge Jason felt a tinge of disappointment. They had been so close to each other and she had backed away as if he were fire. As he swung his leg over the bike and started to walk towards her she asked "How did you know to come here?"

He didn't.

"I don't know, I was just driving and you seemed to be enjoying yourself. I didn't think you would mind-"

Tuning to look at him she realized that she had confused him "I don't mind, I was just wondering if you knew about this place."

Closing the gap between him and the edge of the bridge he leaned over and looked down into water. "I don't know why or how I came here. I just…" concentrating hard on the concept, he tried to figure out how he got to the bridge. "I just started to drive and this is where we ended up, I don't know why."

He was looking at her with the silent request for her to explain the reason behind her questioning. She leaned over the bridge mimicking his pose and turned her head to look at him. "You took me here one time. A long time ago, practically another life time. I just thought it was weird that you would come here, or know to come here."

"I didn't."

"I know," and that was the part that confused her. She understood that he didn't know what this place meant to him, or even why he ended up here. But somehow they did.

Jason believed her understanding. Not because he trusted her, even though he did. But because of the look in her eyes. She might have been just as confused as he was, but she understood.

Breaking eye contact from her, Jason turned his attention back towards the water. It was to dark to see, and because of that he couldn't tell how far down it went, but because of the silence he was able to hear it.

"You got it?"

"Yeah. I never knew this was here. Where does it go?"

"Over the gorge. I guess there used to be an estate out here. The bridge is all that's left."

"How far down does it go?"

"Far. You can't see the water at night, but you can hear it if you're quiet."

"How'd you find this place?"

The pain behind his eyes grew sharper and sharper with each passing moment. The image was so clear. They had been here before, to this very spot. She had shorter hair, looked a lot younger, but slightly older than she did in his previous memory flash. They were leaning over the bridge looking down at the water just like they were now. He though the pain was starting to lessen, but all of a sudden another blinding stab caught him off guard.

Reaching out towards the bridge he tried to steady himself, one hand was grasping at the edge of the bridge so hard that his knuckles started to turn white. He used the heel of his other hand to push against his eye socket in an attempt to ease the pain. Just as the pain increased he was swarmed with another memory of that night.

"What do you like?" It was a simple question, one to make her take her mind off of her worries

"I don't understand."

"Painting? Ice cream? Going fast?" Even though he gave her other options, Jason already knew what her answer would be.

"Going fast."

"Why? Why fast?"

"I don't know. Makes me laugh. And I feel alive. It makes my heart pound."

He knew that feeling all too well, "Mm-hmm. Yeah. I used to fight."

"With whom?"

"Oh, anyone. I don't know."

"You don't strike me as the fight-picking type."

"Well, you know, I'm not really, but there must be something about me that irritates people."

"Ah."

"Or they just knew it was what I wanted because I'd go to Jake's, and I wouldn't even be paying attention. And then some guy would insult one of the waitresses, and I'd try to stop them. And then all hell would break loose, but-"

"So you want to go to Jake's and pick a fight?" There was laughter behind her eyes and he knew that the mood was turning into a better one. He was glad that he was able to make her feel better with a bike ride and a simple story of his past.

"You ever been in a bar fight?"

"Well, I guess the first night that we met. Remember you got the creep away from me-"

"Oh, yeah" That was the night that started it all.

"And I wasn't very grateful."

Taking her earlier approach, Jason asked with the same amount of humor behind his eyes that she had "So you want to go dance with some jerk you don't know?

"No, no, I -- listen, you can go pick the fight, and I'll just be your backup."

"Really? See, first I need to know if you can handle yourself." Pushing himself away from the bridge he turned his body towards her and pushed her slightly in the shoulder.

She looked at her shoulder and then back at him, "Oh."

"How hard can you hit?"

She was looking at him as if he were crazy "I don't know. I don't go around hitting people every day. This whole bar-fighting thing is going to be kind of new for me."

Holding up his hand's, palms facing her, he replied "All right. Come on, try it."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Go on."

She lifted her arm back making a fist and hit his hand with as much power as a paper ball would make being thrown against the wind.

He couldn't hold the laughter out of his voice as he spoke to her after that poor attempt of a punch "You can do better than that."

"Well, I don't want to hurt you."

As if her tiny body could ever inflict pain on him. He wanted to laugh at that comment but withheld his humor. "Well, see, if you can't hurt me, then it's not a great idea that we go bar fighting at Jake's. So you need to show me that you can defend yourself."

"Ok." The one word was spoken with amusement.

She looked at him with determination behind her eyes and decided that she would play along and use his hands as a punching bag.

They continued on with their mini boxing lesson for several minutes. Her alternating between hands and him moving them in a circular dance under the moon light.

Just when she was about to move in for another punch he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, twisting her in a way so her back collided with his chest. "See? Now, you got to move. Otherwise you're too easy to catch."

"Ok, ok, I'll keep moving."

"Ok, so do you want to rest, or do you want to try it again?"

With a mischievous glint in her eye she replied "What do you think?" right before she pulled out of his arms and went in for yet another punch hoping to catch him off guard.

Unfortunately for her, Jason was a bit faster in his reflexes

"I almost got you."

Shaking his head slightly in amusement he retorted "Not even close."

Smiling in defeat and shaking her arms to gain back feeling she responded "Yeah."

He was on the ground, back against the side of the bridge with his head in his hands. Elizabeth was kneeling between his spread legs trying to pry his head free from his grasp while frantically calling his name.

He was standing there looking down at the sightless water basking in the silence, and then all of a sudden he was doubled over in pain, holding his head. Elizabeth did all that she could do lower his body to the ground before he fell.

Somehow she was able to prop him up against the bridge as he continued to hold his head, pushing the heels of his hands hard against his closed eyes. She could tell that he was in pain. He face was turning red and his body was pulled tight.

Elizabeth tried desperately to gain his attention, but it was of little hope. All she could do was sit helplessly as his pain overtook him. She just hoped that it didn't last that long.

His body started to relax and his hands started to ease away from his face. His breathing was beginning to return to normal and Elizabeth sent up a silent prayer that it was over.

Pulling his limp arms away from his face, she quickly replaced his hands with her own as she cradled his face. Speaking softly as to not jar him, Elizabeth looked into his glossy eyes, "Jason?" After a brief pause she asked "What happened?"

His response was not what she was expecting.

In a gruff voice that sounded as smooth as sand paper, his eyes focused slightly on her smooth a clear face as he said "Tell me about us."