A/N – Thanks for the lovely comments. Love your curiosity and glad you are enjoying it! – Guest – Yes Liz is 26 and Jason is 30. On the show technically they are only a year apart, but then the sorased Jason. Yes, he was really hot in his 30's.

Alright, I've had an extremely stressful day. I'm sorry I'm late. I didn't get a lunch hour and I don't have time to proofread, so hopefully, it's fine. I'll look over it when I get home.

Chapter 3

Surprisingly, the next morning when Jason got up, Elizabeth wasn't in the bed. He stretched and then took a shower and cursed under his breath when he saw the outfit Ric had left for him. He pulled on the tight jeans and groaned as the unrelenting denim almost cut off his circulation. Then he pulled on the one size too small baby blue, short-sleeved knit shirt that hugged his chest muscles and he sighed. He is going to kill Ric and no one will find the pieces.

Running a hand through his hair, he threw open the door and was just about to yell when he heard a cackle. "Shit," he said louder than he intended too.

Brenda grinned and stepped around Nathan so she could make eye contact with her nemesis. "Hello, husband."

A shudder went through his body as face contorted. "Ex-husband—what the hell are you doing here?"

Brenda shot him a look and then turned to Elizabeth, "He's kind of grumpy first thing in the morning."

Ric chuckled. "Try all day." He grabbed a mug and poured some coffee. "At least he looks hot when he scowls." That made up for a lot.

"You should probably put some alcohol in it. It might help with his countenance," Brenda quipped.

"I'm standing right here," Jason said clearly annoyed by her presence.

Ric handed Jason the mug and quickly retreated.

"I'm here to dress Elizabeth. She can't run around in Ric's sweats forever. The girl deserves something nice considering who she has to sleep next too."

Jason rolled his eyes and carefully sat down on a barstool in his plastered-on jeans. "Would it have killed you to get me clothes that actually fit?"

"I think it fits you just right," Ric said, giving him a sexy look.

Jason blinked a few times and Brenda, Nathan, and Elizabeth laughed loudly. His phone buzzed and he took the call. Getting up, he grabbed Elizabeth's arm and pulled her towards the hallway.

Her heart dropped as she observed his conversation with Johnny. When his hand held out the phone, she felt tears well up in eyes before she answered, "Hello?"

"Elizabeth."

"Daddy?"

Julian smiled. "How's my girl?"

"I'm fine. It's so good to hear your voice. Are you okay?"

"I'm recovering. I won't be able to talk to you often, but I just wanted you to know that I'll be okay."

"I love you," she said, softly.

"I love you too. Are you miserable?"

Liz glanced around. "No. I like Jason's friends."

"Jason has friends?"

She giggled. "Sort of."

"Well, be careful. Let me talk to him."

She said goodbye and handed Jason back his phone before scurrying off to the kitchen.

"Morgan," Julian barked.

"Yeah."

"She's all I have. Take care of her."

"I will."

"And keep your hands to yourself," Julian growled.

Jason let out a puff of air and ended the call.

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Liz went into the bedroom with Brenda, "So you and Jason?" Brenda is gorgeous and she is wondering what the deal is between them, especially since they are so snarky with each other.

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Trust me when I tell you, that it was not out of love. I thought I was dying and he was the only person I knew that would let me die in peace and abide by my wishes. Hell, he would have probably buried me himself. I think I saw a charge for a shovel on his credit card statement."

"Oh," Liz said trying to process it. Their union was not at all what she had expected.

"When I found out I wasn't dying, we flew to the Dominican Republic and got a quickie divorce. We bicker a lot, but we're friends now," Brenda explained further.

"Wow."

Brenda shrugged as she finished taking her measurements and texted them. It is nice having her own fashion company. "Well, I'm having a few racks brought over and they'll bring some lingerie and shoes too. The rest will be delivered in the next few days based on your choices."

"I don't know how I can possibly thank you."

"Make Jason's life a living hell and that will be all the payment I need."

Liz laughed. That is one way of making the time go faster.

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Felix stood in the middle of the bedroom looking Liz up and down before pulling some clothes off a rack. "Try that."

Liz, who standing there in her underwear, slipped into the jeans and then pulled on a beautiful burgundy sweater that is off the shoulder.

"Turn."

Brenda checked her out. "They make your ass look really good."

Liz smiled. "That's always a plus. Sold." She slipped out of them and for the next hour and a half she tried on what seemed like a gazillion outfits before collapsing onto the bed.

"Girlfriend, you would never make it as a model. We need to toughen you up."

Liz laughed. "I could never be a model anyway. I'm too short."

"There's always print ads," Felix said.

"With that flawless skin of yours, I think the agencies would swoon over you."

She sat up. "You two are crazy. I'll stick to painting, thank you very much."

"I got Jason to model once."

Liz gave her a look. "This I've got to hear."

Felix sighed. "He had to be at one of Brenda's shoots and we drove him crazy until he agreed. He was so fabulous. That glare was meant for modeling. But alas, the giant stick up his ass prevented him from going there again." Felix pulled out his phone and showed Liz one of the stills.

"Wow. He cleans up nice."

"He can be an asshole sometimes, but he's a gorgeous one," Brenda said.

"He's just misunderstood and has a lot of people around him that are stupid and piss him off."

"Felix took Jason 101. He also wrote the Jason bible, so if you're interested…."

Liz scoffed. "He can barely stand to be around me. No thanks."

Brenda noted that she hadn't said the opposite. "You have to admit he's nice to look at."

Liz shrugged. "What's your point? Unless you know a surgeon who can remove that stick, the conversation is pointless."

Felix and Brenda looked at each other as Liz walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Operation Liason is a go." Felix had given them a code name.

"I love that. Okay, so, I know Ric is in. We're having a party here tomorrow night. If I have to spike the damn punch, we're making something happen."

Felix grinned. "First, we need to get her to try on something absolutely sinful."

"Have I told you how much I love your dirty mind?"

"Over and over."

Brenda walked over to one of the racks and pulled out a few dresses, but they would not do her body justice. "How about this one?" It is a black sleeveless corset dress that should stop at mid-thigh. "It's sexy, but not sleazy."

Liz is standing in the doorway. "I like it. What's it for?"

"Ric is having a party."

"Isn't that dangerous considering we're hiding out?"

"Do you really think Ric hangs out with the mob crowd?" Felix asked.

Liz shrugged. "As long as there are no pictures."

"Don't worry about that. Now, I need you to try this one on for me. Felix, find her some shoes."

Felix retrieved a pair of black stilettos.

"Perfect."

Liz got into the dress and Felix zippered her up.

"Fabulous," he said, excitedly.

Liz gazed at herself from several angles. "I love it."

Brenda looked at Felix wickedly. Jason is so going down.

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Elizabeth entered the living room and sat next to Nathan. Brenda and Felix had left, so things had quieted down.

He paused the show he was watching and gave her his full attention. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine."

His head tilted. "I don't think so. Spill."

She bit her lip for a moment. "Just worried about the party."

"They are mainly business types. We didn't invite any obnoxious socialites."

"That's good to know."

"How's your father?"

"I think he's hanging in there."

Nathan is trying to get her talk if she wants too, so that she knows she has a friend in him. "You must lead an interesting life."

Liz slightly smiled. "You could say that. I love art and expressing myself. Taking care of the galleries is like a work of love. I get to help other artists develop their careers and do some charity work. It's fulfilling."

"Sounds like it. I love acting. Modeling just pays the bills."

"I totally get it. Believe it or not, I worked my way through college. My dad paid for my private lessons and encouraged me. He insisted on paying for school, so I worked to pay for my supplies, a place to live, and some spending money. It was important to me to feel normal you know?"

Nathan totally admired that. "I get it. Ric worked his way through school too and made a huge success of himself. He is way more focused than I've ever been."

"Well, if you are doing what you love, then you are ahead of the game. Do you know how many people hate their jobs?"

"True. Jason might have grown up with the Quartermaine riches, but he was sent away to boarding school and then after the accident, he had to start from scratch."

Liz frowned. "What accident?"

"Oh, you didn't know?"

She shook her head.

"His brother was drunk and crashed them into a tree. He was hurt pretty badly and has brain damage. It caused him to have to re-learn a lot of things that most people take for granted like right and wrong and how to interact with people. They told him that he would never feel things deeply and that he would just mimic what he learned. He has come a long way. Ric told me that in the beginning, he'd have these rages because of the swelling and he was hell to deal with."

"Wow."

"He also used to be a lot lighter, but I think between the business and people hurting him, he shut down."

Well this was a more enlightening conversation than she was expecting.

"So, if you show him your artwork, make sure you point out the lines for him so he can make sense of it. It's just how his brain works now."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Can I ask you something?"

Liz crossed her legs. "Sure."

"Would it be rude if I asked you to draw me?"

"Not at all, I could use the practice while I'm sitting around here."

The door opened and Jason walked in with several bags.

"You're back."

He put down a bag. A block away, he had stumbled on a book store, so he got himself a few travel books to read. There is one acting magazine for Nathan, and the rest is for Elizabeth. "These are for you. I hope I got the right stuff."

Liz took them from him and is shocked to see a couple of canvases, a folded up easel, a paint set, pencils, brushes, sketch pads, and basically everything she needs to paint or draw.

Nathan smiled at her expression and grabbed the magazine. "Thanks." Score one for Jason.

"Thank you, Jason."

He shrugged and took off his hat, pausing to run his fingers through his hair. "I passed it on the way back and figured we might be here for a while. Some student helped me pick out everything."

"Thank you for thinking of me. I'm so excited. We were just discussing me sketching Nathan."

Jason frowned. "Really?"

Nathan grinned. "I asked her. I want to surprise Ric."

Jason let it go.

"We didn't talk details though. Do you want just a head shot, partial nudity…" She stopped when Jason froze as he was walking and spun around. The look on his face was priceless and Nathan laughed.

"Maybe we could throw something over my unmentionable," Nathan said.

"You draw people nude?" Jason asked.

"It's just the human anatomy. It's part of learning to sketch."

Jason turned and walked towards the bedroom as Nathan and Liz continued to plan.

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Jason spent the rest of the afternoon in the bedroom reading and making some plans in case they had to leave quickly, but when it was time for dinner, he joined them.

Ric handed him a beer. "Hope you guys are hungry."

Liz nodded.

"You know I can always eat," Nathan said.

"Go have a seat. Most of it is already on the table."

They sat and Ric arrived with the salad dish. The plates were passed around and they began to eat. He had made beef and broccoli with some noodles.

Liz surprised when she bites into it. "It's very good."

Nathan made a noise of agreement as his head bobbed.

"I'm glad you like it."

Jason took a second bite. "It's good."

"Can you cook, Elizabeth?" Ric asked.

"Yeah. I'm just lazy most of the time because I work late."

"We take turns cooking."

Nathan put down his drink. "He's better than I am though."

"I'm sure that you do fine," Liz said.

They chatted as Jason listened.

Ric is used to him being really quiet, but he is surprised that he isn't talking at all.

When they were finished, Jason got up and collected the plates and started to clean up the kitchen.

"Is he okay?" Liz asked.

"I don't know, but I'm ready for another beer. Can I get you anything?"

Liz wiped her mouth. "No, I'm fine."

He disappeared for a moment. "Do you need any help?"

Jason shook his head. "I've got it. You cooked."

"Thanks. I know you don't eat dessert, but I bought some chocolate cake."

"It's okay. I'll pass."

"Suit yourself. Can you sit with us a little until we finish?"

"Yeah."

Ric waited until he was done before revealing the cake.

"Oh my God, that looks so good," Liz said eyeing it.

"There's a bakery down the street that is to die for," Ric said slicing it and then handed her the plate and cut another piece for him and Nathan.

Liz bit into a piece and moaned. "This is awesome."

Ric smiled and took a bite. "You're right."

They ate and then Jason quietly slipped away. Liz is starting to take it personally. She hung out with the guys for a few hours and then got ready for bed. Jason was reading, so she pulled out a book and read until her eyelids got heavy and then marked it and put it on the stand next to her.

Taking her cue, Jason put his book away and turned off the light and laid there thinking for a while. There are so many things that could go wrong and he is scared that he'll make the wrong move and get them killed. It is a lot of burden to carry and after what happened in the last year, he just couldn't fail again.