A/N: Sorry for the long delay everyone. The muse and I are having a difference of opinion, and she's just NOT cooperating with me! One of these days…. LOL!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

After Jason got Elizabeth home, they thanked Georgie and Jason gave her a generous fee for coming over on such short notice. Elizabeth spent several minutes cuddling Cameron close to her, until he began to squirm to get down and go play. Reluctantly, she let him go and again shed a few tears for the horrible things that Lucky had said about him. She knew she had done the right thing by telling Lucky the truth, she just wished the price to her babies hadn't been so steep.

Sitting down beside her, Jason draped an arm around her shoulder and nudged her closer to him. "Are you gonna be alright?"

Nodding silently, she tried to scrape her thoughts into coherent words so she could tell Jason how glad she is that he is there with her. "I don't know what I would have done if Emily and Nicholas hadn't been there today. I'm really glad Em talked me into telling him at Wyndamere. It could have been so much worse if I would have told him alone. I honestly didn't think he would get physical. I'm glad you came and got me because I really needed you. Thank you."

"You hadn't been gone too long when the wait was killing me. I called Georgie and asked her if she had some time free to watch Cameron. As soon as she got here, I ran over to the docks, and well, you know the rest."

"You know, what really hurts are the things that he said about Cam. I honestly thought he loved him like a father should, but I was wrong. He proved that he was only biding his time until a Spencer baby came along. I can't imagine what would have happened to my little boy if I hadn't told the truth. How much attention would he have gotten once this baby was born? I told Lucky not to worry about playing father to Cam. I told him he would never get to see him again."

"I totally understand. You don't want that kind of anger taken out on your little boy."

"Cam's been so happy these last few days. He's really been soaking up all the attention you've been giving him," she paused to collect her thoughts. "If we're going to try to make a go at being together, do you think…"

Jason silenced her with a finger to her lips, "Do. Or do not. There is no try. And that is my only pop culture reference. Michael made me watch a marathon of those 'Star Jedi' movies. I really liked that line from the little green dude."

Smiling up at him, she shook her head, "It's Star Wars, Jason. And that little green dude is Yoda, the oldest Jedi master."

"Yeah, okay, whatever. That line just struck a chord with me. Seriously though, we aren't going to try at a relationship, we're going to do it, live it. And no, it doesn't matter to me who Cam's father is. He is a special little boy that I already love, I told you that. And, it's not going to change when the new baby gets here."

"I don't know what I was thinking. You have this amazing capacity to love children, it was a stupid thought that I should never even dreamed of voicing."

"It's understandable, considering what the man he calls daddy just said about him. It would make anyone wonder."

"Yeah, but I know you better than that. I know how much you love Michael, that you were raising him as your own. It didn't matter to you that he was your brother's baby. You still think of him as your son. And you were going to raise Sam's baby as your own. I saw how you grieved when that little girl died. It was heartbreaking to see it. It was stupid of me to even think it for a second."

"Hey! No calling the woman I love stupid!" he said, shocking them both.

Eyes wide, she felt a few more tears leak out. Jason reached up to wipe them away, "Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, yes I am. I guess I'm just not used to hearing you say it, that's all," she told him. "I told you back in August that I fell in love with you all those years ago, I just didn't tell you that it never went away. I don't think I've told you that during the time that we've been spending together recently, either."

"I have to admit that it's nice to know I'm not the only one putting myself out there."

"You were right about being open with each other. We can't change the way we handled things in our past, but if we're gonna make it, we have to be open and honest with each other going forward. And I know that there will be business things that you can't tell me. But, you've put yourself out there several times, now I need to start doing it more, too. I just want us to continue to talk about the personal stuff. I mean, if you want to talk about the business stuff, too, I'm okay with that. I just know that you're really tight-lipped about that stuff," she paused.

"Breathe Elizabeth. You're right, there will be some stuff that I can't tell you. Not because I don't trust you, but because I don't want you to have to keep my secrets. It would be too dangerous for you to know too much. But I promise you that I will never keep anything from you that will affect our lives, our home together. Can you live with that?"

Taking the time to consider Jason's words, she didn't rush to an easy answer, because she wanted to think about it and be honest with her feelings. He waited patiently, letting her absorb everything he had told her.

"As long as you don't outright lie to me, or lie by omission, about something concerning our family, then yes, I can live with that."

"You're referring to Sonny's 'death' a few years ago, aren't you?"

"Yes. You know it wasn't as much the fact that you kept me in the dark, it was the fact that you didn't even tell me that there was something that you couldn't tell me. You just avoided me and made me worry night after night, wondering if you were going to come home shot, or at all. When I found out that all you were doing was sitting in a strip club every night, looking out for Stripper Barbie, on Sonny's orders, that's what hurt the most. I could have handled you being away, if you had told me that something was going on, but you couldn't share what it was. I just wanted to know that you were safe. I just wanted to know that I mattered to you. When I found out what was going on, I felt like I didn't matter at all, and that I never would. That's why I left."

"I think I can manage that. And, I am sorry for the way that I handled things back then. I promised not to lie to you, and then Sonny ordered me to do just that. I should have found a way to accomplish both, without breaking my promises to either of you. You have always mattered to me, even if I sucked at showing it."

"Well, it's in the past, and we've gotten past it. I don't have to, or necessarily even want to, be all up in the business. I know that it's safer for me not to be. Speaking of safe, I'm almost out of vacation time. Epiphany was gracious enough to give me all this time off to deal with moving out of Grams' house, telling Lucky, etc. But I am going to have to get back to work, sooner rather than later."

"You know that you don't have to work, right?"

"Uh-uh, don't even start Jason. One, I actually do love nursing. And two, I am not going to be one of those women that lives off of a man. I enjoy working, and I enjoy being active."

"I know that you love your job, I just want you to know that I will support you, if you would rather just stay home and take care of our kids. I will support whatever you want to do. I would love for you to think about getting back into your art, too."

"Jase, I didn't agree to a relationship with you so that I could quit my job. Besides, didn't we say that we were going to take things slowly? My quitting work to live off your money is not what I would consider slow. I need to carry my own weight, it's important to me, no matter how much I love you."

"Can we compromise then?"

"Compromise? What is your definition of compromise?" she asks him, arching one eyebrow at him.

"Don't look at me like that. I know how to compromise. All I'm asking is that you don't work yourself into the ground. I'd like to see you stop pulling all of those double shifts that you've been working. Let me help you out, please, for the children's sakes."

"That's a low blow, Morgan, playing the children card."

Smirking at her, "Did it work?" Blue eyes looked into blue eyes, his with humor sparkling in them. "Okay," he conceded, "Can you just think about it. Please?"

"Okay, I'll think about it. I just don't know that I'm ready to accept that kind of help."