The Ring
Alice, the Quatermaine's Housekeeper lets Jason in the front door of the Quatermaine Mansion.
"Hi Mr. Jason," she says.
"Hi Alice," he returns.
He stops in the foyer, rubs his hands together and turns around to look at her.
"Jake should be up from his nap, I'll go get him for you," she says.
"Thank you."
He watches as she leaves the area.
"Jason, is that you?" Edward yells from the living room.
Jason tries not to roll his eyes but instead walks into the room.
"Yes."
"Oh good. I was hoping it was you. I have a couple of things I would like to discuss with you," he says as he stands up from his chair.
He sets the newspaper down that he was reading and walks over to a credenza and gets something out of the drawer and puts it in his jacket pocket.
"Okay, what is it?" Jason asks, trying not to be short with his grandfather.
Jason's relationship with Edward had gotten better over the past few months, but it still would never be the warm relationship a grandfather and grandson should share.
Edward walks over to the tray of drinks and pours himself a glass of water.
"I just wanted to thank you for letting us be a part of baby Jake's life. He brings a lot of joy into this large house."
Jason's mood softens when he hears his son's name.
"It's….it's not a problem. I think it's good for Jake to be around family."
Even if it is the Quatermaine's, he thinks.
"I know it means a great deal to Monica, as well. Oh hell, even to Tracy whenever she's around."
Jason almost lets out a quick snort of a laugh but just nods, instead.
"And the other thing," Edwards starts as he walks closer to Jason. He stops a few feet in front of him and reaches into his pocket. "I don't know what your long term plans are, and it's none of my business, really," he adds quickly.
Jason slightly nods in agreement.
"But I wanted you to know that we all adore Elizabeth. I think she's the best thing to happen to you. Well, she and Jake. I know Lila would approve of her, too."
Jason softly smiles at the mention of his grandmother's name. "I think she would."
"So, I'm not trying to put any pressure on you, but I wanted you to have this just in case," he says as he hands the box over to Jason.
Jason takes the small box hesitantly.
"Wh…what is it?"
"Open it."
As Jason opens the box, Edward explains. "It was Lila's engagement ring. It's not big and flashy like I know you can afford, but I think that Lila would want you to have it to give to Elizabeth. But no pressure, I just wanted you to have it, just in case," he says, watching Jason's reaction very closely.
Jason blinks back his emotions.
"I…I don't know what to say," he whispers. "Thank you."
"If uh, it's not what you had in mind, you can always keep it and give it to Jake whenever he finds the right girl," Edward says with a wave of his hand, trying to dismiss the seriousness in the room.
Edward's head turns when he hears Jake's babbling.
"There's my great-grandson," he says, going over to Alice to take the child from her.
Jason closes the box and puts it in his jean pocket. He watches as Edward adjusts Jake in his arms.
"I wish Alan could be here for this," Edward says as he studies Jake.
Jason nods. "I think he would have been a good grandfather."
Edward brings Jake over to Jason and hands him over.
"There you go. Will we get to see him again soon?" Edward asks, trying to keep the excitement from his voice.
"Elizabeth is usually in charge of the daycare arrangements. Cameron had a play date today and I had an emergency at work I had to take care of, so that's why I asked to drop Jake off for a couple of hours."
And there it was, the mention of Jason's job. The tension was back in the room.
"Well….anytime. We love having him here," Edward says, back to his formal tone. He does smile when Jake smiles at him.
"Thanks again," Jason says, looking at Edward and then at Alice as he leaves with Jake. "And thanks…." Jason stops, but Edward knows what he means so he smiles and nods.
"You're welcome."
The Proposal
Elizabeth gets off the elevator of the Penthouse and walks to the door, before she can even knock, the door opens.
"Hi," Jason says.
"Hi," Elizabeth says, looking a little confused as Jason grabs her arm and pulls her into the Penthouse.
He takes her purse and sets it on the desk while Elizabeth looks around the room.
The lights are dim and there are candles all around. There's 2 glasses of champagne sitting on the coffee table.
"What's going on? Why did you ask me to meet you here?" she asks, turning to face Jason.
He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer to him.
"Is Spinelli having a romantic evening with someone and we're interrupting?" she teases.
He makes a face when she mentions Spinelli and romance in the same sentence.
"Don't make me go there, okay?" he says.
She chuckles.
"I just wanted us to have a quiet evening together," he says as he sways with her still in his arms.
"Okay, but we could have done that anywhere. Why kick Spinelli out of his apartment? Why not our house or The Metrocourt?"
"I have my reasons," he says before leaning down and gently kissing her. "You hungry?"
"Starving."
He takes her hand and leads her to the couch.
"I'll be right back," he says. He turns on some soft music on his way to the kitchen.
She picks up a glass of champagne and takes a sip.
When he rejoins her brings out 2 plates of food.
"Did you cook?" she asks.
"No," he chuckles, "Not this time."
He sets the plates down and then sits down next to her. He picks up his glass of champagne and holds it to her. She gets the idea and holds her glass close to his.
"To us and to our family," he says.
She smiles and clinks their glasses together. They both take a sip of champagne.
"This smells delicious," she says, studying her plate, trying to decide what to eat first.
By the time he's on his third bite of steak, Elizabeth has already cleaned her plate and is sitting back on the couch, rubbing her stomach.
"Where does all of it go?" he asks, shaking his head.
"I have good metabolism, so sue me," she says.
She rubs his back as she watches him finish his dinner.
"What are you doing?" he asks.
"I like to touch you," she shrugs.
She sits up a little bit and rests her cheek against his shoulder.
He's trying his best to not throw his fork down and take her right here on the couch. But, he doesn't want to do that. He wants tonight to be slow and romantic.
When she starts to play with the hair at the nape of his neck and place small kisses along his upper arms, he can't stand it anymore.
He sets his fork down, wipes his mouth with his napkin and takes her free hand.
"Let's dance," he says, pulling her to stand up with him.
"Oh okay."
They stop in the middle of the floor and wrap their arms around each other and begin to move slowly.
Jason dips his mouth to her neck and starts to slowly nibble. She closes her eyes and enjoys this moment.
"We shouldn't be expecting Spinelli to come barging in at any moment, should we?" Elizabeth whispers as her hands start to wander down Jason's back.
"No. He's staying somewhere else tonight."
Jason pulls back and looks deeply into Elizabeth's eyes.
"I love you so much," he says.
"I love you, too," she says, trying not to be confused as to why he's suddenly so serious.
They stop moving and she expects him to start kissing her but instead he keeps looking at her.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
He shakes his head. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
He strokes her cheek with his thumb.
"I asked you here, to the Penthouse tonight, because this is where you made my life change. That night we spent together and conceived Jake."
Her eyes start to moisten.
"I can't even imagine what my life would be like now, if you hadn't knocked on my door that night."
"Me neither," she whispers.
"So," he says and takes a small step away, "I wanted this to be the place where you changed my life again."
She carefully watches him as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box. Now her eyes brim with tears.
"Jason," she whispers.
He slowly opens the box.
"Elizabeth, I love you more than I thought I ever could love anyone." He swallows. "Will you marry me?" he asks.
She looks at the ring and then looks up at him.
"Jason, it's beautiful," she says before looking back down at the ring.
He waits for her answer.
"Okay….and?" he asks, tilting his head a little so he can try to see her face.
"What? Oh, of course I'll marry you," she chuckles and lets the tears fall.
He blinks back a couple of tears himself and takes the ring out of the box.
"This was my grandmother's," he says as he places it on her finger.
"Lila's?" she asks.
He nods. "Yeah, Edward wanted me to have it to give to you."
"I love it even more, now. And I love you," she says before bringing his face to hers so she can kiss him.
"I love you, too."