Hope everyone is still enjoying. Thank you so much for all the reviews. You guys are wonderful. Guest! I love your reviews and hope my muse and I can continue to live up to such nice comments. Sorry for not responding to reviews this time, FF is being finicky and won't load right and won't send. I'm lucky I got this chapter up... Hope you all understand.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Elizabeth woke slowly, a feeling of complete contentment settling on her the more awake she became. She'd fallen asleep next to Jason once before but if this was how her sleeping was going to be affected, in the most wonderful way, then she'd stalk his ass.

"You going to square root everything to death or are you just going to enjoy waking up so refreshed?" Jason asked, his mouth turning up in to a smile.

"What makes you think I am refreshed? I've barely been awake two minutes; I think quantifying something like that takes at least five, maybe even ten minutes." Elizabeth said offhandedly. Of course, what she thought was, 'damn know-it-all man' but she couldn't really disagree with what he said. Not used to being challenged, Elizabeth didn't really know how to deal with this man. Well, any many really, but she was used to fear, abject terror, warm and cuddly feelings had never happened to her until she came to this town, how was one supposed to change how they viewed the world when everything seemed to be tilting on its axis. Parents who weren't her parents, men who didn't send her screaming for the hills, people who were genuine for the sake of being genuine….

"Quantify huh? Sorry but I need at least one cup of coffee before my higher functions kick in." Jason offered.

"You are an enforcer, you don't need shit."

"My, my, after such a good sleep and you act like this? If you aren't careful, I'll revoke your rights to be my bed buddy. And you'd be surprised. Normally when I sleep, I crash for a couple hours and am recharged, I sleep next to you and I feel like I've turned into sleeping beauty and been out for a hundred years. It is a strange feeling." Jason said before he could catch himself.

"Sleeping beauty? Are you waiting for your prince charming to come and kiss you awake?" Elizabeth asked with a laugh.

"Prince charming?" Jason asked affronted. Deciding to take his justice he began to tickle Elizabeth relentlessly, pausing only briefly before attacking again.

Elizabeth shook like she was in the middle of a convulsion, twitching and ticking this way and that. "Stop….please…I'm…going to…pee the…bed…" Elizabeth managed to pant out between her laughs.

Jason had no sooner stopped his tickle attack than Elizabeth dashed off the bed, slamming the bathroom door.

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"Mr. Scorpio, this is a surprise." Lily said as she welcomed the man in to her home.

"I apologize for the earliness of my visit but your man down stairs said that it would be alright if I came up?" Mac said more as a question than anything.

"No, it's fine. I've been up for a while now…Sonny's just in the shower, I had to promise to remain on the couch till he came back, so…let's keep my little adventure to the door on the down low." Lily said sweetly.

"Marco mentioned that you have been having troubles with morning sickness. I'll not tell Sonny, but perhaps you should retake your seat so your husband doesn't accuse me of something untoward." Mac offered.

"He wouldn't. My husband knows how obstinate I am, I think his latest slur is 'as a horses ass…' I love the man and understand that he is worried about our wellbeing but I've been a free thinker all my life so being told I can and or can't do something…I am sure there will be some epic fights in our near future."

Unsure how to comment on the situation but feeling wrong staying silent, Mac tried, "With your condition, don't you have to worry about dehydration, which could lead to fainting? Not to mention that if you can't keep much on your stomach, then that too could cause fainting? I can see where Mr. Corinthos is coming from; I'd not want the woman I love, taking risks when they aren't needed. It's one thing to be free spirited but stamping you with a fragile sign for nine months, will benefit you are your child…"

"Women have been birthing babies since the dawn of time. Women have suffered this condition and many others without being stamped fragile. You men are all cavemen when it comes to a pregnant woman but at least cavemen let the little woman hunt…" Lily said in a snit.

"Thank you for trying Mr. Scorpio but sadly me and my guards are all having troubles getting Lily to listen to common sense. My last ditch effort is going to her parents, if she thinks I hover and request such barbaric requests, she hasn't seen anything yet." Sonny said as he stepped into the living room. He watched his wife's mouth fall open in shock but refused to take back his threat.

"Well, if that threat doesn't have the desired effect, you could always ask how she would handle her pregnant daughter's condition and if she would be expect herculean efforts in obeying what her husband and doctor said…" Mac said, an honest smile being directed at Sonny.

"Mr. Scorpio, that is absolutely low!" Lily said with a huff.

"Not really, did I not have to phone your parents before you mothered the poor girl to death, all because you didn't think she was taken good enough care of? Were you not trying to convince me to adopt the girl so you could shower her in a mothers love?" Sonny asked, his dimples shining through.

"You and your dimples…I'm tired, will you take me upstairs." Lily said through gritted teeth. She understood what was being said but it didn't mean she had to like it. Besides, as the one who was pregnant, her decisions were up to her.

"Yes dear. Tell your mother I miss her cooking." Sonny said laughing, before disappearing up the stairs.

Mac just shook his head. Who knew that a big bad mob boss would have woman woes like the rest of the world. Honestly, in Mac's opinion, it was nice to see the Cuban more human.

"Sorry about that. She's not a morning person to begin with and with the morning sickness being an any time of day sickness, her once cheery mood hasn't seemed to recover. Let's step into my office. I know I can trust Lily with the nitty gritty details but her soft heart just can't handle everything." Sonny said, extending his arm in the direction of his office.

"Nothing to be sorry about. Georgie…she wanted to be a vet when she was younger, so we allowed her to volunteer at a local SPCA…it was the worst. She bonded with every animal that came through the place. This old cat, Binx, he came in for one reason or another, I don't rightly remember but she fell in love with his big brown eyes and sweet personality. She was busy cleaning his cage one day when she came to his and saw the poor thing gasping, dying…haunts her to this day and cured her of ever wanting to be a vet. She could kinda sorta deal with the sick animals being put to sleep but what she thought was a healthy animal just suddenly dying or over population causing animals to be euthanized, didn't work so well. She tried to convince me to take all the animals scheduled to be terminated and then wouldn't speak to me for a month when I couldn't take in 30+ animals."

"Poor soft hearted Georgie. I can just imagine how horrible that time would be for her. She has a nice word or smile for everyone, even those who aren't nice to her. You are raising a wonderful young woman." Sonny offered kindly.

"She is pretty amazing. But that isn't why I am here, I need to know all the details if I am going to be able to keep Elizabeth safe." Mac said with confidence he didn't really feel.

"You? Are you planning on removing her from my protection?" Sonny asked with leeriness.

"No…sorry. I know I am going to screw this up ten ways to Sunday but I want to help you. I know I am not a match for a lot of people in your world but I can't just sit back and watch another man protect what is mine. Gah…I am not trying to show possession or anything like that but after missing out on so much, I want to be a part of everything. And really, what could another pair of hands, ears and eyes hurt the cause." Mac said ineloquently.

"That depends…" Sonny hesitated. There were a lot of things Sonny could do, since he skirted or blatantly ignored the law, would his hands be tied by accepting Mac's help, and thus endanger Elizabeth and possibly his men?

"I know what you are thinking. If it will help ease your mind, I dropped my resignation off, someone, possibly more than one someone is after my daughter or could be…the whole situation is rather confusing. Being a cop at the moment wouldn't really help me, but my connections might. Anything and I do mean anything goes when it comes to protecting my daughter."

"Anything just might be on the table. I can tell you what happened to her, through doctor's visits and ER visits but I don't know the why's, how's, who's…I have people digging into the back story but it seems everything besides hospital visits is very lacking. The Webber's were not kind to her, I don't know and neither does Ms. Johnson, if sexual abuse is even a part of the abuse she suffered. The Webber's were in some far and away African jungle supposedly when Mrs. Webber gave birth. All we know is that DNA tests prove that isn't true but we can't track where Elizabeth was born or much else. When the Webber's left the jungle, they had Elizabeth in tow; my man believes she was dropped there with specific instructions but…other than that, that is all we have been able to unearth. The few men I trust with this delicate information have not given up; in fact they are going deeper, trying to find the truth." Sonny said.

"She's my daughter, so besides me thinking that is why she is so special, there has to be a backstory. Honestly, what can a newborn have to do with anything, besides revenge? In that vein, would it not logically come back on me or her mother? Dominique had her fair share of trouble, she came into my life because of trouble and I tried to protect her. Then, the elephant in the room, my past. No matter what everyone likes to say, my past is littered with bad choices and doing the wrong thing for the possible right reasons…This, my daughter being…it could all be because of me." Mac said, the weight of his words like a bullet to his heart.

"Now hold it! Let's not go getting ahead of ourselves. Yes, this very well could be about you and your past, or even your ex-wife's but until we know for certain, placing blame, won't get us anywhere. If you want to punish yourself at a later time, if this does turn out to be 'your fault' then so be it. I won't tell a man how to deal with his grief or blame but until the situation is handled, there is no reason to take it on now." Sonny said with finality.

Mac watched the Cuban, trying to suss out the deeper meaning behind his words. Perhaps Sonny knew something about blame and grief…"You are right, now isn't the time. Until Elizabeth is safe, nothing is more important. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me."

"Not a problem. Now, if you want to go speak with Elizabeth, I am sure she is up and about. Ms. Johnson, Epiphany, makes a wonderful spread, almost as good as mine, and as soon as the smell of cooking food hits your daughter's nose, she's up." Sonny said.

Recognizing the dismissal, however polite, Mac knew the man wanted to be left alone. "Sounds good. Thank you again and I'll see you for brunch."

Demons…yes, Sonny knew all about them, he had more than his fair share. When his high school sweetheart was murdered by a rival gang, he lost not only his first love, but his unborn son as well. Even though he wasn't in the business at that point, both sides had been trying to recruit him, and his refusal ended with two dead.

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