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Chapter 9

There was a knock on the door and when Jason yelled come in, Johnny walked inside. "You made good time, I wasn't expecting you for at least another hour." Jason told his partner. "And I keep telling you, you don't have to knock."

"There was no reason to hang around." Johnny flopped down in one of the chairs in front of Jason's desk. He always had to knock on Sonny's door. So did Jason. "I had to get away from Claudia. The woman doesn't understand no."

"Other than that things went well?" Jason said trying not to laugh. He knew that Johnny would never cheat on Emily.

"Yeah. Rudy says to tell you hello, so does John." Johnny had met with the Zacchara family, who had recently taken over the Miami territory. The two families had forged an alliance. One that Claudia hoped to cement with a marriage. "I told Rudy that you are not available."

"How did he take that?" Jason leaned back in his chair. As a single powerful mob boss offers of marriage to make alliances were not uncommon. Johnny got married to Em before they became partners so this was not something his friend had to deal with.

"He accepted it. Honestly I think he's afraid of what will happen if you marry Claudia." Johnny started laughing. "I think you'd kill her before the reception started." The Irishman calmed some. "Seriously you need to get married that will stop the offers, just make sure Emily likes her this time."

"I am considering it." Jason told his friend. It was nice to have a business partner he could talk to. Sonny had been all about himself.

"Did something happen?" Johnny would have expected a call if it did. He did not know Elizabeth, but Emily cared about her and so did Jason. They were family already.

"Francis said it would be a good idea." Jason repeated the lawyer's advice.

"He's right. Protects you both." Johnny said giving it some thought. "On a practical note it just makes it easier to protect them if you are all under the same roof. Have you talked about it with Elizabeth?" He knew the nurse had stayed with Jason last night. He talked to Em before going to sleep and again this morning before flying out.

"We spoke last night. She was exhausted and not in a position to make a decision." Jason wanted her to be clear on the choice she was making. "We are going to talk more today. They are staying over again."

"How come?" Johnny thought they were heading home.

"Her building is a mess." Jason ran a hand over his face. "Our guys checked the foundation and found cracks." Some of the changes Jason wanted included a wooden door with a steel core and panic room in the closet. They needed to know that the building could handle the construction, their discovery proved it could not.

"How bad?" Johnny asked stretching out his legs.

"Bed enough that they called a city inspector. Cody's dad is a master carpenter and general contractor. If he was worried I'm going to listen." Their enforcer knew his stuff when it came to renovations.

"Yeah." Johnny also respected Cody's opinion. "Have you told her yet?"

"No, I was going to roll it into our talk. If she says no I still want to move them into the Towers. Cody hinted that the cracks may cause the building to be condemned. He is with the inspector now." Jason didn't want Liz and Cameron to lose their home, but he would be lying if he said having them in the building, even if it wasn't in the penthouse, wouldn't be nice.

"At least she has a backup option." Johnny knew that would put her at ease. "How are things with the three of you?"

"According to Liz, good. She said Cameron feels safe at the penthouse because he went to sleep." Jason had to smile thinking of that. "This morning he came down while I was reading the paper and gave me a long look."

"Did he talk to you?" Johnny was grinning too. Jason had been reconnoitered.

"I kept my back to him. I didn't want to spook him while he was making up his mind. He still won't let me get too close, but there's hope. Diane has agreed to talk with us if Liz is comfortable with that." Jason further explained.

"Do you know what happened to Cameron?" Johnny asked his friend.

"Liz told me." That was as far as Jason would go unless he absolutely had to say more.

"Good enough." Johnny respected the boundaries. "I'm going to head over. The ladies were still at the park when I called from the airport."

"If you wait another twenty minutes you can help me take the pizzas to the house." Jason knew his order would be ready at the time he requested it for.

"Sausage?" Johnny was just checking.

"With red peppers on your half." Jason knew everyone's preferences. "I got two loaded ones for the guys."

"Okay. You can tell me what happened here while we wait." Johnny already knew the report would be short. Jason would have contacted him if anything major had gone down.

"That was fun." Emily leaned against the back wall and grinned. The boys had spent three hours running around the playground area. Ben was going to fall asleep during lunch and that meant she and Johnny could have some uninterrupted time to celebrate his home coming.

"It was." Elizabeth was holding Cameron's hand. He was partially behind her legs. Max and Milo were in the elevator with them. Both men scared Cameron.

"You guys want to see the pool, before we go up?" Emily was following Elizabeth's lead of giving Cameron space. What she really wanted to do was hug the little boy tight.

"How about later. It's best if we go right up." Elizabeth wondered how bad things might get once they reached the penthouse level. The plan was to have lunch at Emily's house, to start getting Cameron comfortable being there.

"No rush." Emily said as the doors opened. She grinned wide. "Look Ben."

"Daddy!" Ben rushed out and right into his dad's arms. "I missed you."

"I missed you too Champ." Johnny didn't go out of town much anymore. Usually Jason went. Claudia had kept the blonde in New York. "Were you good for momma? Hey baby." He said leaning forward and kissing his wife.

"I was. Cameron stayed at Uncle Jason's." The little boy announced.

"I know." Johnny said taking him inside. Max and Milo were standing at the far end of the hall with Jason. They were each holding a pizza box.

With the O'Briens inside Jason walked over to the open elevator doors to see why Liz and Cameron were still inside. She was kneeling in front of Cameron and the little boy was clutching her tight. Looking up she gave him a small smile. Jason squatted down with his back touching the wall to give them room. "Cameron." He said softly.

The little boy looked up but didn't let go of his mother.

"Would you like some pizza?" Jason offered. "I got cheese, like your mom told me too."

Cameron gave it some thought and turned his head back to his mother. "Is Jason going to come too?" He whispered.

"Are you eating with us?" Elizabeth asked Jason.

"I am." Jason told them both.

"Would you like that?" Elizabeth asked Cameron. "For Jason to eat with all of us?"

Slowly Cameron nodded.

She smiled and she could see Jason smiling too. "I would like that as well. Come on. I'm hungry." Cameron let go and Elizabeth stood and took his hand. "We are eating at Ben's house, okay?"

Like his mom Cameron bit his lower lip when unsure. He was chewing away as he gave it some thought. The other guy was in there. Ben's dad. He was big and had dark hair like his mean dad. But Ben loved his dad and mommy wasn't sad after talking to him. So maybe it was okay to go in. He looked up at Jason and pointed.

"I'm going in too." Jason said softly. Cameron wasn't talking to him yet, but he was communicating. If he had to guess at the root of the silence he would say that Spencer spent a lot of time telling Cameron to shut up. Now the boy only talked to his mom and probably Ben and Diane.

The two adults waited for Cameron to take the first step and then they followed. Cameron sat next to Ben, but he kept his eyes on Johnny. He would watch him closely while they were here. Dr. Diane said not all men were mean. Ben's dad smiled and laughed a lot and he had nice eyes too. Jason like him. Maybe they could be friends too. But not first friends. Jason was going to Cameron's first friend.

Lunch went smoothly and after Elizabeth took Cameron back to Jason's. "I have never been so nervous in my life." Johnny admitted when Emily took Ben upstairs. "He watched me during the entire meal."

"He's making up his mind." Jason told his friend. "Spencer is big with dark hair." Jason got the photos this morning. "He has dark eyes. I noticed Cameron looking at your eyes. He is picking up the differences. I think Ben is going to be why Cameron eventually trusts you."

"I'm really glad I'm a good dad." Johnny didn't like having Cameron afraid of him. "Was that Cody?" Jason had taken a call during lunch. Normally he went into the kitchen, today he had gone to the other side of the room so that Cameron could still see him.

"Yeah. The building isn't being condemned but no one can live there while the repairs are being made." Jason needed to talk to Liz. "I'll let you know what she decides."

"Okay. Call after Cameron wakes up." Johnny said walking him to the door.

"Yup." Jason didn't want to think about what Johnny and Emily would be doing in the meantime. He nodded to the guard and carefully opened the door. Elizabeth was sitting on the couch drinking a glass of water. "He's sleeping?"

"Passed out as soon as he hit the bed. He and Ben ran hard." Seeing him acting normal almost had her crying. "So we need to talk."

"Yeah, before we do I need to tell you something." Jason came over and sat on the couch as well. "Your building is currently uninhabitable."

"Why?" Elizabeth had not been expecting him to say that.

"Cracks in the foundation." Jason hoped she didn't think this was his doing.

"I saw them." She admitted. "I figured that was why the rent was so low. I didn't think they were that bad."

"They are. So you can't go home. I can make a unit available to you here in the building." Jason wanted her to have a choice. "Or I can help you move into another building in the city."

"Or we can get married." Elizabeth finished up.

"Yes, that's still an option." Jason answered looking into her eyes. "Have you thought about it?"

"I did, while I showered and some while the boys played. I didn't mention it to Emily." She quickly added. "I'd like to talk with Diane. I want to make sure I'm not hurting Cameron."

"That's fine. You should know that Diane is dating Francis." Jason wanted her to have all the information he could give her.

"I know." Elizabeth liked that he was being so honest. "When I mentioned Ben, Diane said she was dating one of his godfathers. That led to a discussion of how small the world really is. I told her it was fine. At the time I didn't know you. Now that I do, it's still fine. I trust her judgment." Diane prided herself on her impeccable professional reputation, she wouldn't risk that for Jason. "Let me call her office."

"Okay. You can use my office." Jason offered her. "I'll wait here."

"Thanks." Elizabeth walked into the office, but didn't close the door. She dialed the doctor's office and was told Diane was off today and the service offered to take a message so Elizabeth left one having to put them on hold to get Jason's home number.

"You don't have a cell phone?" He guessed.

"Too expensive." Elizabeth said shrugging.

Jason pulled out his phone. "I need a cell phone for Ms. Webber." He listened, grinned and hung up. "It will be here shortly."

"Diane will call me back, maybe not until tomorrow." Just as she said that the phone rang. "Morgan. Hold on." He held out the receiver.

"Or maybe not." She said as she took it. "Hello."

"Elizabeth, is everything all right?" Diane wasn't busy at the moment. She was at home looking at shoes on her favorite website. She and Francis were going away in a few weeks and she wanted something new to wear.

"It is. I need this conversation to be confidential." Elizabeth started.

"Absolutely. I consider you a patient as well." Often the second half hour of the hour blocked for Cameron was spent with them talking while Cameron colored. Diane took that time to make sure Elizabeth was doing well. The young mother couldn't afford another hour of therapy.

"Thank you. Jason has offered to help us." Elizabeth explained. Diane knew the entire story and she knew what kind of help Jason would extend.

"Good." Diane hadn't urged Elizabeth to talk with Jason. That would be unprofessional, but she had hoped that Emily would introduce them. Or maybe even Monica. "How is he with Cameron?"

"Very patient. We are at Jason's house right now and Cameron is taking a nap." Elizabeth told the doctor.

"Fantastic." Diane said smiling wide. Jason would be good for them and they would be good for him. She wasn't expecting an overnight change, but Cameron needed a positive male role model and despite what he did Jason could be that. "What has he suggested?"

"Actually Francis suggested it." Elizabeth didn't want to get the other man in trouble. She didn't even know Francis, but he was helping her. "If we talk about this it won't affect your relationship with him right?"

"Not at all." Diane promised. She already knew what Elizabeth was going to say. Frannie was a freaking genius. Diane switched to her favorite lingerie site, the man deserved a reward.

"Francis suggest that Jason and I get married." Elizabeth told the older woman. "So I'm wondering if you think us living in the penthouse will hurt Cameron."

"Is this Cameron's first visit?" Diane was clicking on a lovely teddy in green. Frannie loved her in green.

"No, we stayed last night. He and I shared a room." Elizabeth explained.

"How did he sleep?" That would tell the doctor a lot.

"Like a log." Elizabeth answered smiling. "He told me he likes Jason." She was alone again. Jason had left after handing her the phone. "I haven't told Jason that part."

"Okay. That is very good Elizabeth, I don't need to tell you that. Jason is an incredibly patient man. You can trust him with both you and your son. I would recommend that you not tell Jason what you spoke with Cameron about. Your son needs to know you can keep his secrets and it's important that the two of them build their own relationship." Diane considered this a breakthrough. "I can't really advise you on the marriage question."

"I don't want you to." Elizabeth said honestly. "That is a decision I need to make. Jason is considering adopting Cameron."

"If you take that step Jason has to be prepared to go the distance. If the two of you divorce after this is over." Diane knew what Jason was preparing to do. "Then he needs to be ready to stay in Cameron's life, which means you need to commit to staying in Port Charles." Being in one location for a long time would really help Cameron.

"I can do that. I will speak to Jason. Thank you for calling me back." Elizabeth appreciated it.

"It's what I do." Plus Diane had a soft spot for Cameron. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, you will." Elizabeth hung up and found Jason looking out the window. "I need to ask you something."

"Sure." Jason said facing her.

"Would you be willing to stay in Cameron's life even if I don't stay in yours?" Elizabeth asked him.

"I'm committed to him, Elizabeth." He got that she didn't want fluffy promises. He was committed to her as well, but he would need to prove that over time. She had been hurt by all this too. He suspected that as Cameron got better she would allow herself to begin processing what she had been through. Multiple beatings, being terrorized, and the loss of her sister. She needed care too and he was going to be the one she got it from.

"Will you take him if something happens to me? No matter where our relationship is?" She had to protect Cameron first. She hoped they could make this attraction grow, but if not Cameron couldn't lose Jason.

"I will." Jason said solemnly. Her choice was clear. "You'll marry me?"

"I will, yes." She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. For the first time in a really long time, they weren't in this alone.

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