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Chapter 6

He found his mother, and the woman he wanted to be his wife, in the parlor. They had grandmother's tea set out. "Cameron's asleep." Jason said walking into the room and closing the door. On the way down he'd passed Alice and he asked her to keep an eye on Michael. He didn't want him listening in on the upcoming conversation. The maid told him Monica already had her on that. It was ashamed that he didn't trust his older nephew, tomorrow Jason hoped to have things in place so that most of the secrets would be over. He didn't want Sonny getting a head's up before then.

"Come sit with us." Elizabeth invited patting the space between her and Monica. "Are you sure you want me to stay?" There would be time for just her and Jason.

"I need you here." Jason said honestly. It was hard enough leaving Cameron upstairs, he needed Elizabeth close.

"Really it's fine." Monica assured the pregnant woman. "I have coffee for you." She said to her son.

"Thanks." Jason sat and poured himself a mug. He added sugar and milk. When he looked up both woman were looking at him in surprise. "What?"

"I've never seen you drink coffee like that before." Elizabeth told him. "Normally you take it black." With his returned memories would come new habits for her to get used too.

"I've seen it." Monica said blinking back tears. "But not for years."

Jason put his mug down and took his mother's hand in his. "I remember you." He said smiling.

"Oh!" Monica could not stop the tears from coming. "You remember me?" It was almost too much. Not only was he home, but he'd regained at least some of his memories. "How much do you recall?"

"Everything." Jason said smiling. "I remember you walking me to class on the first day of kindergarten. I remember you showing me Big Ben on my first trip to London at eight. I remember you coming to listen to my speech in the school Christmas pageant at fourteen. I remember Emily coming to live with us. I remember waking up in the hospital after the accident." His voice faltered. "I am so sorry for how I treated you."

"Don't be." Monica squeezed his hand. "If anyone should be sorry it's me and your father. We were so busy trying to make you what we wanted you to be, we never gave you the space to figure out who you were. We pushed you away, and then got angry that you were gone. We made you feel like you weren't enough, which is the worst thing a parent can do." She had thought about this a lot over the past ten years.

"I was angry." Jason said not wanting her to shoulder all the blame. "I didn't want to give you a chance."

"You had every right to be angry, but you were also scared." Monica had failed as a parent, and a doctor. "We didn't give you the care you needed. The care we would have insisted on for any other patient."

"Hindsight is a wonderfully awful thing." Jason said smiling. "I forgive you." It was time to move past that. He looked at her in expectation.

"I forgive you too." Monica still felt there wasn't anything to forgive, but Jason needed those words. She felt he wouldn't get closure without them. They sat in silence for a minute. "It's clear you have your memories from after the accident."

"I do. I'm trying to understand how I could have done some of the things I did." Jason said shaking his head. "How I made some of the choices I made."

"Sonny took advantage of you." Monica knew Jason had not been in a place to make choices on his own. He was still learning about life and basic things, like right and wrong, when Sonny came into his life.

"I made the decision to live that life." Jason wasn't going to put blinders on about the life he'd been leading for the last ten years. "I walked away." He squeezed Elizabeth's hand silently recalling him asking her to go, and her answer. "And I chose to come back. I've had a long time to think about things." Jason looked at the two women in the room. "I can't walk away from the life I have." He knew that wasn't what they wanted to hear. "But I can make changes."

"What kind of changes?" Elizabeth wanted to know.

"I can't tell them all to you." Jason needed them to trust him. "They involve the business, and I want the two of you away from that."

"Okay." Elizabeth trusted him.

"Okay." Monica knew he was doing that to protect them.

He looked at his mother. "I can tell you that I'm not walking away from my family again." Jason promised.

"That's all I need to hear." Monica said smiling. "What can I do to help you?"

"You've already done the most important thing." Jason said looking at Elizabeth. "You kept Elizabeth and our children safe. I screwed up there, but not again." He wiped the tears that were rolling down Elizabeth's cheeks. "I'm grateful for that."

"It was my pleasure." Monica assured him.

"Things may be dangerous because of these changes. I know that Elizabeth is off, but I want to make sure you are safe as well." This was important to him. "I'm going to be up late making calls to set some things up. Can I use the cottage for some guests?" Once he made those calls some people would be coming to Port Charles. He didn't want them to be seen right away.

"Absolutely." Monica would help however she could.

"While they are here we can't have guests on the grounds." Jason told his mother.

"That's fine." Monica said nodding.

"When is Emily due home?" Jason was anxious to see his sister, but it would be best if she waited to return. It would be one less person he needed to protect.

"Sunday." Elizabeth volunteered the information. "Jason, once she knows you're alive she won't stay away. When Michael leaves, he's going to tell both his parents."

"I know." Jason had been thinking on how to handle that since he walked in and saw the red headed preteen. With Carly being Elizabeth's friend, it might be easier to do what he wanted. It all depended on how the blonde felt about Sonny. The relationship between the exes ran hot and cold. "Can you call Carly and ask her and Jax to come over?" This needed to be done tonight, or Michael might derail everything else.

"Okay." Elizabeth moved to the other side of the room.

"Jason." Monica got her son's attention. When he looked up she voiced her concern. "Have you been examined? With the return of your memories you should be looked at."

He smiled wide. "Elizabeth said the same thing. I promised that Patrick could do a complete work up on me. He will want to start by requesting my file from Dr. Drake in Seattle."

"You saw Noah?" Monica hadn't expected to hear that. Port Charles wasn't Jason's first stop after getting rescued.

"I did. I hit my head when the plane crashed. With the number of cranial traumas I've had I knew I needed to be looked over. He ran a complete battery of tests, including an MRI. I am perfectly healthy." Jason told her. Those two days in Seattle seemed incredibly long. "Noah suggested I follow up with Patrick, and yes I was going to put it off for as long as possible." Jason admitted laughing. "I don't want Elizabeth to worry over me so I will go next week at the latest."

"Thank you." Monica respected Noah as a doctor, but would feel better when Patrick gave the all clear.

"How is grandfather?" Jason noticed he was absent from the dining room.

"Resting. Your showing up was a shock to us all." Monica saw Jason frown. "He's fine Jason, otherwise I'd have him in the hospital."

"Is he in his room?" Jason wanted to speak to his grandfather.

"He is." Monica confirmed.

"I'm going to go up and see if he's still awake. There are more things that we need to talk about." Jason told her. "I need to focus on business first." He wanted everyone as safe as possible. "When this is handled we'll talk more. I love you mom." He needed to say that before seeing Edward.

Monica couldn't help it, she simply burst into tears. It had been so long since she heard those words from her son. When Jason's arms came around her to hold her tight she clutched him to her and cried harder. "I have missed you." He wasn't exactly the Jason they had lost, but he wasn't exactly the Jason he had become. This Jason was in her opinion who he should be, and she was grateful to have him. "I love you."

He held his mother tight and closed his eyes when her arms came around him. He was thankful that he was getting this chance, and at the same time regretful that his father was no longer living. Alan had died from a heart attack two years ago. They hadn't ever had a chance to find middle ground and Jason hadn't had the chance to say goodbye. He didn't even attend the funeral feeling he wouldn't be welcome. With a soft kiss to her temple he let his mother go. "I'll be back after I see grandfather."

When Jason stepped away from his mother Elizabeth walked over. She hadn't wanted to intrude on their moment. She couldn't imagine Cameron barely speaking to her for a decade. Or living in the same town as her son and not being welcome in his life. Monica was also getting part of her heart back and Elizabeth was thrilled for her. "Carly and Jax are on their way over. She said twenty minutes, which really means an hour." The blonde woman was late for everything.

"Thank you for calling." Jason ran his hand down her hair. He just wanted to touch her. "I'm going to see Edward. I shouldn't be too long." He raised her hand and kissed her knuckles before leaving the room.

Monica and Elizabeth just looked at one another before embracing.

Outside his grandfather's room Jason took a deep breath before knocking. "Come in." A voice bellowed from the interior of the bedroom suite. Taking another breath he opened the door. For the entirety of his marriage to Lila Morgan Quartermaine this had been the room Edward slept in. Now that his grandmother was gone, Jason would have guessed that his grandfather would have redecorated. But he hadn't. The room was exactly the same as the one in Jason's memory.

The sitting room of their private suite was always a haven for Jason. A place where he could come and sit with his grandmother to talk. She never judged him, even when he chose to become a career criminal. Lila had loved him for all his good and bad parts. Unconditional love was rare, especially in adults, but that was what Lila gave to everyone in her life. Peace, love, and support. A place to be safe even if for only a moment.

Jason walked through the outer room into his grandparent's bedroom. "Hello grandfather."

"Jason." Edward was surprised at this visit, and at the tone of his grandson's voice. Uncertainty was clearly heard, but not the angry edge that Edward had become accustomed to. He had been hard on Jason, not even trying to understand why his grandson refused to have anything to do with the family. He had criticized every choice the younger man made since waking up. Despite Lila telling him to ease up on his youngest grandson Edward had not. "This is a surprise."

"Do you have a minute?" Jason was still standing in the doorway.

"I do, come in." Edward invited. "I'm glad to see you." He would do his best to do better now that Jason was home.

"I'm glad to see you too. May I sit?" Jason pointed to the bed.

"Yes." Edward waited until he did. "Where have you been?"

"On an island off the coast of South America." Jason replied. "We were rescued last week."

"The pilot survived as well?" Edward recalled that the flight was a private one.

"He did. He saved my life." Jason told his grandfather. "I'm sorry my returning has put stress on you."

"It was just a shock is all." Edward put his grandson at ease. "I no more expected you to walk through the door, then I expect AJ to return. Monica is taking good care of me."

"Me too." Jason said smiling. "I wanted to come up and apologize for my behavior in the past."

"I deserved it." Edward wouldn't lie. "What matters is that you were always good to your grandmother." Jason treated Lila like a queen.

"Except for the time I broke her vase." Jason said ruefully.

"You were angry, and I did my share of provoking that outburst." Edward said on a small chuckle. "I did my share of damaging our relationship." He looked at his grandson, who had his grandmother's eyes. "I'm sorry for not doing better."

"I hope that from here on out we can both do better." Jason said quietly.

"I can try." Edward wasn't going to question what had changed, If Jason wanted him to know he would tell him. "So will you be coming to work at ELQ?"

Jason looked at his watch. "You made it eight whole minutes." He said laughing. "You have changed."

"I've had a lot of loss." Edward said sadly. Lila's passing had changed him. "And I've had some new people come into my life. Elizabeth and Cameron are simply wonderful." The older man beamed. "If I thought I could I would have stolen her for myself."

"Stay away from girl old man." Jason said arching an eyebrow.

Edward laughed harder. "She loves you. So you need to be worthy of her."

"I can't walk away from the life I've been living." It was simply too dangerous.

"You're job isn't what makes you the man she deserves. Or that Cameron can look up to. It's your heart." Edward tapped his grandson's chest. "I think you have finally started listening to it."

"I have." Jason said nodding. "I'm stubborn." He said with a cheeky grin.

"Wonder where you got that from." Edward said with a matching grin. "Must be Lila."

"Yeah right." Jason said laughing harder. "Changes are coming."

"If you need an ear, I'm here. Literally because your mother isn't going to let me out of bed for the next few days." Edward grumped.

"I'll sneak you up some coffee." Jason said in a conspiratorial tone.

"That would be much appreciated." Edward knew that caffeine was the first thing Monica would take away. "Go take care of your business. We will talk more later."

"Thank you grandfather." Jason said standing up. This was a good talk. He was looking forward to their first argument.

Downstairs he found Monica and Elizabeth still in the living room. "Should you be in bed?" He asked Elizabeth placing his hand on her stomach.

"Jason it's not even eight-thirty yet." She said rolling her eyes. There was no way she was leaving him to talk to Carly alone.

"Okay, at least put your feet up." Jason said checking her ankles. Family memories weren't the only things that returned. He know had quite a bit of medical knowledge.

With a huff Elizabeth did as instructed.

"Can I borrow your phone?" Jason wanted to get things rolling.

"Here." Elizabeth handed it over.

"I'll be on the terrace, come get me when Carly arrives." Jason still didn't feel temperatures how others did. Pictures still sometimes presented a problem as well. He had to concentrate to bring them into focus, and it didn't always work. Noah wasn't sure if that would change in time or stay the same. Jason was just grateful for what he had been given. Leaning down he gave Elizabeth a soft kiss. "When Carly leaves you are going to bed. I'll be back."

With that he walked outside to start making his calls.

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