A/N – Here's another chapter for today!

Chapter 9 - Closer

Elizabeth studied her for a few seconds. "Hi, I'm Liz."

"Maya," the other woman said before concentrating on fixing her hair.

"I was wondering, did you happen to notice the guy that I'm sitting with?"

Maya smiled. "Yeah, how long have you been married?"

Liz chuckled. "He's just a friend, not my husband."

"Really?"

"Really. He's a very nice guy too and cute. You should stop by the table," Liz suggested.

"I might just do that."

Liz left the restroom and returned to the table and about five minutes later, Maya approached them.

"Hi, Liz."

"Hey, Maya. Why don't you have a seat? This is Dante."

Dante stood and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you." He is stunned that Liz knows her.

"Likewise," Maya said smiling. She thinks Dante is very cute.

Liz suddenly stood. "I'm going to go get a shot. You want anything?" she asked looking between them.

"No, I'm fine," Maya said.

"I'm good," Dante added.

She got up and walked over to Coleman. "That my friend is how you do it."

He chuckled. "They do look good together."

Liz watched them dance. "My job here is done," she said downing one more shot. Coleman gave her a high five and she motioned to Johnny that it was time to go. She is buzzed, Dante looks happy, and she is feeling very proud of herself.

Johnny walked her to the car and Elizabeth fell asleep on the way home. He parked and went inside the house and luckily, Jason was walking up the stairs. "Where's Liz?"

"In the car, she's passed out," Johnny said.

Jason shook his head. "I'll get her."

He went outside and soon came back with her in his arms.

"Later," Johnny said ducking out the door.

She stirred on the way up the stairs. "Another round Coleman," she mumbled to Jason's amusement.

He laid her on the bed and then removed her shoes. When he tried to move her a little, she pulled him on top of her and he did his best not to crush her and rolled onto his back. She sighed and snuggled against him. Jason didn't move. "Fuck," he said under his breath.

She put her hand under his shirt and Jason held his breath until she stopped moving. He realized she had tangled their legs together and that he wasn't going anywhere, so he closed his eyes and did his best to fall asleep.

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Liz woke up first. She heard his heartbeat and her eyes snapped open and then she shut them and opened them again and realized she had slept in Jason's arms. Her hand is under his shirt but somehow her bracelet was caught, and she couldn't get loose. Liz sat up slowly and then tried to free her bracelet when Jason suddenly grabbed her wrist. He opened his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm stuck."

Jason looked down and then back up at her. "Well if you learned to keep your hands to yourself."

"Ha, ha, very funny," she said rolling her eyes.

He smiled and sat up. "Slide off the bed and I'll follow you. There are scissors in the bathroom."

They stood and made their way into the bathroom and then Jason cut the strings and Liz was free. "Thank you."

"No problem," he said before walking out.

Liz watched him go and then shut the door behind him. Closing her eyes for a second, she took a deep breath and then looked in the mirror and said, "You've got it bad." She showered and changed and went downstairs to make breakfast. Checking her phone really quick, she noticed that Dante had texted her.

"Thank you, matchmaker," he said.

Liz giggled and typed. "You're welcome, grasshopper."

Jason walked into the room. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I set Dante up with someone."

"So you were with Dante last night?"

"Yes, is that a problem?" Liz asked.

Jason didn't say anything. He isn't about to tell her who she can be friends with. As long as Dante doesn't cross the line, he will deal, although he still isn't the biggest fan.

"Who did you set him up with?" he asked curiously.

"A girl named Maya?"

"About 5'7 with dark curly hair?"

"Yep. They looked cute together."

"She's nice. She's actually Edward's great-granddaughter."

"Really?"

She knew he wouldn't eat, so she sat some juice down in front of him.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"For what?"

"Everything you do around here."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Thank for you the art supplies. That was very thoughtful."

"You're welcome. I wasn't sure which ones to get."

"Well, you did just fine. Are you going to be late tonight?"

"I don't think so," he said standing up. "If I am, I'll make sure that I call."

"Okay," she said softly. She watched him leave and finished eating and then grabbed her sketchbook and went into the garden.

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Jason came home a little earlier than normal and found her dancing in the kitchen. Standing back so he could watch her, she sang and moved her hips to the music without a care in the world. He had to suppress a laugh when she made these crazy little faces. At that moment, he realized that he could watch her like this all day.

He stepped back for a minute and then cleared his throat and called her name.

"I'm in the kitchen," she yelled.

He moved inside and then handed her the flowers he had in his hand.

"Jason, they are beautiful," she said before smelling them. "Can you put them in a vase for me? There is one in the cabinet over there."

He retrieved it and then added the water and flowers.

"Are you hungry?"

"I can eat," he said wondering what she was making tonight.

"Good. You can put the flowers on the dining room table," she said before continuing to cook, but then stopped again when she saw he hadn't moved. "What's wrong?"

He smiled and walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead. "You look very cute."

She blushed. "Why, thank you." She started singing again as he walked out the door. No one could have wiped the smile off her face that she was sporting.

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They ate and Jason helped her clean up.

"You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do. Why don't you sit down over there and have a glass of wine," he suggested.

Liz smiled. "Okay."

She grabbed her glass and sat down at a small table and watched him.

"I'm sure I'm not as entertaining as you are when you're in the kitchen," Jason said.

Liz blushed. "You saw me?"

He nodded. "Don't be embarrassed. It made my day."

She slightly smiled. His niceness is overwhelming but in a good way.

"I have something else for you."

"What's that?"

"Go look in my suit jacket."

She got up and hurried into the living room and brought back a little box. "Can I open it?"

Jason nodded. "I wanted to give you something special to show you that I was trying.

Liz opened the box to find a beautiful heart-shaped piece of red glass that dangled from a gold chain.

"There's a place in Italy where they make this special glass. It reminded me of you when I saw it." He had gone to several different stores and when he saw the red glass, he knew it was made for her. "You have such a big heart and while you can be fragile, you always surprise me with your strength. I hope you like it," he said softly.

Liz was almost at a loss for words. She couldn't believe that he had put so much thought into it. "Jason, it's beautiful. Will you put it on me?"

He took it from her hands and she turned and held up her hair. She touched it and turned back towards him and then kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

They sat down to eat and were having dessert when Jason heard a knock on the front door and went to open it.

"Everything okay?" Johnny asked.

"Yup."

"You're home early today," he said with a disgusted look on his face.

Jason smirked. "You jealous O'Brien?"

"All day I've been dreaming of ravioli. They've been haunting me and you show up and ruin my action."

Jason chuckled. "She left a plate in the oven for you—big baby."

Johnny's eyes lit up. "Now that's what I'm talking about. Step aside loser."

Jason let him by and shut the door.