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Chapter 2

The opportunity to speak with the petite brunette came sooner than Jason expected. Two days later he was walking through the park and spotted the mother and son. He wanted to talk to her. Emily said that Elizabeth had been distant at work. Not unfriendly just that they would talk for a bit and then the nurse would suddenly find something she needed to do.

From his vantage point he watched them walk out of the park and Jason followed. They ended up at Kelly's sitting at an outside table but they didn't order anything. It was a good chance to stop and say hello, but he wouldn't get too close unless the little boy allowed it. "Hi." Jason stood well back from the two of them. It was a weekday and the slow time between breakfast and lunch. He was guessing none of the staff had noticed them yet.

"Hi." Elizabeth gave him a small smile. She wasn't sure what she should say to someone she'd only met once when her little guy was in full meltdown mode.

"Jason." He provided not moving. He was watching them closely. She didn't seem to be at all wary, but Cameron was already alert.

"Elizabeth, and this is Cameron. Emily probably already told you." But she appreciated him being cautious. "If you move slowly you may be able to come closer."

"Tell me if I need to stop." Jason said giving her control of the situation. The table was less than ten feet away, but it took him almost twenty minutes to reach the chair. Still watching them both he slowly sat down.

Elizabeth could feel Cameron's fingers digging into her arm, but so far he hadn't attempted to run. That was huge. He ran from most men on sight. Looking at her little guy she noticed he was watching Jason but his breathing wasn't coming faster. He was scared, but not terrified.

"I'd like to talk with you." Jason wasn't sure where to start. It was an odd conversation to have with a stranger. "Actually that's not really true. I'd like to take you out to dinner. I knew you were over Em and Johnny's place, that's why we showed up early. I was trying to wrangle an introduction."

"I don't date." She hadn't in years.

"You don't or you can't?" Jason wanted to be clear on the situation. "As in I don't go on dates because my son doesn't handle having me away well. Or I can't because I'm still married, but separated, and if I go out it could affect my upcoming custody hearing?"

Elizabeth laughed, she couldn't help it. The sound seemed to relax Cameron some and he loosened his grip on her arm. "That was impressive. It may have been the most polite way I've ever had someone attempt to find out what the heck is wrong with me and my son."

"Sometimes it's easier to tell a stranger than a friend." Jason tried.

"I don't have a baby sitter. It's not really a luxury I can afford." She needed every bit of extra money in case they had to run again.

Jason leaned back in his chair. "Okay I can work with that. When is the next time you'll be in the park?"

"Why?" Elizabeth didn't trust easily either.

"I think you're in trouble and I'd like to help you." Jason was going for honesty. "I need to know what's wrong and I'm guessing you can't talk about it with Cameron around. So if we are in the park and he's on the swings he can see you and we can talk."

"This is the last thing I was expecting." Elizabeth wasn't sure what to do. She could use help, they were all alone. If something happened to her then Cameron wouldn't have anyone. A support system was needed, but what if Jason wasn't what he seemed. What if he was connected to Cameron's father in some way? The situation they found themselves in was making her paranoid. But after what happened three months ago could she afford to not be?

"Would you like some time to think about it?" Jason offered.

"I think that would be for the best." Elizabeth said nodding her head. She had to put Cameron's well being first.

"Fair enough." Jason stood slowly and watched as the little boy's eyes widened some. "Here's my business card." He removed the small rectangle from his wallet. "You can call me when you make a decision."

"Okay, thank you." Elizabeth reached over and picked the black card up. She would hold onto it and think about his offer.

After a morning and early afternoon spent at the park Elizabeth headed to work. She took Cameron to daycare and sat with him for half an hour before heading to the locker room. She was on the three to midnight shift. Her least favorite. Epiphany was fair with the rotation. Everyone worked nights, weekends and holidays. No one complained about it. Seniority only showed in your pay check.

On the floor Elizabeth reviewed her assignments. The ER, again. Not surprising as a nurse who could examine patients and write prescriptions it was the most practical place to put her. "Hi." Elizabeth greeted her partner for the rest of the shift.

"Hey." Nadine liked working with Liz. The other woman was quiet but still friendly. Liz didn't have a lot of friends at the hospital. Leyla Mir, the other nurse practitioner, hadn't liked it when the petite brunette came on board. It took away her specialness. So Leyla had pretty much told the other nurses they could be her friend or Liz's. Since Leyla had seniority and was seen as Epiphany's right hand most of the nurses chose her. As far as Nadine was concerned Leyla was an insecure bitch who acted like this was still high school. "Right now it's slow."

"Let's hope it stays that way." Elizabeth knew that the ER was unpredictable. "It's the middle of the week so we might get a break. Who is our doctor?"

"Drake." Nadine said and watched Liz roll her eyes.

"Great, god's gift to women. The man is a walking sexual harassment suit." Elizabeth muttered. She suspected he was also the reason Leyla didn't like her. Elizabeth hadn't even wanted Patrick to ask her out.

"The only person he doesn't hit on is Emily." Nadine said agreeing with her fellow nurse.

"Because her husband would hurt him." Elizabeth said laughing. Johnny's reputation was on par with Jason's. "If the large man Emily has following her didn't do it first."

"Max." Nadine offered. She thought Emily's guard was cute.

Elizabeth smiled at her co-worker. "She'll introduce you." That Elizabeth was certain of.

"He's working when he's here, I don't want to be a distraction." The nurse didn't want Emily or her son hurt because Max was looking at her.

"He can't work all the time." Elizabeth pointed out watching as another nurse triaged a patient before showing him to a room. When the nurse came out she nodded at Elizabeth. If it was something she couldn't handle then she'd page Patrick, otherwise she was on her own.

"First one of the night." Nadine said walking down the hall to their patient.

"Yup. Hopefully he's sober." Elizabeth said before knocking on the door and getting to work.

At one a.m. she walked out with a sleeping Cameron in her arms. The taxi she ordered wasn't here yet. A car would be nice but it wasn't a luxury she could afford right now. Yes it offered ease of escape that was an argument for getting one, but it also sucked up money. Or at least the type of car she could afford would.

Most of her money was used up fleeing from Portland. They had to stay in a string of rundown motels and they had to keep moving. Port Charles offered a haven for them. A small town not well known. Elizabeth used her new identification and got a job that paid enough that they could get a decent place to live and she could still put money away. Not in the bank, but stuffed inside the cushion of her couch. If they needed to move quickly then they needed cash.

Elizabeth was tired and scared. She hadn't slept well in months. Not since Lucky had tracked them down and kicked the door in at the place they were staying. It had been terrifying and if she didn't have that knife under the mattress he might have succeeded in taking Cameron. So from that point on she slept lighter. If she was stronger she might have killed Lucky that night, but once he was down she had grabbed Cameron and ran.

Lesson learned, they had stayed there too long. However constantly moving wasn't good for them. Cameron needed to start school eventually, what would she do then? He needed stability to start getting better. As his mother she needed to see that he got it.

Jason's business card was burning a hole in her pocket. He could probably help them. If nothing else he could probably get them out of the country undetected if it became necessary. Cameron hadn't freaked out at the sight of him earlier today. Maybe that a was sign that Elizabeth could trust Jason.

The cab pulled up and she gently climbed in the back. She gave the driver her address and settled into the seat. Choices needed to be made and if she chose incorrectly Cameron would be the one to pay.

"We could run her." Johnny said to his partner. They were watching the end of a soccer match. Earlier in the evening they had gone over the books. Neither one was sleepy so they were hanging out in Jason's penthouse so they didn't disturb Emily and Ben.

"If someone is looking that could lead them right to her and her son." Jason said as he shook his head no.

"Spinelli won't get caught." Johnny knew that for a fact.

"I won't risk it." Jason told his partner. "We need to give her some time." He suspected that Elizabeth was going to come to him, it would just take time. Something he hoped that she had. Jason could be a predator when necessary, you didn't survive long in their world without being at the top of the food chain. When you were at the pinnacle of anything, competitors wanted to take you down. He could smell weakness on others, Elizabeth wasn't weak. She would have broken already if she was.

He respected that so he would wait. It would kill him to do so but he would wait for her to decide that he could be trusted. After that the real battle would begin, he would need to get Cameron to trust him. All he needed was for her to give him a name. Once she did the fucker who hurt them would pay. Jason had international resources and that animal wouldn't be able to hide forever.

Cameron was sleeping peacefully cuddled up with his stuffed dog. Elizabeth checked the windows and the door again before stretching out on the sofa. She had traded space for safety so they only had the one bedroom. The neighborhood had a good safety rating. The windows had bars to keep intruders out and she liked that. They were on the ground floor so if they had to they could escape through the small bathroom window. They both fit she knew because she tested it. A full size man would get stuck. Under the cushion was the same type of knife that had saved them before. Hopefully she wouldn't need it. Closing her eyes she tried to relax enough to sleep. She needed rest to stay sharp.

Jason couldn't sleep either. He was worried about Elizabeth and Cameron. That would make some of his associates laugh. His nickname was Stone Cold. Jason was known for not showing emotion and here he was not sleeping because of a woman he talked to once and a little boy who was terrified of him.

On more than one occasion he had wished for a family of his own. He'd married twice before and neither time stuck. If he had been honest with himself he never would have let either of those relationships get that far. Neither woman was family material but he had convinced himself that they were the only type of woman who fit into his life. The evidence he was lying was staring him in the face. Every time he went next door he saw that could have a life with a woman who wasn't made up of plastic parts.

It was heartless to say it, but that car bomb that killed Sonny was the best thing that ever happened to Jason. In a real way it set him free. His former partner had been a user and manipulator. One of Jason's horrible marriages could be laid directly at Sonny's feet. Courtney had been a mistake that Sonny encouraged. It was just another way to keep Jason in line. A woman like Elizabeth would have upset Sonny. She would have given the enforcer he had been something else to do besides work and that couldn't happen.

From a distance Jason had thought Elizabeth was beautiful. Up close she left him fumbling for words. Not only was he attracted to her, but he respected her as well. A new combination for him. No matter what she was going to protect her son and if she let him he would as well.

Before Johnny left Jason had admitted that the feelings he was having baffled him. It was not something he would tell just anyone. He looked his partner, and best friend, in the eye and said that a woman and child he didn't even know felt like they belonged to him.

Johnny hadn't laughed. Instead he shared with Jason a long held belief. That some things were just fated. Johnny knew he was put on this earth for Emily. That was why he didn't fight it. For them it had been easy. For Jason it might be harder, but if everything inside him was saying that Elizabeth and Cameron belonged with him, then Jason shouldn't fight it. And Jason shouldn't let them walk away. He needed to do what was necessary to claim his family.

Elizabeth needed to make the first step that much was clear. After that they could take the next step together.

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