Chapter Six

Summary: Much has happened in the past few weeks….

Disclaimer: I don't own GH or its characters, I'm just borrowing them.

Author's Notes: Okie-dokie, I realize that it's been forever since the last chapter… but I've got a new one for you… and it's a long one…if that helps. It's a lot of bringing up to speed, but hopefully you like it.

---

Things had changed.

So much had changed in the past few weeks. The power shift had gone smoother than Sonny had expected. Most, if not all, of the Corinthos-Morgan (now Morgan) employees were more accustomed to dealing with Jason anyway. He was the logical, rational one who'd earned their trust working alongside them.

"You want me to what?"

There were long, tense moments where neither man spoke. Both simply stood, mirroring the other's stance of hands on hips, silently staring.

"Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?" Jason asked quietly, breaking the silence, and Sonny's eyes came up to meet his.

"I know exactly what I'm asking here Jason; I built-I built my business up from nothing. I-y'know-I nurtured it. I built my reputation as the best, and no one-no one Jason- was gonna come in here," Sonny gestured pointedly with a finger aimed at the floor, "And make a move on my territory. I've given everything to it, sweat, my own," He pounded a fist against his chest, "My own blood went into building this business."

Possibly more baffled than he had been originally, Jason sat back on the arm of the couch and crossed his arms. He simply sat and waited for Sonny to finish. He knew if he waited, Sonny would ramble on, and eventually what the older man was trying to say might just be said. Maybe.

"I want out Jason, I want a life."

"You want a life," Jason finished for him, quickly deducing what had brought on the entire conversation, "You want a life with Kate."

"This isn't about Kate," Sonny tried to deflect, but Jason was having none of it,

"That's exactly what this is about. You want Kate, but she won't have you so long as you're in the mob," Anger was what was building within Jason. He tamped it down, but there was only so long one could do that, "But this business, it's a part of who you are Sonny. You've made decisions-I've-we've made decisions that brought us where we are. .You made the choice to be in this business. You can't—it doesn't work; once you're in this business, there's no getting out of it. You were the one who kept telling me that. It's the way this business works. What makes you think that it will work any different for you?"

"Now, come on Jason," Sonny didn't like the way this was progressing, and tried intensely to sway the conversation back to where he wanted it, "That's not fair."

"Do you seriously want to talk to me about fair Sonny?" Jason looked to his former friend, disbelief and anger holding his face, "Because I'm thinking that's a place you don't want to go with me."

"What the hell does that mean?" Sonny exclaimed angrily, taking steps towards him.

"It means that nothing is ever fair! You want me to take on the business so that you can skip off into the sunset to have your own life. You know I wouldn't want this."

It'd been a decision that had weighed heavily on him. Sonny was asking for the impossible; for him to facilitate his exit from the business, quickly, without any kind of repercussions. The fact that Sonny even thought that it would be possible, was beyond him. Not to mention the fact that Sonny was ridiculously possessive of the business; acting as if nothing would ever be done if he hadn't put his stamp on it.

And then, on the other hand, were the mistakes Jason couldn't have helped but begun to number. The latest incident at the warehouse was the pinnacle. Incident didn't even begin to cover what had actually happened; there was no way that it could be ignored. If he hadn't of sent Max to check out the building; Michael could have been seriously injured, or worse. There was no way for him to forget about it, nor was there any way for it not to influence his decision. Which Elizabeth had mentioned when they'd talked about it.

"I think you should take it."

"What?" Jason looked sideways at his wife as they sat side-by-side on the edge of their bed. The boys had just been tucked into their own beds, and Spinelli was off with Maxie, so they had the penthouse to themselves when she'd finally called him on his glum mood, "Elizabeth; why?"

"You said it yourself; Sonny's slipping. He's making dangerous mistakes," Elizabeth slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers, "If Sonny's putting lives at risk what else can you do?"

"Are you-are you sure about this?" He stuttered, not quite sure she understood what this all would entail, "Because, Elizabeth, there isn't any going back on this."

"I know that Jason. And I know it means increased security, more guards, more precautions; but I can handle that if that's what it takes to keep our family safe," Elizabeth knew exactly what she was talking about. This was what they'd danced around for years; the reality of the danger in his life, and by extension, the lives of their children. But it was what it was; the situation created by choices that had been made a long time ago; before he'd known any better, and now, there was no way to change them. There was only to accept the situation as it were, and deal with it the best they could.

He doubled his arms around her, holding her tightly against him, "Alright, I'll call Sonny."

"Hmmm," It was a decision neither one of them made lately; it held them both on edge, "I love you."

"I love you too."

After he'd agreed to take over the business and the papers had been signed; naming him master and commander of an empire he didn't want, Sonny and Kate had left Port Charles for the time being. They'd flown to Paris and then, were supposed to travel through Europe. There were jokes throughout the guards about Mr. Kate Howard, following her around like a puppy.

The penthouse was a bit more crowded now. There were three new occupants, and all that came with them. It would still have some getting used to; waking up in the middle of the night to infant Jake's cries, or having to wind through the minefield that Cameron's toy trains created in the living room. The new family brought a new, more homey feel to the penthouse.

Devlin had been taken care of, and his drug-smuggling-intentions had come to light via an anonymous tip to the DA's office. Official word on his disappearance was that he'd either realized the PCPD and other agencies were close on his trail, or he'd been discovered skimming profits from his suppliers. Jerry Jaxs, it had come out, was Devlin's partner, and warrants had quickly been executed for his arrest. As it stood, Mr. Craig had yet to be spotted since, and it was doubted he would appear on their radar any time soon.

The reactions of their friends and family had been interesting, to say the least.

Carly had freaked, to put it lightly, not being able to comprehend that Jason had married Elizabeth (of all people, in Carly's opinion), had a child with her, and never mentioned it to Carly. He was sure that he was that she had still been ranting as he left; unable to listen any longer.

Spinelli; while the Jackal had been appraised of the situation the whole time; had nearly jumped out of his skin when he'd been informed that the Fair Maternal One and the Wee Ones were moving into the penthouse. He'd thrown his arms around Elizabeth, and then Jason; quickly bounding away into some sort of dance that involved him prancing about the living room, chanting happily.

The Quatermaines were ecstatic; Edward especially. He'd immediately sprung into talk of ELQ and changing his will, and of having hope for the family yet. Jason could tell they'd have to rein him in, and he had absolutely no idea how. Just yelling at his Grandfather was not going to work.

Claudia had thumped him on the back and proudly told him that she was glad he'd gotten his head out of his ass. Then she'd slyly snuck in, "Is it the same woman you were mooning over back in Italy?"

He'd given her a puzzled look, "What are you talkin' about?"

"When you came to Italy way back when, and you went to that bar, like, maybe the third night you'd been there," Claudia began, sinking into the chair across the desk from him and slinging one leg over the other while flinging her skirt over her knee. He still watched her with a puzzled look, and Claudia had to roll her eyes, snickering, "Half the bar had already propositioned you, another third was waiting for their crack at it, and you weren't even noticing it. You were too tied up in staring at your beer and mooning about some silly little girl you'd left back here in ol'Port Chuckles."

Jason hadn't been sure how to react to that either.

---

"Clearly, we need a girls' night out," Lainey had declared the day the news broke, and Kelly finished the sentiment as the psychologist and the OB-GYN stood on opposite sides of the locker room; with Robin sprawled on the bench and Elizabeth at her locker in between them,

"Yeah, so Elizabeth can tell us what it's like to have that kind of man-candy as a husband."

They'd collected Nadine and Leyla, and even extended an invitation to Epiphany. The head nurse had harrumped and sent them on their merry way; all the while secretly pleased they'd asked and muttering about the silly, excitable behavior of the hospital's senior staff.

"So you and Jason huh?" It began as soon as they'd all claimed chairs around one of the empty tables in Jake's and had their drinks (or French fries) of choice in front of them. The neon sign in the front window blinked periodically, illuminating around the bar and the jukebox played the low strains of a slow 80's ballad.

"Finally," Nadine muttered into her drink, and Elizabeth nudged her shoulder, both laughing

"If you and Jason have been together all this time," Robin began unsurely, "Then why didn't anybody know? I mean, what was with all of the secrecy?"

"Things were crazy; Emily was gone, Lucky left, Monica went into rehab, and there was so much going on and up in the air that Jason and I just felt like we should ease into the whole thing," Elizabeth explained, knitting her fingers together around her glass, "Especially for Cameron; since Lucky just dropped off the radar without a word."

"Bastard," Nadine was again talking to her glass, muttering so that Elizabeth was the only one who could hear. Nadine was the only one out of the group who knew the whole, true story; right from the very beginning; the very beginning. Between Elizabeth, Spinelli, and even a few tidbits of information she'd inferred from Jason, Nadine had begun to put the puzzle pieces together. When she'd come to a conclusion, instead of sitting on it, or asking around; Nadine had taken her findings straight to Elizabeth. Still reeling from loosing Emily, Elizabeth was grateful to have a friend to lean on.

"Did you tell anyone?" Robin asked, toying with one of the fries on her plate.

"Monica knew, my Grams, Spinelli," Elizabeth listed the few who'd been in the know, "Of course the boys knew, so did a few of the guys who work for Jason, and Nadine."

"Wait-wait-wait-wait a minute!" Kelly threw up her hands, narrowly missing sending Lainey's fruity drink flying, "Nadine, you knew?"

It was the blonde's turn to blush and duck her face, "I-uh-yeah, I knew."

"Oh my god," Leyla gaped at her friend, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide; "You never said a word."

"I can't believe you didn't say anything!" Robin exclaimed, waggling the fry at her, "You never even hinted!"

Nadine shrugged, looking up from her drink, "It wasn't my secret to tell."

"But how—how did you find out?" Lainey asked, and with a sly look, Kelly added,

"I guess she learned a thing or two from those guys' hockey nights."

Leyla and Kelly both broke into giggles, and even Elizabeth had to chuckle, but Robin and Lainey simply looked on; bewildered once again.

---

Stopping in the doorway of the regrettably pink room, Jason watched as his young friend solemnly went about whatever he was working at on his computer. For the past few weeks, Spinelli had been in some kind of a funk; bringing out a quiet and mopey side to the young hacker that Jason hadn't seen in a while. He could feel his young friend distancing himself and drawing into himself, which worried him, as Jason knew exactly what kind of trouble that could cause; being an expert in the action himself.

"Alright," Jason's sudden voice startled Spinelli, the younger man jumping in his chair before spinning around to face his mentor, "What's going on with you?"

Spinelli's brows drew together as he regarded his friend, puzzled, "The Jackal does not quite understand the meaning of your query."

"I know that you've been kind put on the back-burner, what with Elizabeth and the boys moving in, the whole marriage going public, and all the other changes going on around here." Jason lowered himself to sit on the edge of Spinelli's haphazardly made bed, "And that you've been pretty quiet lately, which I have to say, is strange," Jason leaned forward, his forearms balancing on his thighs, "You seem a little stressed kid. If you—if there's something you need to talk about, you know where to find me, okay?"

"Of course, the Jackal appreciates his master's concern," Spinelli nervously picked at a loose thread on his sleeve, "And he must bid that his master not trouble himself further on the Jackal's behalf."

"Spinelli," Jason stated frankly, "If you want to talk I'm around. Don't worry about troubling anyone. If you've got a problem, you can always come to me. Understand?"

Spinelli nodded, seeming to agree, but unwilling to say much anything else. This was the behavior that had Jason worried about his young friend. It was unusual for Spinelli to clam up like this. Deciding that Spinelli would come to him in his own time, Jason nodded again, and began weaving his way through the clutter to exit the room. But Spinelli's hushed, gloomy voice drew him back as he reached the hall,

"I wouldn't wish to burden the Master's new-found and well-deserved happiness with my trivialities."

---

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Robin called over the raucous laughter at their table, "What are you talking about? Guys' hockey nights?"

"Nadine?" Lainey shook her head, "What've you been up to?"

"It's not a big deal," Nadine protested, fighting off the blush that was creeping up her neck, "I just meet a bunch of people to watch the hockey game every once and a while. It's no big deal."

"Is one of those people Nikolas Cassadine?" Lainey teased, and then all hope was lost for Nadine controlling the crimson color as it rose from her neck to engulf her entire face.

" What? Why-why would you ask that?"

"Oh come on Nadine," Kelly ribbed the flustered nurse, "You and that oh-so-fine Cassadine spend all that time together at the clinic."

As an aside, Robin leaned over to whisper to Elizabeth, "Did she just rhyme?" Elizabeth nodded, glancing quizzically as the OB-GYN continued to wheedle Nadine.

"Not to mention going out to Wyndmere," Leyla threw in demurely, her announcement met with a startled squeak from Nadine and a glare that clearly heralded nothing would ever be told to the other woman in confidence again.

"Well, c'mon on girl," Kelly motioned towards Nadine with her glass, "Spill."

Stifling a groan, Nadine stated firmly, "There isn't anything to spill. Nikolas and I are just friends. That's it."

"Sure, sure it is," Robin concluded, nodding as if she didn't believe a word Nadine was saying.

"You really think we'd buy that?" Kelly taunted with a laugh, "We've heard that with this one," She indicated Robin, "And this one," This time she pointed at Elizabeth, "So don't think you're going to get away with what Robin's been playing for more than two years, and Elizabeth has been pulling for the past—what? Three, four years?"

"Ten," Nadine threw out, and the uproar started again; although this time it was directed elsewhere.

---

"So I hear your investment cut and ran," Johnny looked up from where he sat at a poker table with the Haunted Star's ledger books spread out in front of him; to find his sister making her way down the casino's entryway steps.

"Yeah," Frustrated, he tossed the pen he held at the open book on the top of the pile and rubbed at his eyes, "Old Luke disappeared into the night, again."

"Well; how hospitable of him. You buy into his old, near sinking tugboat and he skips town," Claudia quipped, bypassing the ledger-laden card table and headed instead towards the bar. Using both hands as leverage; she lifted herself off her red, high-heeled boots to sit on the counter. Grinning, she swung her legs around to the other side of the counter and slid off. As he heard the tell-tale clink noises of glass-against-glass, Johnny had to twist in his chair to call back,

"Claude, what'cha doing?"

"Inspecting his wares," Was her muffled answer before, "Ooooh, I found the good stuff."

Johnny rolled his eyes; listening to the rattle of ice and the slosh of pouring liquid. Then, soon, she was settling into the chair across from him; sipping at her drink. Inspecting his expression, she held out the heavy, glass tumbler to him, "Want a sip?"

"No, thanks," He shook his head, looking back to the books, "These books are a mess."

"Yeah?"

"Extremely," Johnny sighed, following a line of poorly entered numbers with his pen, "Whoever kept the books had little to no idea what they were doing."

"Crap."

"Yup."

The two Zacchara siblings sat in silence for a few moments; Johnny staring at the ledgers with hatred in his expression, and Claudia calmly sipping her drink.

"I'll give Spencer one thing though," Claudia broke the quiet, crunching on an ice cube, "He has excellent taste in alcohol."

Chortling, Johnny acknowledged, "He ought to; the guy's a boozehound."

---

"Spinelli, hold on a minute," Jason turned back from the doorway, returning to the regrettably pink room as he heard his protégé's mutterings, "Don't talk like that kid. You are not bothering anybody."

"The Jackal-I-appreciate your fervent declaration," Spinelli mumbled, speaking more to the cluttered carpeting than to his mentor, "But I also realize that you have finally just achieved your dream of having the Fair Maternal One and the Wee Ones by your side," He swallowed hard, standing from his computer chair, "That's been what you've wanted almost since I met you Jason. Now, you have your family, and I—you don't require the Jackal's presence anymore. Perhaps it is time for me to move on," Spinelli seemed to become more melancholy as he spoke each word, "To spread my metaphorical wings, blow where the wind-"

Harsher than he intended, Jason interrupted, "Spinelli, sit your ass down."

Immediately, Spinelli dropped back into his chair, eyes wide and mouth shut as he watched his mentor carefully.

"I want you to just listen to me for a few minutes. Ack," He chastised as Spinelli opened his mouth, "Don't talk—just listen."

Buttoning his lips, Spinelli nodded; eyes fixed on Jason.

"Okay," Jason sighed, lowering once again to sit on the edge of Spinelli's bed, "I understand if you want to move out, you need your own space. You have to do what's best for you. But you don't have to move out because you think you're in the way.

Yes, having Elizabeth and the boys here is a big deal. They're family, and it's been a long time in coming. You know better than anyone how much them being here means to me. Because you're a part of this family."

"Stone Cold," Baffled, poor Spinelli felt like his heart may just beat out of his chest. He didn't want to assume, but was Stone Cold—Jason saying? Spinelli had always thought of Jason as family; probably without even realizing. But he hadn't known that Jason thought of him the same way.

"You were the one who was there from the beginning. When Alan died, after I found out about Jake, after Emily," He paused, swallowed. The usual wall, the outer shell he normally projected was down. He was emotionally vulnerable; and very few people had ever seen it. Had ever been trusted enough to see the true man behind the shield, "You are a part of this family Spinelli. You're important to me, to us," A small smile came to his face at Spinelli's shining eyes, "You will always have a family here, you understand?"

With glittering eyes, hands clutching the armrests so hard his knuckles had lost all color; Spinelli nodded vigorously.

"Okay," Knowing his protégé was trying to stop himself from swallowing him in a hug, Jason stood, ruffling the younger man's mop of hair. Spinelli's restraint broke, and he threw his arms around Jason's waist. The blonde chuckled, patting the younger man's back.

----

"Elizabeth."

"Oh, hey Doctor Julian," Elizabeth looked up to find the handsome cardiac surgeon standing beside her at the bar, the colored lights from the neon sign spilling over onto his face, "Having a good time?"

"Yeah, definitely. It's hard not to have a good time here," Leo chuckled in a low voice, "And call me Leo. We're not at the hospital."

"Okay," Elizabeth smiled warily, "Leo."

"You here with anybody?" Leo asked almost uninterestedly. In reality, he was quite interested, but it wouldn't go well if he came off like that.

"Yeah, I came with a few people from work," Elizabeth accepted the glasses Coleman set on the bar counter in front of her, "Thanks Coleman."

"Hey, no problem darlin'. You know it's my favorite night when you and those other fine General Hospital ladies descend upon my establishment."

She laughed, offering a bright smile to the surgeon at the bar, "See you later Leo."

"See you," He returned the smile, and watched her as she returned to her table; fully enjoying the swing of her hips as she walked away from him.

"Mmmhmm," Leo turned back to find the bartender shaking his head, "Man, she's one comely dame. But you might want to point your peepers in another direction."

"Why's that?" It had been weeks that Robin had been trying to get Elizabeth to go out to dinner with him. Why now was the hairy bartender at the local dive warning him off? He'd been told she was a single mom, that she hadn't been seeing anyone since her divorce. Was that why?

"You see that big feller over there?" Coleman pointed to the bald man hunched into a dark corner, a half-empty beer in glass in front of him on the table amidst the peanut shells.

"Yeah?" Leo really had no idea what the stooping man in the shadows had to do with Elizabeth.

"He's here because his boss is Miss Elizabeth's husband. And Miss Elizabeth's husband would not take kindly to you imagining his lady without her garments on; you dig?" Truth be told, Coleman would have actually paid money to see Morgan wipe the floor with the prissy little doctor. But that wouldn't be fair. Jason could probably do it one handed. And the good Doctor Julian looked like a crier.

-----

"You want to tell me what's going on with you?" Jason asked after each had settled back into their original seats.

"I have been trying to locate my biological parentage," Spinelli began, fisting his hands, while he still basked in the glow of being chosen as his mentor's family, "And I have exhausted my considerable cyber arsenal, and have come up with very little," He perked up a little as he asked; "Perhaps you could take a look at my findings? Your discerning eye may be just what is needed to restart my stalled efforts!"

"Okay, okay," Jason waved down his young friend's enthusiasm, "Tomorrow, you can fill me in on all of your findings, and I'll see what I can do. I'll do what I can to help you Spinelli, jus-just don't get your hopes up too high okay? There may not be anything that I can do that you haven't already tried."

"Okay, okay," Spinelli repeated, but Jason could see that his friend was almost vibrating from excitement inside.

----

"Hey babe, how was your ni-"He managed to hit the second to last step when she reached forward, wound her hand in the light blue cotton of his t-shirt and drug him to her; planting a crushing kiss on his lips. His arms came around her waist, not breaking the kiss as he finished descending the stairs. As they came apart, he gave her a sultry look, "Miss me?"

"Of course," Elizabeth grinned, giving him another peck on the mouth before slipping out of his arms. Crossing to the closet, she shrugged off her jacket, "Tonight was fun. Of course, it all started with an inquisition, and then, when they thought they'd gotten all the story they could out of me, they turned on Nadine; and boy, can that girl blush pretty colors."

Jason chuckled, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets and leaning back against the arm of the couch. He could imagine poor Nadine, trapped with a bunch of women all barraging her with questions. He didn't envy his friend. He would have been inclined to duck out the door at the first sight of them coming, "Poor Nadine."

"So," Closing the closet door, Elizabeth stood in front of him, hands stuffed in the back pockets of her jeans, "How'd tonight go?"

"Good. Cameron told Max and Milo all about Chuggin' Charlie," He smiled, remembering the boy seated on the couch, holding court with the guards around him. It was a sight, "And I managed to roust Spinelli out of his room."

"Wow, he's been holing up in there a lot lately. Is Spinelli okay? I mean, it's not because the kids and I are here, is it?"

"No, no," Jason rushed to reassure her, slipping his arms around her and tugging her against him, "It's not that. He's damn near ecstatic that you're all here," He rubbed his hands up and down her back, "So am I. Spinelli's just got a new project, and he didn't want to ask me for help because he thought he'd be getting in the way."

"What?" Elizabeth threaded her arms around his shoulders, a hand brushing through the short hair on the back of his neck, "Why would he think that? Did someone say something to him, because I'll hurt them. Spin's family, you told him that right?"

"Of course," He had to smile at her vehement reaction. It was the same he'd had; but he was grateful that she cared about his young friend as much as she did, "Of course I did. And after that, he had to hug me."

"Aww," She giggled at that, "He loves you."

"Yeah, yeah," He rolled her eyes, but Elizabeth knew he was pleased, "Seeing as I'm so loveable and all."

"You are." She had to giggle again as he swooped her up and over his shoulder, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. Laughing, she asked, "Jason, what're you doing? Where're we going?"

He too was laughing as he started up the stairs. Running a hand down her jean clad leg, he jostled her on his shoulder and muttered good-naturedly, "We'll see who's loveable."