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Chapter 9

The next morning Elizabeth had no desire to get up. Jason was already downstairs with the boys. He was the breakfast parent because mornings were not her strong suit. Even factoring that in, this morning she had no pep at all. She could happily burrow into the blankets and sleep for another hour. Especially since she didn't have to work today.

"Babe?" Jason said coming into the room. Jake was in his arms and Cameron was already crawling across the blankets.

"Mommy, are we going to get a tree today?" Cameron wanted to know. Last year had been the best. Jason took them down to the tree lot and they got a really big real tree. It smelled so good in their other house. He wanted the new house to have that smell.

"Yeah." Elizabeth forced her eyes open and smiled at her eldest child. "Mommy's just a bit tired." She looked at the clock and frowned. "Nine?" She never slept that late.

"You feeling okay?" Jason asked trying not to start smiling. They had a long night last night, as he couldn't seem to keep his hands off his lovely wife. Not that she had been complaining. Nope, she did however do some screaming. He was quiet satisfied with his efforts.

"Tired." She gave him a sleepy smile. "Let me get in the shower buddy and we'll get going."

"We'll head downstairs and I'll make you some breakfast. The boys had waffles." Jason told her.

"That sounds wonderful." Suddenly she was starving. Elizabeth walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Half an hour later she was at the table and Jason was sliding a waffle in front of her.

"Hot chocolate?" He asked her.

"How about some tea instead. Apple cinnamon please." She requested her favorite herbal tea. They would be drinking hot chocolate later at the tree lot. She finished her waffle and looked at her plate. "Can I have another one?" She was still hungry.

"Sure." Jason said plugging the waffle iron back in. He chalked it up to last night. He'd been hungry himself this morning.

"Do we have any blueberries?" Elizabeth asked getting up from the table and opening the fridge. "We do. Can I have some in my waffle?"

"Yup. I put some in Cameron and Jake's waffles this morning." Jason got the bowl of batter out. He always had some on hand, because waffles and pancakes were staples in the house. "If you had gotten up earlier you could have had bacon."

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. "Not in a bacon mood." When the waffle was ready she took her plate back to the table. "Is anyone meeting us at the lot?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Jason answered finishing his coffee. Last year they had shopped with Emily and Matt. "So what are we thinking this year? Another Douglas Fir?"

"Let's see what they've got." Elizabeth said as she popped the last piece of waffle in her mouth. "That was delicious. I'm going to go brush my teeth and then we can head out. We need a tree, a wreath for the front door, some mistletoe, pictures with Santa, and our special ornament for the year. Can you put my tea in a travel mug please?" It was still too hot to drink. She was humming the Christmas carol Silent Night as she left the room. It was going to be a good day.

"You excited buddy?" Jason asked Cameron as they walked through the lot.

"Are we gonna do the sleigh ride again this year?" Cameron wanted to know. Last year he even got to feed the horse that pulled the sleigh.

"That's later in the week, but yeah we are." Jason got a kick out of the holidays now that he had children. And his very own elf, he thought looking over at his wife. She loved the holiday season, and this year she seemed even more radiant. She was pushing Jake in the stroller, telling him about the different types of trees. Jake babbled happily back at her. "See anything you like?"

"Not just yet." Elizabeth said frowning as she looked around.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked when she made the face.

"The scent of the trees is giving me a bit of a headache. It seems very strong, I'm a bit worried what will happen when we get the tree home." She didn't want her house to be overwhelmed by the tree's natural aroma.

"You aren't coming down with something are you?" Normally she loved the smell of a fresh tree.

"Nope, I feel fine." Elizabeth said looking around. "I guess it's just me. Those chestnuts do smell really good."

"We can get some if you want?" Jason offered.

"No, not in the mood. I just like the aroma. Cameron did you find a tree you liked?" Elizabeth asked her son.

"Not yet. It's gotta be the right tree." Cameron took this decision very seriously.

"What about that one?" Elizabeth pointed to a tall tree to their right.

"That's really big mommy!" Cameron had to tilt his head back to see the top.

"We have tall ceilings, we'll need daddy to put the angel on top though." Elizabeth walked over to the tree and stopped before reaching it. "No not that one." She said backing away.

"Why not?" Jason liked the look of it.

"It smells bad." Elizabeth said shaking her head.

He walked over with Cameron and they both sniffed. "Smells fine to me." Cameron just shrugged as he looked at his dad.

"That tree is not going in my house." Elizabeth stated with finality. "Let's keep looking."

"Okay." Jason said slowly.

"I don't like that one anyway. It's not big enough. I want a big tree!" Cameron said holding his arms out wide. What he meant was that he wanted a wider tree.

"Yeah, it is kind of skinny." Jason agreed. "Let's follow mommy and Jake."

It took another thirty minutes for them to find a tree. Every time they picked one Elizabeth rejected it because of the smell. Finally the lot owner came over to help. He didn't want to lose a sale, when Elizabeth told him the scent was bothering her he steered her to a part of the lot they hadn't investigated. He pointed to a large tree in the corner. He told them it was a White Pine. Elizabeth walked over and took a sniff. Her wide smile let Jason know they had their tree.

"Yeah!" Cameron said he was glad that they had a tree.

"We still need a wreath." Jason said a bit cautiously. That might take a while too.

"That will be on the outer door, so anyone you like will work." Elizabeth told him watching as the attendant wrapped up their selection. "Sorry I was so picky."

"I want you to have the tree that makes you happy." Jason said kissing her nose. "I was prepared to take you to another lot if necessary." They would have gone to every one in the city if necessary. "Let's get the wreath and mistletoe. Come on Cameron." Jason called the little boy over from where he was looking at another tree.

"Uncle Johnny is over there with some lady." Cameron said running over. "They were kissing." The little boy announced grinning.

As they watched Johnny appeared with Gia by his side. "Hello Morgans."

"Johnny, Gia." Elizabeth said smiling. "Whose house are you getting the tree for?" She asked trying to be friendly.

"Mine." Johnny grinned. "Which one did you get?"

"White Pine." Jason pointed. "We were just going over to get a wreath."

"I need one of those too." Johnny said aware of the rising tension between the two women.

"Congratulations on the marriage, and baby." Gia said with forced cheer.

"Thanks." Elizabeth responded the same way. "Well we should get going, we don't want to hold you guys up."

"Actually Elizabeth I was wondering if I could speak to you for a minute." Gia inquired.

"Uh, sure." Elizabeth had no idea what Gia would want to talk about.

"Why don't you guys help Johnny pick a tree?" Elizabeth suggested to Jason and Cameron.

"We could do that." Jason said getting the unspoken message to scram.

"Come on Jake." Cameron said pushing the stroller with daddy's help. "Uncle Johnny needs a tree!"

Johnny watched the two women closely. "I shouldn't be too long." He told Gia.

"Take your time. I'll find you when we are finished." She said kissing his cheek. When the guys walked away she turned to Elizabeth. "Johnny really cares about you, and since we are both going to be in his life I think we should put the past behind us."

"I couldn't agree more." Elizabeth said trying to remember that this was the woman who made her friend happy. For Johnny she could be nice.

"Since you need to hear it, I'm sorry for what I did." Gia said shrugging. "I wanted to win."

Elizabeth counted to ten. That was the most insincere apology she had ever heard. But she wouldn't call the other woman out, not with Johnny so close. "I know you did." Actually she would. "You must really like Johnny to offer an apology you don't mean."

"I was a different person back then." Gia said in a matter of fact tone. "I don't normally apologize for things that happened a lifetime ago. I've moved on. Clearly you have too."

"Would you do it again?" Elizabeth wanted to know.

"I wanted to win, modeling isn't an industry you make friends in." Gia said being honest. "I like to think I would handle things better. No one got hurt." Was how she finished.

"I accept your apology. I care about Johnny, so for him I accept your apology." Elizabeth would let it go. "Have a Merry Christmas." She said before walking off to find her boys.

"Elizabeth." Gia called out stopping the petite brunette.

"Yes?" As far as Elizabeth was concerned they had nothing else to talk about.

"Are you going to tell him?" Gia wanted to know.

"I don't involve myself in Johnny's personal relationships. Like you said, it was in the past. I have no intention of saying anything, and I've asked Emily not to as well." Elizabeth said turning and ending the conversation.

Gia just let out the breath she was holding. As far as she was concerned it was over.

"Did you help Uncle Johnny find a tree?" Elizabeth asked Cameron only frowning a little at the strong smell.

"We did." The little boy pointed to the Douglas Fir.

"Where is Gia?" Johnny asked his friend. She didn't have any blood on her so he was guessing his girlfriend was unharmed. When she looked up he saw her eyes were sparking fire.

"Looking at trees." Elizabeth pointed over her shoulder.

Jason could tell his wife was upset, but with the boys here it wasn't the time to discuss it. "We got a wreath, and some mistletoe." He told her.

"Great, then we can go pick out an ornament." Elizabeth was more than ready to leave. "Say bye to Uncle Johnny."

"Bye." Cameron gave his uncle a hug. "Are you coming over for the brunch?" Cameron still wasn't sure what that was, but mommy was excited about it.

"No, I'm going to be busy, but I'll see you not too long after that." Johnny promised the little boy.

"Okay." Cameron said taking his dad's hand.

"I'll call you later." Jason said following Elizabeth who was already pushing Jake toward the front of the lot. Yeah she was pissed.

"I'll be around." Johnny assured him. When the Morgan's were gone he turned to Gia who had just walked up. "I got a tree."

"Good." Gia smiled at him.

"Did you and Elizabeth have a good talk?" He already knew they didn't.

"We settled things. So you don't need to worry about us not getting along." Gia told him. "What's next on the list?" She didn't want to spend any more time on Elizabeth Morgan.

Johnny found that statement to be interesting. Clearly Gia felt whatever was between them was over. He was guessing that Elizabeth was going to let it go for his sake, and that just didn't sit right with him. "Some ornaments to put on the tree."

"Wyndhams has some really nice ones." Gia suggested.

"Let me pay for the tree and then we can go." Johnny said giving her a smile. He was really hoping that Jason got Liz to tell him what Gia said to make her so angry.

In the car Jason turned on the DVD player and when Cameron and Jake were engrossed in the holiday cartoon he turned to Elizabeth. "What did she say to you?" He didn't like his wife upset.

"Let it go Jason." Her voice shook a bit and she cleared her throat. "It's over." She was on the verge of tears. Blinking she refused to let them fall. Gia wasn't going to make her cry again. She looked at the clock on the dashboard. "Now would be a good time for pictures with Santa. It should be slow at the moment." She needed to hear Cameron laugh, that always made her feel better. "After that we can go to the glass blowers shop to see what ornaments he made this year." She liked to support local artists whenever possible.

"Elizabeth." Jason said softly.

"Please Jason, just let it go. It's over." She repeated looking at him and smiling some. "I've moved on." Gia was right about that part. Elizabeth's life was so good now, what happened before didn't even matter. She smiled again, this time a real smile. "Pictures and then lunch because I'm getting hungry."

He saw her shake it off. "Sounds like a plan." He would respect her request because it was a day for fun things. When the holiday festivities were over he and his girl where going to talk about Gia Campbell.

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