A/N: So, thank you guys so much for the reviews and favorites. They really mean so much. Honestly, I don't like this chapter quite as much as I liked some of the others. Probably because I had less time to spend on it, thanks to my unbearable amount of schoolwork. However, I hope you guys like it anyway. :)
Against her better judgment, Elizabeth continued to harbor Jason at her house for several more days. At least until he was somewhat ready to resume his old life. He wasn't talking much...though that wasn't unusual for him. He didn't eat very much either. She could see that he was still in a lot of pain, and she didn't want to make it worse by forcing him to go back to Sam. Still, she was sure he would remember eventually, and he wouldn't have to be forced.
That particular Saturday morning, she was going about her normal routine. Cook breakfast, wash clothes, etc. Typical mom stuff. The boys were in the next room watching cartoons. She didn't know what Jason was doing. And then she realized that he would, more than likely, come downstairs at any moment forgetting that it was Saturday. She hadn't considered what she would do with him on the weekend when the boys were home.
But before she could get out of the kitchen, she heard Cameron's voice. "Jason?"
She immediately rushed into the room. Her oldest son was staring at Jason like he had seen a ghost. Which, technically, wasn't that far off.
"Hey, buddy", Jason said softly, allowing himself to smile at the child who had grown so much since he had last seen him. This was the first time Jason had smiled in days. He didn't even care that he was supposed to stay hidden anymore.
Poor Cameron just continued to look at him in shock. "But you...mom said...", the kid trailed off, looking in his mother's direction for an explanation.
"Listen, baby. I know it's hard to believe, but it turns out that Jason has actually been alive this whole time", Elizabeth informed her son.
Jason nodded in confirmation of what she was saying. Cameron still didn't seem convinced. Aiden watched the scene in curiousity from the couch, as he didn't have the first clue as to what was going on.
"If you've been alive, then where have you been?", Cameron asked bluntly.
That's when Elizabeth realized that she had yet to ask that question. Where had Jason been all this time? She watched Jason try to mentally formulate a response to that question. God, there was undoubtedly going to be some complicated backstory to this. She just knew it.
"Buddy, that's...complicated", Jason finally replied.
Elizabeth sighed, and rested her hands on her son's shoulders. "It doesn't really matter where he's been anyway. All that matters is that he's alive, right?"
Cam nodded. "I guess. I'm glad you're back, Jason."
Jason gave him a hint of a smile. "Me too."
They spent the next hour lecturing the boys on how important it was to keep Jason's presence a secret for the time being. Elizabeth had serious doubts that it would work. Kids don't really think before they talk the majority of the time. But she hoped her boys would.
She did notice how Jason's demeanor had changed now that he could be around the kids. He was letting himself smile, even laugh a little bit. Something that he had done none of in the past few days. It was nice to see. She knew he would be in pain for a long time, but letting him spend time with the boys was helping.
It took Cameron almost no time at all to start chatting with Jason, almost like he'd never been gone. Aiden, usually more reserved, followed suit shortly after. He just had this way with kids. She knew he would've been such a good father to Jake.
"Oh, you got a girlfriend, huh?", she could hear Jason remark from his spot on the living room floor. He had been playing games with the boys for several hours at this point.
Elizabeth smiled, and settled herself on the floor next to them. "Well, it's more of an on-and-off again kind of relationship."
"Oh, I see. What's her name?"
"Emma Drake", Cam replied, moving one of his pieces into the Home space. "Ha! Only one more, and I win."
Jason was a bit taken aback. Robin's daughter was already old enough to be having crushes?
"A lot of time has passed", Elizabeth commented, as if she knew what he was thinking. She turned her attention to the game board, where Aiden was rolling the dice. Or attempting to roll the dice.
"Six", she said, giving a sympathetic look to her oldest son. "Sorry, Cam. Looks like Aiden wins."
"Yay!", the little boy yelled excitedly, clapping his hands together.
"Again?", Cameron groaned, prompting a laugh from his mother. "I want a rematch."
"Well, why don't we do teams this time so your mom can play?", Jason suggested, looking at Elizabeth.
"Okay. But I wanna be on your team", Cam smiled up at him.
Jason gave him a slight smile in return. The last few days had been pure hell for him. Not a minute passed by that he didn't think of Jake. That his heart didn't ache for his son. Add the fact that he had been pretty much isolated from the rest of the world. It was nice to be able to be around these kids. Great kids, really. He could see Elizabeth in both of them. In Cameron's smile. In Aiden's eyes. He saw much of her in Jake too.
A couple of nights ago, he and Elizabeth had looked through some old pictures of Jake. It hurt more than he imagined it would to look at them. But Jake looked happy. He guessed that was the one thing he could take away from them. Though he had a wonderful mother, and Jason had no doubt that Elizabeth did everything in her power to make sure her kids were happy. It was just one of the many things he loved about her.
Later that night, Elizabeth finally got the two hyper children to bed, and walked back downstairs.
"Jason?", she called softly, noticing he wasn't in the room. She searched through the whole bottom half of the house before finally thinking to check the front porch. And sure enough, there he was.
She pulled her thin wrap closer to her body, as the wind was just making it colder than it already was. Jason was just standing there looking out in the distance, absorbed in his thoughts.
Elizabeth waved her hand in front of his face. "Jason? You okay?"
He jumped back a bit, clearly startled by her presence. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Maybe a little cold."
"That's what happens when you go outside where there's no heat", she remarked. "And you're not fine. What's going on?"
They stood in silence for a moment before he finally responded. "It's almost Thanksgiving. And after that, it'll be Christmas. And then New Years, Easter..."
Elizabeth sighed, knowing where he was going with this. "All of these holidays and Jake won't be here to celebrate them."
Jason leaned over the railing, his hands gripping it tightly. He felt her hand gently touch his shoulder, but he didn't look up.
"Jason, please look at me", she implored, and his eyes reluctantly met hers in obedience. "It's going to be hard. It's still hard for me. But you'll get through it, I promise. You'll be with your family. They'll help you get through it."
He knew she was referring to Sam. And he was very lucky that Elizabeth still hadn't told her that he was alive. But he didn't want to spend one minute with that woman, much less a holiday with her. He wanted to spend them with Elizabeth. She was the one that he loved, the one that he needed.
"No", he said simply, letting go of the railing.
Elizabeth's sigh reflected her exhaustion. "Jason, you can't keep fighting this. Sooner or later, you have to go back to her. She's your wife."
"Well, even if that's true, there's no way it's going to stay that way."
God, he was so stubborn. He would probably remember everything as soon as he saw Sam again. She had to get him to see that. Because this couldn't keep going on. Especially now that he was spending time with the boys. It would take them no time to get attached to him. She feared the same problem with herself.
"You love her", Elizabeth said quietly, even as Jason shook his head. "You do. You just don't remember. And you love your son. When you see them, you're going to remember everything."
"I don't love her", Jason replied adamantly, growing more frustrated. "I love you!"
His passionate outburst left her stunned. He was still insisting that he loved her. But that was only because he didn't remember! How many times over the past few years did she long to hear him say that? She wanted it to be real though. She needed it to be real. Not the result of some sketchy memory loss. She refused to let herself hope for something that would vanish as soon as his memory returned.
"I know you believe that right now", she said softly. "And maybe you do love me. But Jason, I've seen the way you've looked at Sam for years, okay. You haven't looked at me that way in so long. Well, until now. But it's not real."
Jason sighed. He could certainly understand how she would look at it that way. She wouldn't believe him until he did get all those memories back. Even the ones he didn't want.
There was a brief silence before he spoke. "I'll tell Sam and everybody else that I'm alive."
Elizabeth couldn't contain her surprise. Just like that? Though she wasn't entirely sure what she expected him to do. Maybe she just expected him to fight her a little harder on it. Or hoped he would. She immediately felt guilty for that. He was doing the right thing, and she knew it.
"That's good", she uttered, glancing down at the ground for a moment.
"Under one condition."
She looked up again. "What?"
He moved a bit closer to her. "That I get to spend Thanksgiving here...with you."
Well, Thanksgiving was only a few days away. Truthfully, Elizabeth just didn't get excited about holidays the way she used to. She tried to for the boys' sakes. But ever since she lost Jake, every one had just been so difficult. And even before then, there just always seemed to be something missing. She always knew what it was.
"Okay", she agreed. "You can spend Thanksgiving with us."
"Thank you", Jason breathed, wrapping her in his arms. She allowed herself to smile as she held onto him. And it was kind of strange. She wasn't the least bit cold anymore.
So, I know you guys are dying to find out where Jason has been and what happened to him. That will come out eventually, don't worry. But in the meantime, let me know what you think!