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Chapter 40

"Hey, I thought you were off today?" Nadine said as Elizabeth walked into the building.

"I have a meeting with Alan." Was all the petite brunette said. She knew that almost everyone knew what happened yesterday.

"Leyla's has an eval this afternoon. She's pissed that she has to have one done." That information had been working the gossip mill since this morning. "Her car was stolen." That information was from yesterday.

"From the parking lot?" Elizabeth said looking at her friend.

"Yeah, last night she walked out and it was gone." Nadine said shrugging. "Second one this month."

Elizabeth had heard that one of the residents had their car taken, if it wasn't for that she would wonder if Jason had anything to do with it. "Wish me luck." She said as the elevator arrived.

"You'll be fine." Nadine assured her. "See you later this week."

"Yeah." Elizabeth said as the doors slid shut.

"Have a seat." Alan invited when Elizabeth walked into his office. Diane was already seated. "Let's get right to it. Diane." Alan turned the floor over to his fellow doctor. Elizabeth would get a written copy as well.

"I found that you are more than capable of working in the ER." Diane told the younger woman.

Instead of relaxing Elizabeth looked at the doctor. "But?"

"No, buts." Diane responded. "The point was to find out if you could work in the department, and that is my conclusion based on talking with you and reviewing your employment record." The redhead summed up.

Elizabeth looked at Diane and then at Alan. "Should I work in the ER?" The nurse practitioner asked, knowing it was a completely separate issue from the first one.

"Off the record?" Diane asked her boss.

"Certainly." He suspected he knew what she was going to say.

"Off the record." Diane repeated. "It is my opinion that you should not work in the ER. You proved more than capable of doing your job under very trying circumstances, but you would not be facing those circumstances if you worked in another department. I don't think you are suffering from PTSD, but I do think that you are already stressed and you will heal better if you worked in a calmer environment right now."

"You think I could work in the ER down the road?" Elizabeth wanted to know.

"I do. From what I've read, you are an excellent trauma nurse. You don't crack under pressure, you are confident in your movements, and you are a good leader when necessary. An asset to this hospital." Diane wanted that part out first. "Elizabeth both you and your son were badly hurt, not just physically but emotionally as well. As his doctor and yours I would recommend you work somewhere else during this period."

Elizabeth looked at Alan. "Off the record do you agree?"

Alan found himself speaking not as the Chief of Staff, but as Elizabeth's father in-law. "I agree with Diane. I think that you need time to heal." He was worried she was going to crack one day at the hospital. "Diane would you excuse us?"

"Sure, I'm no longer needed." The red headed doctor stood up. "We are still on for next week?"

"We are." Elizabeth promised. What the other woman said hadn't come as a surprise.

"Good." Diane walked out of the office.

Alan got up from the couch and walked over to his desk. He removed a legal sized envelope from the middle drawer. Coming back to the sitting area he handed it to Elizabeth. "This is the application for the job of nurse at Port Charles Academy. I play golf with the principal. He's an old friend." Alan saw her surprise. "I'm a recovering alcoholic."

Elizabeth looked surprised at that announcement.

"That probably seems out of the blue, but I'm telling you for a reason. One of the things I had to learn to do was take things one day at a time. Another thing I had to learn how to do was ask for, and accept, help. You've already admitted something isn't quite right, now it's time to let us start helping you." Alan sat on the sofa. "One of the things that will help both you and Cameron heal is stability. Not having to deal with high stress situations will go a long way toward that. The regular hours won't hurt either."

"If I say no?" Elizabeth was still weighing her options.

"Your job at the hospital is not in jeopardy." Alan let her know. "Take some time to think about. And don't tell anyone where you got the idea." The board would not be thrilled to here that their Chief of Staff was encouraging staff to leave.

"Jason and I will talk it over." Elizabeth promised. She knew her husband would accept and respect the decision she came too.

"Good. That's all." Alan said smiling. He walked her back to where Kyle was waiting. "Cameron's birthday is coming up soon, right?"

"It is." Elizabeth was pleased that he remembered.

"Will there be a party?" Alan wondered.

"Not this year. I'm thinking we'll do something for the big 0-5 next year." Elizabeth told her father in-law. "This year Cameron's birthday would be a good day to have the family over to the penthouse." She would plan a nice dinner.

"You let us know." Alan walked Elizabeth and her guard to the elevator. "Enjoy your day off and give Cameron a hug for me."

"I will." Elizabeth said as she stepped onto the elevator. Taking a deep breath she pushed work from her mind. Looking at her watch she saw that the stores were just opening. Now was a great time to fill the space in the dining room after that she would meet her guys in the park.

Jason took Cameron to the park and watched the little boy run around the playground. Ben was still feeling a bit under the weather and was staying in. If he was feeling better Cameron was going to go over and have a visit later this afternoon.

When Elizabeth's meeting ended she gave him a call and told him that she was going to do some shopping before coming home. Jason listened carefully for any clues that she was upset. None came across the line. He had to resist the urge to call Kyle and ask for an update on her mood.

Instead he pushed his son on the swings as the little boy cried to go higher. When he tired of that Cameron moved back to the slide. Jason noticed that the little guy would play on the piece of equipment, then try something else before heading back to the slide. Between switching equipment he would stop and look around. When his eyes landed on Jason he would grin and continue playing.

"Do you know what he's looking for?" Milo had also noticed the behavior.

"I think he's making sure I'm still in the same spot." Jason could come up with no other explanation. He would have to ask Elizabeth about this behavior.

"Why?" Milo asked, as Cameron's guard it was important that he understood how his charge thought.

"No clue." As far as Jason knew Elizabeth hadn't ever taken Cameron to the park and disappeared. So far all of the little boy's behaviors were tied into something that had been done to him.

"Clouds are rolling in." Milo pointed up.

"I see." Jason was multi-tasking. He was watching Cameron play, taking care of something on his smartphone, and scanning the area. "Cameron." Jason called over and the little boy came running. When he got closer Jason could see what he swore was a bit of fear in his big brown orbs, which made no sense. They were the only ones at the park. "We need to head in before it rains."

Cameron nodded and took Jason's hand in his.

Jason noted the little boy was trembling. "Want me to carry you?" Something was definitely up.

Cameron nodded again.

They walked back to the Towers and when they got inside Cameron began telling Charlie all about the playground and how many times he had gone down the slide. He was the same calm child that had left the building forty-five minutes ago.

"Can I have some juice daddy?" Cameron was thirsty.

"Sure thing. What kind?" They now had several in the refrigerator.

"Apple." Cameron said taking a seat at the table. They didn't eat or drink in any room but this one.

"Coming right up." Jason grabbed one of the colorful plastic cups Elizabeth kept on hand and gave the little guy his cold drink. "Good?" He said sitting as well.

"Uh-huh." Cameron said gulping it down.

"Cameron, can I ask you something?" Jason wasn't sure how to phrase his question, or honestly, if he should even ask since Elizabeth wasn't here. When Cameron nodded Jason cautiously continued. "Were you scared at the park?"

The little boy's eyes instantly dropped to the table.

"Come here buddy." Jason patted his lap. When the little boy was settled Jason pulled over his cup. "You can tell me anything. If you are scared at the park then I need to know why so I can make it safe for you." Hopefully it wasn't any of the art fixtures or statues as they would be harder to get rid of.

"Mommy takes me to the park." Cameron explained.

"Do you not want to go with me too?" Jason inquired.

Cameron nodded slowly. "You won't do like mean daddy?"

Jason rubbed Cameron's back and took a deep breath. "What did he do?"

"He left." Cameron said so quietly it was almost inaudible.

"He left you at the park alone?" Jason was trying to clarify.

"I was scared because he was gone and I wetted myself." Cameron told Jason. "He said I was bad and he didn't want me no more. That if I was bad again he wouldn't come back." Cameron looked up at Jason before looking down again.

"I would never ever leave you at the park alone Camron." Jason said keeping his voice soft. He wondered if Elizabeth knew this.

"Promise?" This was important. Mommy said you couldn't break a promise.

"I promise. We can go to the park again and then you can see I'm telling the truth." Jason knew it was going to take more than one more trip to the park to fix this one. He would be sure to talk to Elizabeth when Cameron took his nap. "Finish your juice, buddy."

They were watching Chuggin Charlie in the den on the big television when she got home. The entire dining room set had been purchased and would be delivered tomorrow. The guard on duty would oversee the delivery. Cameron ran over and got a hug before pulling his mother over to the couch to sit with him and daddy.

Lunch was had, grilled cheese after which Cameron and Charlie went upstairs for a nap. "I have news and so do you. Who goes first?" Jason wanted to know.

"You do." Something must have happened.

Jason explained what Cameron had told him and watched Elizabeth wrestle with her anger.

"I had no idea, he never said a word." Elizabeth ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "I told you earlier that I didn't want to know about Lucky, just when it's done. I want to change that request." She waited until Jason nodded. "I want to speak to him and then you can do whatever you want."

"I will try to honor that request." Jason told her leaning back and bringing her with him. They were sitting on the couch with her between his legs. He couldn't guarantee that Lucky would be taken alive, but his guys would do their best. "What is your news?"

"Diane cleared me to work in the ER, but she doesn't think I should. It's not a healthy place for me to be at the moment." Elizabeth told him.

"What did Alan say?" Jason rubbed her arm causing goose bumps to rise.

"He gave me an application for Port Charles Academy. Pretend you don't know that." Elizabeth added at the last minute. "He thinks Diane's personal assessment is correct. That for now I need a job that carries less stress."

"What are you going to do?" Jason asked her, placing a light kiss on her temple.

"I could request a transfer to another department if there is an opening, but I don't want to work anywhere but trauma if I stay there. So I'm going to fill out the application and fax it over this afternoon, and if I get the job I will serve notice." Elizabeth had decided that on the way up.

"If you don't get the job?" Jason didn't see that happening.

"I'd still like to serve notice." She said looking up into his face. "I think spending the summer with Cameron will be good for both of us. Will you mind if I don't work, if I don't get the job?"

"No. To be totally honest I'd love it if you stayed home." Jason said giving her a half smile.

"I don't have a reason at the moment. Not past the summer." Elizabeth's heart started beating faster. They were skirting a very important topic and she had no clue if they were going to continue to dance around it, or actually talk about it.

Jason paused for a moment before speaking. "Maybe in the next few years you will consider staying home with our next child." He said softly. There it was out. He waited with baited breath for her response.

"I would love to be able to stay home." Elizabeth was chewing her lower lip. "When they are all in school, I can go back part time."

"We can always decide that later." He said smiling. She wanted children with him. How incredible was that? "There's no rush."

"You're right, there isn't." Elizabeth said leaning into him.

"Would you like to fill out the application now?" He asked wanting to get things moving.

"How about later?" Elizabeth replied kissing his jaw.

"After nap sounds perfect to me." Jason said kissing her back.

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