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Chapter 11
The older kids were playing video games before bedtime. Jake and Joss were on the floor with blocks while Jason and Jax kept an eye on them. The two dads were discussing business. Jax was considering buying into a rugby team in Melbourne and wanted Jason's opinion. Their friendship was just another way things in Port Charles had changed.
"Come with me." Carly tugged on Liz's sweater. They walked down the hall to the blonde's office. "We need to talk."
"What's up?" Liz flopped down in the oversized armchair. She had helped Carly redecorate this room earlier in the year.
Carly sat on the couch and put her feet on the coffee table. "I want to talk about The Face of Deception. What did Gia do to you?"
"Did Jason put you up to this?" Elizabeth wanted to know.
"No, but he came to see me yesterday to ask about the time, and how much of a role I played in whatever happened between the two of you." Carly's loyalty had shifted from Jason to the woman in front of her, and she wanted to protect Liz. "I was honest. Just like I was when we talked."
"He told me he went to see you and asked about that time." Elizabeth had glared at her husband for a good twenty minutes before once again telling him to let it go. Then making him promise he would not do anymore sleuthing. However that conversation made her face a fact she didn't want to. What happened wasn't going to go away. Because if Jason was looking into things then so was Johnny. Jason she could slow down, but O'Brien she had no hope of stopping. With her, Em, and Gia not talking about it he shouldn't find out no matter how hard he dug. "Let it go Carly."
"You know that won't happen. I helped to cause it, so I want to help fix it. If I don't find out tonight, I will find out when we get back." Carly would run Gia out on a rail herself if it came down to it. "Jax brought her here, so the fact that you are upset is partially our fault."
"Carly. It's fine, really. Gia and I agreed to move on." Elizabeth told her friend. Which wasn't happening, last night she'd had another nightmare.
"You are a crappy liar." Carly smirked. "Such a goody two shoes, you are even trying to protect Gia. Tell me what she did." The blonde demanded not backing down.
"Where is Milo when I need him?" Elizabeth grumbled. She wasn't going to bother to correct Carly's misconception about who was being protected.
"Milo doesn't scare me." Carly said before laughing at Elizabeth's glare. "Are you worried I will tell Jason? Because the days of my running to him to tattle are done. If you don't want it to go past Jax and I, it won't." Carly promised her friend.
"I know you wouldn't tell Jason." Elizabeth told her friend. She would keep the secret, but she'd go after Gia with everything in her. Carly wouldn't stop until Gia was destroyed on a personal and professional level. And in the end Johnny would be hurt. Elizabeth was trying to avoid that. "I'm still not going to tell you though. Are you guys staying with Lady Jane and John?"
"Changing the subject will not work indefinitely." Carly warned her friend. "Yes. They are looking forward to spoiling Morgan and Joss. I'm not sure the plane will hold all the loot the kids are gonna get. Considering they are going to send things home for Michael too." Like the Quartermaines Jax's parents did not differentiate between the kids. They were all their grandchildren and all got spoiled equally.
"Will Jerry be there?" Elizabeth was not a fan of Jax's older brother.
"I hope not. Jerry creeps me out." Carly shuddered. He had changed from someone who flirted with being a bad boy, to a man who fully embraced his darker nature. "Last I heard John had told him to not come home until he straightened himself out. I'm very glad my mother stopped seeing him."
"Now she's dating the elder, but still hot, Dr. Noah Drake." Elizabeth said bobbing her eyebrows.
"Did you know that Noah can sing too?" Carly said fanning herself.
"Really?" Elizabeth wondered if either Patrick or Matt could sing. She'd need to ask her friends.
"He serenaded momma the last time we were out west." Carly was happy for her mother.
"Any chance of wedding bells?" Elizabeth was enjoying the gossip session.
"No indicators at the moment, but I don't think my mother is necessary looking for that." Carly wanted whatever Bobbie wanted. "I think she may come visit this spring."
"I'll be sure to give her some space." Elizabeth wasn't sure how Bobbie felt about her now. She liked the older woman, but her relationship with the rest of the Spencer family was in tatters these days.
"Momma still likes you." Carly promised her friend. "She asks about you every time we talk. She is aware that it was Lucky who destroyed your marriage, and she is also aware that Luke is blind to his son's faults. As for Lulu, it's my understanding that she is moving to Paris after Christmas. Laura is hoping she can straighten her daughter out. If I can learn to behave there is hope for Lulu too. The females of the family seem to eventually turn themselves around." Carly said laughing.
There was a knock on the door and when Carly opened it Jason was standing there with a sleepy Cameron in his arms. The little boy was rubbing his eyes. "Jake and Joss are passed out on the living room floor." Jason said smiling wide. He had of course taken a picture.
"I guess that's my cue that its time to go home. Have the gifts been brought in?" Elizabeth asked getting to her feet.
"Yup. Jax and I loaded up the SUV, while Morgan kept an eye on the kids." Just in case one, or both, woke up.
"Okay." The group walked down the hall. "Have fun." Elizabeth said hugging Morgan.
"I will Aunt Liz." Morgan said smiling. "We'll bring back souvenirs." He leaned in and whispered. "Cameron asked me to bring him home a kangaroo."
"A stuffed one is fine." Elizabeth assured him. "Enjoy your visit." She said hugging Jax.
"We will." The Aussie assured her. "You need to get Jason to bring you sometime." He would love to host them, and show off his native country. Jax shook Jason's hand.
"Have a Merry Christmas." Jason told his nephew. Giving him a tight one armed hug because he still had Cameron.
Elizabeth gave Joss a kiss, before she picked up her son. "We will see you when you come home."
"You can be envious of my tan." Carly said smiling. "Merry Christmas." She said giving Liz and hard hug before kissing Jake.
With a final round of hugs the Morgans headed home.
"Ready?" Elizabeth looked over at Jason. "You did a good job with Cameron's presents." She had been impressed with how neatly they were wrapped.
"Squares are easy to wrap." Jason said looking at the pile of gifts for Jake. "Next year let's make a rule, only gifts that come in easy to wrap packaging."
"Where is the fun in that?" Elizabeth said laughing. "You can cut the paper and I'll do the wrapping." Some toys would be a challenge, but since Jake was only thirteen months old he didn't really care how they looked. Cameron would most likely end up opening his brother's gifts so that Jake didn't have to.
"I'm going to pick up Edward early tomorrow morning." Jason told his wife as he cut the first large piece of paper. "He said he wanted to speak to me before we left the mansion."
"Is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked tapping the paper in place.
"I think it has to do with my great-Uncle Hal's estate." Jason explained.
"Lila's brother?" Elizabeth hadn't ever met him. "He died while we were away last year." Jason had taken them to the island for two weeks just before Christmas. "Edward went to the funeral in England."
"The estate had to be probated." Jason told her taking the wrapped gift and putting it aside. He handed over the next item. The gifts would be taken down Christmas Eve while the boys were sleeping. "I think all that is done now." Still he had no clue why Edward needed to talk to him about that. Jason hadn't ever met or spoke to Hal Morgan.
"Were you named in the will?" Elizabeth guessed.
"No clue, but I don't see why I would be." Jason took the wrapped gift and handed over a third one. Elizabeth was a lot faster than he was. Last night he'd been wrapping for several hours. "Do you know what was in all those boxes Jax handed over?"
"Cameron got a whole lot of Legos. All the Harry Potter sets, so be ready to spend some time building Hogwarts. They got Jake, all the Little People sets." Elizabeth explained.
"Little People?" Jason had no clue what that was.
"Play sets that make sounds." Elizabeth said laughing when Jason made a face. "Why do you think all the toys I picked for our youngest son are quiet?" Lots of blocks and stackable items that would challenge him. "Did you put the gifts Monica sent over together?"
"They are in the shed." Jason grinned at his wife. "Jake's took no time at all." It was a push trike that would be converted into a traditional trike when he got big enough. "I had to get Marco to help me with Cameron's gift." It would have taken him a couple of days to put it together on his own.
"I tried to talk her out of it. But mom was so happy to buy it that I stopped." Elizabeth said wrapping another gift.
"It's a kid sized ATV." Jason didn't even know such things existed. "The thing takes a real car battery. I'm kind of scared to let him use it." It did however come with a lot of safety features like a roll cage and a five point harness on each seat. "She missed out on this time with Michael and Morgan so she is spoiling my children."
"She loves them." Elizabeth couldn't wait for Jason to see her gift to him. Cameron's ride on was actually pretty powerful and fast. So Elizabeth had gotten Jason the adult version. Her guys could ride around together. The property was big enough for them to tool around on. When Jake got older he would most likely get Cameron's toy and Monica could buy Cam something bigger.
"I know." Jason said shaking his head. "I will sit down and talk to Cameron about making sure he wears his helmet when he goes out." Monica had included all the necessary safety gear. "We will also talk about the fact that he can't go out alone. I haven't seen any gifts from Tracy." Jason pointed out. His aunt had already left, but her gifts for the boys were being delivered at some point this week. She said she'd get her things when she returned home. Tracy not wanting to hand the gifts over in person had Jason worried.
"Me either. She wouldn't tell me what she got the boys and honestly I didn't push. I'm sure whatever she got them is fine." Elizabeth handed over the final gift. "All done."
Jason took everything to the closet. "Tomorrow after I drop off grandfather I'm heading over to the office for some last minute things. Will you be okay?" Those things included his gift to his wife. The woman was impossible to shop for.
"Edward isn't that much trouble." Elizabeth said laughing.
"No, but Edward and Cameron together can be a handful." Jason laughed as well. "I think grandfather is bringing the tent. Not to mention he's going to spend the day flirting with you." Jason scowled.
"Jealous?" Elizabeth asked scooting closer. She was in a sleep shirt and was getting a bit chilly.
"Yes." Jason picked her up and put her on his lap.
"You don't need to be." Elizabeth said kissing his neck. "I'm all yours."
"Damn right you are." Jason groused, but was enjoying her efforts. "Just like I'm yours. In case you had any doubts."
"None at all." Elizabeth said relaxing against her hubby. "We should go to bed, we have a busy day tomorrow."
"We do, I have to hand out the bonuses. You have to protect the cookies from Cameron and Edward. Want me to send Milo to help you?" Jason chuckled.
"You don't pay him enough to tussle with Edward." Elizabeth said on a sleepy laugh.
"How did I let you talk me into this again?" Emily asked looking at her grandfather.
"You're a Quartermaine, stuff like this is in your blood." The older man just smiled wide at his granddaughter.
Emily didn't bother to remind him that she was part of this family through adoption. "Jason is going to kill you."
"Elizabeth will protect me." Edward said handing over his Christmas gift. "Don't ruin my surprise. If Monica hadn't decided to leave early then I wouldn't have had to rope you into helping me."
"Mom deserves the time off." Emily stated.
"She does." Edward agreed. "I'll need you to bring the gift to the house on Christmas day."
"I know." Which meant her part in this was going to come to light. "I just need to figure out how to avoid my brother and Liz for the next few days." Not to mention dealing with Matt who was going to want to keep the gift. He was a big kid himself.
"You can hide behind Jake at the brunch. I'll be hiding behind Cameron." Edward was unrepentant about what he had done. Grandchildren really did keep you young. "Have a good night dear." He gave Emily a kiss before heading back to the limo downstairs.
"Night." Emily went into the living room and sat on the couch. "Jason's gonna kill me."
The puppy on her lap just licked her hand as she wagged her tail.
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