Chapter 30

Jason was halfway to his Penthouse when the chatter in the back seat faded. Cameron had told him everything from his day including what he had for breakfast which Jason was there for. He glanced in his rear-view mirror and saw that the curly-haired boy's eyes closed. He fell asleep. Should he wake him up? Jason didn't think he still took naps but there were some times that he'd hear Elizabeth mention Cameron taking a nap. He seemed to be at the age that maybe he was starting to wean out of the napping but still took them from time to time.

It was going to be a long night with him so Jason figured he would let him sleep. He carefully carried him up to his apartment and placed him on his large bed. He left the light on in the bedroom and the door open so that when he woke up he wouldn't get scared because he is in a strange bed. With his hectic schedule it was rare that Jason had the chance to work out so he threw on a pair of sweatpants and tugged off his t-shirt, leaving on his thin tank top.

Jason started with sit-ups followed by weight lifting. He finished with taking hits on his sand bag. By the time he was finished, an hour had gone by and sweat was dripping down his neck, his shoulder and pooling around the top seam of his wife beater.

Peeking in on the small boy who he was coming to know as his son, Jason saw him still soundly sleeping. Jason took the opportunity to take a quick shower and shave. He had originally planned on taking Cameron to the store so they could each pick out a gift for his mom but that would have to wait until next time.

Most of his thoughts were haunted by her, haunted in a good way. He thought of her when he was driving, when he worked, when he showered… all the time. He had been in many relationships over the years but never had he become so infatuated. Maybe he was in love with her. She had come out and admitted that she had, at one time, been in love with him during the night they spent together of the blackout. She seemed to be falling for him and she certainly seemed to be putting herself out there. That night she emphasized that she wanted a life with him at one time but was afraid to put herself there because of the danger. What had changed her mind? Did she decide to throw caution to the wind or did she just have so much trust in his ability to protect her and her children that she was finally able to look past the danger? Either way, he wanted whatever she was giving, wherever, whenever, he would be there and accep all of it.

"Jaaasssoooonnn!" he heard being called as he stepped out of the shower. He instantly recognized the voice and it was not Cameron. This was not something or someone that he wanted to deal with right now. With a grunt, he quickly pulled on his sweatpants and before he could even towel off, he ran out the bathroom door before she could wake Cameron from his nap.

"Jas-" she started but stopped when he quickly ran down the steps.

"Shhh, Cameron is sleeping upstairs."

Carly rolled her eyes, "You are a babysitter now?" Her eyes quickly surveyed his chest that was covered in tiny water droplets. "Ok, you couldn't put a shirt on?" she teased as she fanned herself with her hand.

"Carly… are you here for something?" Jason asked, growing agitated.

"I thought we could talk but if you are busy…" she trailed off when he turned to walk across the room and she saw the marks on the back of his shoulders. "Jason, did you get in a fight?"

He turned and looked at her with a confused look. He followed her gaze to his shoulders and neck but could not see exactly what it was she was looking at. Carly took a quick step toward him and stretched on her tip toes to examine his marks. "Both of your shoulders… oh god!" she said in a disgusted tone once she got a good look at the marks. They spanned both shoulders for a good 5 inches from his neck. Her hand grabbed his head and turned it slightly to look at the side of his neck. "Oh my god, are you freaking kidding me."

"What?" Jason growled but quickly realized what happened to cause the marks Carly was looking at. "Shit!"

"A freaking hickey, are you serious, what are we thirteen?"

Jason wiped his hand across the back of his neck and shrugged. There was nothing he could do about it now but he was definitely going to have to talk to Elizabeth about marking him in conspicuous places. He didn't even remember her leaving the mark but there were many opportunities over night that she could have marked him. The scratch marks, he definitely remembered them. They were both so lost in the moment that she may not have even realized what she was doing.

"What do you want Carly?" Jason grunted out.

"I wanted to talk to you about me but since Elizabeth seems to be marking her territory I think we need to talk about you."

"Carly she isn't marking her territory, we just got…"

She raised her hand, "Please spare me the details that brought Elizabeth to the point of clawing up your shoulders." She took her coat off and crossed the room to sit on the couch. "So tell me what is going on, I promise not to interfere."

Jason sighed. Since she was there if she did not hear this from him it would be even worse. He raise his left hand and wiggled his fourth finger to emphasis the ring that was now at home on the finger.

"Oh my god, you married the tramp!" Carly yelled.

"Carly, Cameron is sleeping!" Jason yelled but in a whisper. "And stop with the names."

"What the hell possessed you to marry her?" Carly asked, completely forgetting about her promise she made less then a minute ago.

"I love her." Jason admitted, surprising himself to the point that his stomach tightened at his own words. So much for the arrangement, he meant what he just said. At this point he was in a real marriage as far as he was concerned.

"Jason, I know you are trying to do what is right but…"

Jason shook his head, "No, when I asked her to marry me when I first found out that she was pregnant and it could be mine, then I was doing what I thought was right. That's not what this is now. I wanted to marry her… very much." He admitted.

"Then she is taking advantage." Carly reasoned.

Jason shook his head again and spoke firmly, "No Carly. Do you think so little of me that you think I can be just taken for a ride like that? I like to think that I can read people well. All of the years I have known Elizabeth, no matter what was going on around us or if we were at odds, there was still something there, we have just always chosen to ignore it. She wants this as much as I do and that's is all I am saying about it… and that is all you are going to say about it." He insisted.

"I can't believe you got married and didn't tell me." She mumbled as her eyes filled with tears.

Jason shrugged, "We didn't tell anyone. We did this for us, not for anyone else."

Carly wiped tears from her cheeks. "I thought we were best friends Jason. You have been making these big decisions and not even telling me." She whined and saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

Jason looked over his shoulder and saw Cameron slowly coming down the steps as he rubbed his eyes. "This conversation is over."

Carly stood from the couch, "For now." She promised.

"Jas… I mean daddy, will you weed this to me?" Cameron asked and waved a book in front of Jason.

They had been back at Elizabeth's house for a few hours, eaten dinner and played a long game of hide and seek. Jason remembered Elizabeth talking about how much Cameron enjoyed playing but Jason found it hard to play because he did not fit in many hiding spots. Needless to say, cameron won even though Jason found him every time by following the sound of his giggles.

"What do we have?" Jason thought out loud and read the title of the book. "Spongebob?"

"Uh huh." Cameron voiced as he climbed onto the couch beside Jason and curled into his side. He was in his Chuggin' Charlie pajamas and ready for bed. Jason had a feeling that Cameron would not stay awake for the whole book.

"Cam, do you like it when I spend time with you and your mommy?" Jason asked as he opened the cover of the book.

Cameron nodded, "And the new baby soon too."

"And the new baby. Are you excited about having a little sister?"

The small boy sighed, "I told mommy that I wanted a wittle bro-der but mommy said that maybe someday and right now I was getting a wittle sister to pway wiff."

Jason laughed quietly, "Yea, maybe someday." He opened the book and read to his son, "Bikini Bottom…"