Prompt #12: It's a dead man's party AND/OR "The Devil's voice is sweet to hear" Stephen King.

Halloween Hookups

Open, Locks, Whoever Knocks!

Another year had passed since Elizabeth had seen Jason, but, in the meantime, so many things had changed between them. It was hard for her to believe her actions from the year before, and she still wasn't sure exactly what had caused her to make love to one man while engaged to another. Sure, she could have been flip and said 'the devil made me do it,' but her night with the enforcer was too special and meant too much to the both of them to dismiss it in such an unsavory way. The truth was, as soon as Jason's lips touched hers, she forgot about the man she had promised to marry, and the only thought in her mind that night, repeated in a constantly loop, had been – finally, after so many years of loving him, they were finally going to be together.

Too bad nothing had worked out that way.

In the light of day, her fiancé had returned home from his business trip, laden down with birthday presents and cake, unaware of the fact that he would never truly be able to give her what she wanted. Jason had gone home at dawn to clean up his penthouse and to prepare for his daughter's return, and Elizabeth had been unable to go back to sleep. Her life was a mess, and she had been the one to trash it. After several cups of hot chocolate, an entire package of Oreos, and a stomach ache, she had come to some very harsh decisions.

For one, it was obvious that her relationship with her fiancé was a sham, and, not only was it unfair of her to treat him that way and allow him to continue to believe that she loved and wanted to be with him, but it was also unfair to Jason, because she did actually love him, Ella, because the artist's actions were affecting the little girl's stability with her father, and herself. After everything she had been through in her short life, Elizabeth knew that she deserved some happiness, and she wasn't going to find it by running away or hiding from her emotions.

Secondly, she knew that she and Jason could not jump into an immediate relationship. Not only would it be unhealthy and probably spell trouble for them as a couple, but they had to put his daughter first. Elizabeth had yet to meet the little girl, and, if she was going to hold such an important role in the toddler's life, then they had to make sure she wasn't someone who would walk in, come to mean something to Ella, and then disappear. If she was going to date Jason and, in essence, become his daughter's mother figure, they had to make sure their relationship could last.

That meant time apart, something neither of them had wanted but had deemed necessary. While Elizabeth needed to undo the wedding debacle she had created and make a life for herself separate from both the past man in her life and the future one, Jason needed to slowly introduce the idea of a girlfriend to his daughter. Up until that point, if he had dated (and that wasn't something the brunette really wanted to hear details about, especially after her unforgettable eighteenth birthday), his daughter had been none the wiser. Plus, he needed to make arrangements with his work, figure out a plan to keep Elizabeth safe, and become accustomed to the idea of sharing his feelings with her instead of keeping them all bottled up inside. That would be no easy feat either.

Finally, Elizabeth had insisted that she wanted to become an independent woman before they started dating. She wanted to find a real job, a job that could easily support her in the lifestyle she was familiar with, and she wanted to find a place to live and make it her own, a place that, when they first started dating, Jason and Ella could come over and spend time with her at. This portion of her plan had actually been the hardest to accomplish, but, after much thought and some determination, she had decided to go back to school and get her teaching degree. As an art teacher, she could make enough money to support herself and be independent, but she would also have time to work on her own pieces and continue striving towards her dream of becoming a world renowned artist.

She had two semesters, the spring and the summer ones, under her belt, and, though she wouldn't be finished until after the next spring semester had ended, it had been a year since she had seen Jason, and neither of them could stay away from each other any longer. Surprising him, she had called that morning and invited both the man she loved and his daughter over dinner the next night to celebrate her birthday, and she couldn't wait to tell him of all the changes she had made over the last twelve months. Knowing Jason and his penchant for keeping tabs on her, something she was too excited at the moment to even care about, he probably already knew that she was back in school, but he would let her tell him everything anyway, smiling in amusement at her ramblings, and enjoying their conversation despite its one sided nature. And that was just another reason why she loved him.

However, their date was the next night, meaning she had all of Halloween to do whatever she wanted. That translated into her going out and renting some movies, picking up dinner (some Ben and Jerry's), and getting dressed in her pajamas way before night fall. Currently, the ice cream container was three-fourths empty, and she was on her third movie, cuddled up in her bed with a mountain of blankets piled up on top of her. It had to be one of the best ways to spend All Hollow's Eve.

The persistent knocks on her door at a quarter till ten, though, were not a part of her plans.

Grumbling and rearranging her baggy sweats so that they were as straight and as non-wrinkled as they could be, she opened the door only to be greeted with a sight that had to be straight out a sugar induced dream. The question was though - when had she fallen asleep?

"Trick or Treat!"

Or maybe it was a diabetic coma. Yeah, that made more sense.

Jason Morgan, dressed as a motorcycle riding vampire enforcer (there really was no other way to describe his…costume[?) stood before her holding his daughter in one arm and a giant pillowcase stuffed full of treats from their holiday activities in the other.

"Surprise," Ella shrieked, astonishing Elizabeth when she held her arms out for the brunette to take her. Once the soon-to-be five year old was firmly held in her grasp, the curly haired blonde with wide, blue eyes asked, "do you know what I am?"

"You're an artist."

The child gasped in shock. "How did you know? Uncle Sonny said I was a mess."

"I know," the young woman smiled down at the little girl in her arms, so caught up in the moment that she still hadn't invited Jason inside, "because I'm an artist. Whenever I paint, I always end up looking like you do know."

"Wait, is your name Elizabeth?" The brunette in question nodded her head rapidly to answer yes. "So you're my Elizabeth?"

"Your Elizabeth?"

"The one I was named after, Daddy's best friend."

Sharing a quick glance with Jason, the college student saw the happiness radiating from the enforcer as he watched his daughter interact with the woman he loved. His contentedness reassured her that she could answer truthfully. "I am."

"Yay," Ella squealed, wrapping her arms around her namesake and giving her a quick hug, but, as soon as the gesture was finished, she was squirming in the artist's arms, asking without words to be put down. Once her little feet touched the floor, she was off exploring. Jason still had not said a word, and his gaze kept flickering back and forth between the two women in his life.

"So, was this your sly way of getting me to baby-sit tonight, or are you coming in as well?"

"May I?"

Elizabeth laughed at him. "Only if I get to see what's inside that pillowcase. Does your daughter like to share?"

The hit man laughed, strode confidently into the studio apartment, the same one she had lived in years before, and made his way towards her bed where his only child was already curled up under the blankets watching the movie that was playing on the television. With one glance at the little girl, Elizabeth knew she would soon be asleep.

Finally, he answered her. "She'll share with you." Once they were both settled under the blankets, one on each side of Ella, Jason's boots, jacket, and fake teeth tossed aside, he continued. "Sorry about this…coming over without calling first, but Ella has been bugging me all week about tomorrow night, she's been so excited to meet her daddy's girlfriend, and she wanted to surprise you. I hope it's okay?"

"It's wonderful. Now," the artist ordered him, pointing towards the bag, "hand over the loot." As she rifled through the various treats, she teased, "I can't believe she got you to dress up…well wear vampire teeth."

He shrugged. "I'll do a lot of things I don't really want to for those I love."

Oh, now there was a statement loaded with double meaning, Elizabeth realized, but, for the moment, she wanted to keep their conversation light, at least until his daughter fell asleep.

Rifling through the pillowcase, she started to pout. "There's no candy in here."

"Candy rots teeth, Webber. What kind of parent would I be if I allowed my daughter to eat it?"

"She still has her baby teeth," she excused with a dismissive wave of her slender hand. "The point of a kid having baby teeth is so they can eat as much junk food as they want, rot their teeth out, and have some fun without any consequences for a few years."

"So then," he taunted, pulling the bag of goodies out of her grasp, "what's your excuse? I see dinner melting beside you on your nightstand." Nodding towards the almost finished ice cream, he pressed, "have you still not gotten your permanent teeth yet?"

"I'm a responsible adult who is quite capable of brushing after I eat sweets, and it doesn't matter what I eat, because I'm mature enough to take care of my teeth." When he just smirked at her, she threw her hands up in frustration. "And the why the hell are we talking about this anyway? I haven't seen you for a whole year, and…"

"Elizabeth said a bad word," Ella piped up, yawning as she spoke. "She needs to be punished, Daddy. Maybe a time out," she suggested.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Jason promised his daughter, smoothing back her curls and kissing her forehead. "Just go to sleep. Elizabeth will get what's coming to her."

She glared at the enforcer, the sensual promise of his words not going unnoticed, but she never said anything in response. They were both silent, and, as the minutes went by, she became aware of the fact that he was waiting until his little girl could no longer hear them before talking again. Finally, the movie was over and going on a continual loop through the main menu, when he picked the almost five year old up, moved her to the far side of the bed, and then took her place in the middle so he could be closer to her. Before Elizabeth could protest, she was in his arms, his hands were running soothingly along her sides underneath her sweatshirt, and he was talking in a hushed voice.

"I was only with Ella's Mom one night, and it didn't mean anything to either of us. In fact, when she came to me eight months later and told me she was pregnant, I couldn't even remember her name, but, even without the paternity test results that you urged me to get, and I did, I knew from the moment I saw my daughter that she was mine, and I wanted that responsibility; I wanted to be a father. Her mother, on the other hand, she only went through with the pregnancy because she knew I had money, so, as soon as Ella was born, she skipped town, her bank account full. She signed over all her rights to me, and my little girl has never met the woman."

"Jason, why are you telling me all this right now?"

"Because, other than her nanny and Sonny's wife, you're the first woman to ever be in Ella's life, and tomorrow is going to be our first real date. If things work out the way I think they will, the way I want them to, you'll someday be more than my girlfriend; you'll be my wife, and that means you'll be my daughter's Mom – not just her step mom but her mother, her real and only Mom." Kissing her neck softly, the man she loved whispered, "and, as her Mom, you needed to finally know the truth and all of it." Sliding down into bed with her held firmly in his arms, he reached across her body for the remote and turned the television off, plunging the studio into darkness. "Good night, Elizabeth," he murmured against her ear, "and happy birthday."