Chapter 7

Elizabeth picked up Cameron from daycare and arrived at the empty house. Her Grams was away on vacation so for the past few days dinner was not waiting for her when she got home. After the day she was having, cooking dinner was the last thing she wanted to do. A devious smirk appeared on her face and she retrieved the menu for the local Chinese takeout. After ordering enough food for a football team she shuffled to the front door and found the guard standing at his station on the porch. "Connor, right?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes Mrs. Webber, can I help you with something?" He folded his hands in front of his hips.

Elizabeth shrugged, "Well it is starting to sleet a little and I really don't want to take my son out in this weather." She sighed. "Do you think you could possibly run into town and pick up the takeout I just ordered?"

The guard seemed annoyed, she assumed that it wasn't that she was going to be alone while he was gone but he was probably annoyed that he was being sent on silly errands. "I really shouldn't leave, the boss would…"

Elizabeth waved her hand, "Jason wouldn't want me going out in this weather either, you'll be back in twenty minutes… he'll never know." She batted her eyelashes and after a minute she turned, "It's ok, I can pack Cam up and go myself."

"No, no… I'll go." He said with a sigh. "Where do I have to pick this food up?"

Once Connor left to pick up the food Elizabeth plopped down on the couch with a huge grin on her face. She knew that in doing this the guard would most likely get in trouble but if Jason fired him she'd feel bad, in fact she would not let that happen. She hesitated but then picked up her phone anyway and dialed Jason.

"Hey."

"Jason…"

"Elizabeth, are you calling me to yell at me again cause I'm not pulling the guards." He explained as he climbed out of his SUV and took a few steps toward the entrance to Harborview Towers. A small smile formed on his face, he actually enjoyed it when she got all feisty.

"Actually, I'm sorry for freaking out earlier, I was just calling you to tell you that." She smirked. "The guards are actually going to come in handy."

"Wha-what do you mean?" Jason asked, slightly confused.

"It's starting to sleet out and the roads may be slick so Collin… Connor, whatever his name is, he went to pick up my dinner for me."

Jason stopped walking, "You mean Connor left you unguarded?"

Elizabeth leaned back and could not hide the smile on her face. She felt like she was in junior high making a prank call. "Well, just for a few minutes." She clarified.

She looked at the clock when she saw the headlights pull into the driveway… eight minutes. She was impressed, it was good to know for when she goes into labor. Less then a minute later another set of lights shined through the window. Elizabeth jumped off the couch and looked out the window. Jason was outside, standing by his car and appeared to be yelling. The man standing beside Jason did not appear to be Connor though. Elizabeth pushed aside the sheer curtains and looked again, it was Milo.

Worried that she had gotten the young guards in trouble, she opened the door, "Jason!" she called. He looked over his shoulder at her, when she saw her face she saw the reaction she wanted, he was pissed.

"Never again!" she heard Jason growl before he left Milo by the car and headed up the driveway toward the front porch.

"Mama, Charlie is over." Cameron called as he came running down the steps from his bedroom.

"Ok baby, we are going to eat dinner in a few minutes so how about you go wash your hands in the bathroom ok? Use the one upstairs because it has the stool so you can reach the sink." She smiled and he turned back up the steps, disappearing down the hallway.

Elizabeth turned back and Jason was at the door. "What the hell are you doing?" he howled. "This is not a game Elizabeth."

"Oh, get in here, it's cold out." She said and rolled her eyes. Sitting back on the couch and tucking her feet beneath her, she looked up at him with her puppy dog-like eyes, "Why is Milo back here? I thought he was done for the night?"

"Apparently when you sent Connor to pick up your dinner, he called Milo to come back here while he was gone." Jason explained.

"That was nice of him, not necessary, but nice."

Jason shook his head, "It saved his job but if you are ever left unguarded again he will not have one any longer."

"Oh relax Jason… geez, you'd think I sent him to Florida to pick some fresh oranges for me."

"This is not a joke Elizabeth!" He spat.

"Oh come on Jason… how many people even know that I am pregnant, then how many of them know it is your baby? Four, maybe five?"

He knew she was right but it was the principle of it, "Elizabeth, you can't…"

"Jay-sen!" Cameron yelled as he ran down the stairs. Jason immediately turned and Cameron barreled into him, latching onto his leg.

Elizabeth immediately noticed Jason's features soften with Cameron. Jason bent down at his knees and he and Cameron talked about Chuggin' Charlie, daycare, everything in a matter of minutes. Cameron was rambling a mile a minute and Elizabeth could only watch in awe at how relaxed Cameron was with Jason, and Jason with Cameron as well.

"Jay-sen, are you gonna eat wit us?"

Jason looked up at Elizabeth, "I don't know Cam, I should get…"

"Of course he is Cam, I ordered plenty of food, gotta love the cravings… unless he already ate dinner."

They heard a soft knock on the door and Jason quickly moved to open it. "Boss." Connor mumbled. Jason took the bag of food from him and Connor stood there, seeming like he wanted to say something but he held back. "I'll be out here." Connor said.

"If you get cold you can come in here and warm up." Elizabeth called from behind Jason.

"That's why we give him that truck, he will be fine." Jason explained as he looked at Connor and Connor nodded in agreement before Jason closed the door.

"Mama, why is the man outside?" Cameron innocently asked.

Elizabeth looked at Jason, hoping he could help her and explain things to Cameron. Jason set the bag on the coffee table and turned back to Cameron. "Cam, that man outside is here to protect you and your mom because you both mean so much to me. He is out there in case anything happens or if you need help."

"But won't he get cold?" Cameron asked furrowing his brows.

Jason shook his head, "If he gets cold he will go sit in his car to warm up. I pay him a lot of money so believe me, he is happy to help you two."

Cameron seemed happy with Jason's explanation and went back to rambling about his day to Jason. Elizabeth let out a content sigh, happy that things were so relaxed between Jason and Cameron. Jason looked over at her and his eyes met hers for a quick but lingering glance. She couldn't look away but he did, reluctantly. Jason shrugged off the spark that ran through him with their intense look. "Dinner sounds good, I just need to make a quick phone call."

'Sam' Elizabeth thought. This was going to be harder then she originally thought. She picked the bag up from the coffee table, "Come on Cam, let's go get the table set."

Jason watched them leave the room then leaned on the chair. Elizabeth knew exactly how to get under his skin one minute then make him completely forget about it the next. There were so many things going through his head and he was having trouble processing it. He needed to deal with Sam and figure out what he wanted, if he even wanted a relationship with her anymore. At the same time, he and Elizabeth still hadn't sat down and really discussed the pregnancy, her lying to him and what exactly was going to happen once this baby was born… would the share custody or would Jason just see the baby every other weekend? He wasn't even sure what he wanted.

He slipped his phone in his pocket without making a phone call and joined Elizabeth and Cameron in the kitchen. Jason couldn't help but laugh when he saw Cameron with a chopstick in each hand, stabbing at a piece of chicken on his plate. Elizabeth noticed Jason's glance and shrugged, "He insists on using them, he thinks they are fun."

Jason nodded and took a seat at the table. "You don't use them?" Jason asked.

"Huh?"

"Chopsticks." Jason clarified and pointed to the fork in her hand.

Elizabeth laughed and shook her head, "I want to actually eat… today. If I used chopsticks by the time I was done eating it would be time to eat again."

Jason picked up the fork that was beside a set of chopsticks in front of him. 'This is getting complicated.' He thought to himself as he peeled his eyes from Elizabeth and scooped up a forkful of fried rice.