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Chapter 31

"Thanks for coming over." Nadine smiled at her two friends as she let them into the house. They of course had their guards with them. Since Liz was over that would have normally meant Cody, but right after the New Year he was reassigned when Jason had Renaldo return from Malta, and Adam sent over. It wasn't for almost another month that Nadine learned her guy had been promoted. She wanted to strangle him when he just smiled at her and said it wasn't that big of a deal.

"I'm really looking forward to this." Georgie had a big smile on her face. "I love painting. This is the only kind I can do well."

"You should come over to my studio." Liz told her friend.

"Let me repeat the part where I said this is the only kind I do well." Georgie said laughing at herself. No doubt Liz would gush over the splotches she produced, because Liz was a good friend. "So a house?"

"That is a very nice Valentine's Day gift." Liz had happily accepted the invitation to come over and help Nadine with some decorating.

"I was floored." Nadine said leading them deeper into the house. "This isn't exactly what I was expecting. I was hoping for some high end chocolates." She was pretty low maintenance. "I did get them, and this too."

"As a way of saying I'd like to move in together, this certainly leaves no room for a misunderstanding." Liz said looking around the bright and airy kitchen. The mob guys knew how to make a statement. "What exactly did you need us for since the walls are already painted?"

Like the Morgan homestead, which is what Johnny had taken to calling it, Nadine and Cody's place was a farm house structure. However it was more Midwestern in style. Like his boss Cody had picked a home that was all about the lady in his life. When the realtor showed it to him, he know the long front porch alone would have his girl sighing in pleasure.

"I want to do some stenciling in here and in some of the bedrooms. I know the crew can do it, but I want to." Nadine tried explaining.

"You want your handiwork in your home." Liz nodded getting it. She had been doing the same thing since they moved in. Both Cameron and Jake had murals on their walls now. It required moving the boys out of their rooms for a few nights, but a tent in the living room made that fun. She had also done some stenciling as well as placing borders in other rooms of the house. It was the small touches that would make this into a home.

"Exactly, only I have no clue what to do. Luckily I have you to guide me." Nadine said grinning. "Georgie and I can sit back and gush over how brilliant you are."

"I'm good at that too." Georgie nodded. "Liz helped me with the colors for the penthouse and the place looks amazing. And by helped I mean she basically picked them out after my panicked phone call."

"It wasn't that bad." Liz countered. "I was able to help because I spent time there when it was Jason's place." And she had mentally decorated on more than one occasion. "How many bedrooms?"

"There are four all together. I definitely want to do something in the master, and maybe a few accents in the guest suites." Nadine told her friends. "Cody doesn't really care what I do. He did ask for not too many bright or loud colors."

"Johnny was the same way." Georgie commented. "I told him I was putting orange on the walls and he got very quiet." Her guy had looked at her like she had four heads, before carefully choosing his words. More than anything he wanted her happy, but at the same time he wanted to be comfortable at home.

"You do have orange on the one wall in the living room." Liz pointed out. "The accent wall with the fireplace is amber."

"That color is dark enough that he thinks it's brown. I have wondered on more than one occasion if Johnny is colorblind." Georgie poked fun at her husband. "Diane talked about it for like an hour the first time she came over after the remodel. That was how I knew I was right to call for help."

"It's a great focal point. Maybe I should do an accent wall?" Nadine looked over at Liz.

"I'm free all day." She figured they would be heading over to the design store shortly. "We can go to the paint or wallpaper section and have a blast."

"Where are the boys?" Georgie wanted to know as Liz started snapping pictures of the kitchen. Probably so she could get a feel for the light.

"Jason has the day off. The three of them are going to destroy the house." Liz said laughing. "I need to take some pics in the other rooms we are working in."

"When are you guys moving in?" Georgie asked Nadine as she followed them into the master suite. "Wow, look at that view. In the spring there will be green as far as you can see." The large picture window showed a massive backyard.

"I'm already looking at outdoor furniture even though we don't need it yet." Nadine had sat on the window seat this morning while waiting for her friends to arrive. She had a feeling that she was going to spend a good amount of time in that spot.

"You should put some padding on the window seat and some big soft pillows to lean against. That is great place to sit and read after a long shift." Elizabeth could easily see it.

"That right there is why I invited you over." Nadine said nodding. "I would be too nervous to buy anything. We are moving in next week." She said answering Georgie's question. "Hopefully we are done with snow." There was six inches currently on the ground.

"Well you don't have to worry about getting charged for another month's rent if the weather stops you." Liz commented peeking into the bathroom. "You can just move into Cody's place and then come here."

"I'm actually moving into his place tomorrow." Nadine confessed. "That way a crew can go into my apartment and do some sprucing up. I'm hoping to get most of my security deposit back."

Both Liz and Georgie laughed out loud. "I don't think that will be an issue." The doctor finally said. Once Jason's crew showed up the landlord would be an idiot to try to cheat Nadine. "Show us the rest."

"Then we can go shopping." Liz said following her friends from the room.

"Cameron it's time to get started!" Jason called up the stairs.

"Okay daddy." The little boy put his toys in the bin and ran to the top of the steps. The top gate was open since Jake was downstairs, and his dad had the bottom gate open as well. "Is Jake going to help too?"

"He's too little. In a couple of years he'll be able to help. Tonight it's just going to be you and me cooking." Jason answered closing the gate. He was excited to share this with Cameron.

They had a fun day of just hanging out. The morning was spent in the Children's Museum where Cameron ran around with other kids his age. They left after a couple of hours to go hear story time at the library. This was a regular weekend activity but today they did something special. Today before leaving Cameron got his very own library card. Jason made sure to record it for Elizabeth, but this was something she felt he should do with their son.

Lunch was at Kelly's. The diner wasn't very busy because of the snow on the ground. But the guys all had a good time. Cameron kept up a steady stream of conversation talking to his dad, and waving at some people they knew. Monica joined them halfway through the meal, she was working today and was happy to take a break to kiss on her grandsons.

After the midday meal they went home so the boys could have naps. While they rested Jason started putting together a plan for dinner. Elizabeth said she would stop by the supermarket on the way home, but he told her not to worry about it. He would take care of it. After his list was made he called a runner and waited for his ingredients to arrive.

The afternoon was spent outside playing in the snow. They built a snowman and Jason watched as Cameron taught Jake how to make snow angels. The joy Jason had felt watching his boys grow up the past few months couldn't even be put into words. He was looking forward to many more days like this one.

"What are we making?" Cameron didn't really care he was just excited to be cooking with his dad.

"Manicotti." Jason explained as he put Jake in his booster seat and put down some art supplies. His next stop was the basement where he got the stepstool that Cameron used when they were downstairs in the workshop. Jason's skill with car engines translated to being handy around the house, so far there hadn't been any repairs he couldn't handle. With that set up he went to the pantry to get a surprise for his son. "Look what I have for you."

"It says Cam!" The little boy pointed to the dark blue apron his dad was holding. "Is that for me?"

"It is. You can't cook without an apron." Jason said tying the long strings. "Now we match." He was also wearing a dark blue apron, only his said Dad.

"Will Jake get a green one like Mommy's when he can start helping?" Cameron asked as they washed their hands at the sink.

"I think that's a great idea." Jason would be sure to remember it.

"What's Cotti?" Cameron wanted to know.

"Manicotti." Jason corrected his son while smiling. "It's the big tubes with cheese."

"I like those!" Cameron said looking at the pasta in his dad's hand. "How come they are soft? The spaghetti in the box is hard."

"These are fresh tubes." Jason had asked the chef at Polluzo's to send them over. "We are going to make the cheese filling and then stuff them before adding the tomato sauce." He looked at the clock, by the time they were done Elizabeth should be home. "Ready?"

"Uh huh." Cameron nodded his head.

"First we have to drain the spinach." Jason opened the container the now defrosted vegetable was in and turned it over in the cloth. Then he went to the sink and squeezed until almost all of the liquid was gone. "I'm going to let it sit in the colander until we are ready."

"Okay, you're strong daddy." Cameron had been impressed.

"Thanks buddy. Get the ricotta." Jason pointed to the container. "Now the bowl." Cameron reached over for that too. "Here's a small measuring cup, now put the cheese in the bowl. While you do that I'm going to measure out the spices, and chop the parsley." He would also start the sauce simmering.

Cameron concentrated really hard as he scooped the thick cheese into the bowl. He wanted his dad to be proud of him. "There is a little bit left in the bottom. I can't get it with my scoop."

"I'll use a spoon from the drawer." Jason figured the measuring scoop would be easier for Cameron to control and less messy. "You did a good job."

Cameron just beamed with the praise. "Now what?"

"You okay Jake?" Jason asked checking on his youngest son.

"Daddy." Jake grinned before going back to his coloring.

"I think that's a yes." Jason laughed as Cameron nodded. "Now we add the egg and the spinach to the cheese, and stir. Get the small bowls with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder."

"What does garlic powder taste like?" Cameron wanted to know.

"Put some on your finger and taste it. Don't put ingredients in your mouth without asking first. Some things will make you sick." Jason told his son.

"Okay." Cameron took a little bit. "It's making my tongue tingle."

"It will be good in the manicotti. Pour everything in the bowl." Jason instructed as he added the parsley. "Good job. Now we have to put the cheese in the tubes."

"How?" Cameron wanted to know.

"With a piping bag." They had the disposable kind so he got one out for himself, as well as a zip lock bag to make a small piping bag for Cameron. "Watch me first." Jason filled three tubes. "Now you try."

Once again Cameron focused on the task at hand. It took him longer to fill his tube, and it wasn't as neat as daddy's but he got the job done. Finished he looked up at his father.

Jason was so proud he was about to burst. "Good job Cameron."

"It's lumpy." The little boy pointed out. The ones his dad did were round and smooth.

"With more practice you'll get better. In the meantime we just do this." Jason wet his hands so the pasta wouldn't stick and smoothed out the tube. The lumps were from uneven pressure while piping. Still for a first time Cameron had done outstanding. "Want to do another one?" They had a dozen tubes to fill.

"Yes please." Cameron was having fun. "Mommy will be happy we made dinner."

"She will." Jason said putting more cheese in Cameron's bag.

"How come you didn't go out for Valentine's Day?" He asked his dad. "Jeremy said his dad and mom got all dressed up to go out. My friend Mia said the same thing."

Jason wasn't really prepared for the question. Lying wasn't going to happen, but at the same time Cameron didn't need to know what happened to his mother. "Not everyone goes out on Valentine's Day. Your mom likes to stay home and celebrate. That way she can be with all of us and not just me."

"You got her some gifts, like Jeremy and Mia's dad. We got her gifts too." Cameron had picked out something from him and Jake, plus he made his mom a heart in art center. "I think she had fun."

"She did." Jason promised his son.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget. My other dad wasn't always nice to my mom." Cameron's voice got soft. "Even though he didn't live with us he would sometimes come over and yell at mommy. She always made him leave, but I think sometimes she was scared. I want her to be happy."

"Cameron." Jason waited until his son was looking at him. "I promise you that I'm going to make your mom happy. I'm going to take good care of her, you, and Jake. I'm going to make mistakes, but when I do I'll apologize. You guys will be safe with me." He was going to work hard to make sure he kept that promise. "Okay?"

"Okay." Cameron said feeling better. He believed what his dad was telling him.

Jason dropped a kiss on the top of his son's head. Cameron was such a good person. Elizabeth had done an amazing job with raising him, and Jason was proud he got to help with that from this point on. "Finish up your shells and we'll get dinner in the oven. Then we can make the chocolate pudding that is for dessert."

"Yum." Cameron turned back to putting the cheese in the tubes.

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