A.N. Sorry for the delay. I was on vacation and didn't have time to write. My time was spent drooling over my brand new nephew! :)

A.N.2 : I would like to remind everyone that this is an AU story. I did not watch GH when Roger Howarth took over as Franco. So I'm not completely up to speed on all of the misdeeds that he perpetuated against Sam or Carly or Elizabeth. I'm taking this story from after Franco's brain surgery and his progress from then. I can understand from his current storyline that he is struggling with being a good guy versus bad and how to go about it. I understand Jason's animosity towards him, but because Jason has forgiven Sam for all of her misdeeds, I am taking some liberty in how he reacts to Franco and Liz's budding relationship. And honestly, I'm tired of Jason/Carly/Sonny/Sam/et al having free reign to condemn everyone and anyone in town for their mistakes, but heaven forbid they ever get called out on their own!

***Again, this is a Liz-centric story. If you hate or despise Liz, then please do not read OR provide only constructive criticism of my writing. I won't read or respond to any Liz or Sam bashing.***

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER ISSUE

Sam let herself into the penthouse and closed the door quietly. The living room was still pretty bare as though Jason didn't have the time or inclination to decorate. Sam had gone through and sold most of the furniture after Jason's "death" and anything leftover had been donated or given to Carly's boys or Monica. There had been little Sam had wanted to keep for herself or Danny.

Come to think of it, she had packed what few pictures she had when she had accepted Patrick's marriage proposal. And those boxes had remained unopened after the engagement ended.

Sam rubbed a hand over her flat belly. She was pregnant. And she had caught Zika during a brief stop in Florida after leaving Greece. Jason had wanted to give her a weekend in the Keys to relax. Now, there was a possibility of birth defects. She didn't know what to do. There were no tests available at this stage in her pregnancy to determine if the baby would have any issues.

"Jason? You here?" She called up the stairs. When no answer came, Sam sunk down into the brown leather sofa. She leaned her head against the back and sighed.

She wanted to cry. A new baby should be exciting, a sibling for Danny, a new life for the start of their new life together. Yet, all Sam could think about was how unplanned, unexpected and . . . Even unwanted, a baby would be at this time. Jason had just gotten his memories back, they were just now falling in love again. Danny finally had a father around every morning and evening. They needed time as a family of three before adding to it.

Sam offered up a silent prayer for guidance and allowed the tears to fall from her eyes.

"Hey, buddy, you're up early," Liz said as she walked into the kitchen. Cam was already at the table with a bowl of cereal and half-eaten banana in front of him. His backpack open on the chair next to him. He was rummaging through it.

"Yeah, I forgot about my math homework. I wanted to finish it before leaving for the bus," he replied, pulling a red notebook and folder from the backpack.

He barely glanced up at his mom while speaking. Cam just wanted to get his homework done and get out the door before he said anything to upset his mom. She had been so sad lately, between Jason leaving them to Jake's continued therapy. He could count on one hand how many times she had voluntarily smiled at any of them. She worked too hard and too long, he felt, but couldn't say anything without making her feel bad, which was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

Liz ruffled his curly hair as she passed behind him, her only focus being on the coffee pot. She had exactly twenty minutes to savor time alone with her eldest before getting Aiden and Jake up for school.

"It's not like you to forget your homework," she commented as she prepared the coffee pot. "Something on your mind last night?"

Cam shrugged and made a noise in the back of his throat, his gaze on the worksheet in front of him, though he could just make out his mom's face in his peripheral vision. Her back was to him, but that didn't mean she couldn't see everything. He wondered about her ability to see everything going on around her.

"Just busy."

"Uh huh, more like you and your friends went directly to the skate park after school and not to Justin's house to do homework first," Liz teased him.

She didn't worry about Cam as much as she did about Jake or even Aiden. He was her responsible child, the overprotective big brother, her anchor and light of her life. He grew more and more like Xander every year. How she wished he was still alive to see how amazing their son had grown.

Her grin faded as it dawned on her, as it always did at random times, how many friends she had lost over the years. Cam would never know his biological father and grandfather, both gone too soon.

"You're worrying again," Cam stated. He had watched as the bright smile left his mom's face and a frown replace it. He wished he knew what went through her mind when she got quiet. Did she think about his bio dad? Or her ex-husband? Or maybe Jason leaving? It didn't bother him that he and his brothers had different fathers. His dad was dead, Jake and Jake's dad had both been presumed dead and Aiden's dad had been out of the picture for so long. It just meant that his mom had terrible taste in men, always picking those that wouldn't or couldn't stand by her.

"I was just thinking about your dad. How much you're starting to look like him."

Cam's brows shot up. She never spoke about his dad, not unless he asked.

"Really?"

"Definitely. Though your curls are from me." Liz grinned at him. Her son did not like his curly head. "It seems all my boys are destined to look more like their fathers and less like me."

"Does that bother you?" Cam asked, twirling the pencil between his fingers.

"No," Liz answered without a hesitation. "You?"

Cam sat staring at his hands, his homework forgotten in front of him. He heard his mom round the table and sit across from him. It was beginning to feel like a serious conversation. And he didn't want that for his mom. He wanted to keep his mouth shut about everything that had happened and let her handle it in her own way. She'd be fine without any input from him.

"Cam?" Liz asked quietly, reaching across the table to hold his hand. "Does it bother you that you and your brothers have different fathers?"

"No," he said softly, meeting her eyes briefly and the love and concern he saw in them made his chest hurt. "I never knew my bio dad, so it never really mattered to me. I always saw Lucky as Jake and Aiden's dad, and he loved me, too. So it was okay, you know? But then Jason was around a lot. And with Lucky gone to Ireland and us on our own, I had hoped Jason would be our dad. Like Sonny is with his kids?"

Liz nodded to let him know she was listening. Lucky had been Cam's dad, but then sometime between Lucky leaving for Ireland and Jake and Jason dying, Cam had started to call him Lucky again. They had agreed not to analyze it or force him to call Lucky anything but what he felt comfortable with.

Cam was silent for a long time. He knew there had been other men in his mom's life. He didn't know the particulars of any of those relationships, but he knew about Jake Doe.

Jake Doe aka Jason Morgan he was most mad at.

"Cam?"

"Why did he leave us?" Cam asked suddenly, his voice raised higher than before. Liz sat back in her chair, the outburst unexpected.

"Who, buddy, who left us?"

"Jake! Or Jason or whatever he's calling himself! I get why he left you, because you lied to him, but he made promises to us! To me and Jake and Aiden. He said he loved us and wanted to be our dad. Just because you lied doesn't mean that we did!" Cam yelled angrily. "He just packed his things and went away. He spends all of his time with Sam and Danny. He leaves the country without even telling us, barely calls us anymore, unless he wants to talk to Jake. Aiden cries himself to sleep most nights because Jake, sorry Jason, isn't around to read him a story or tuck him in, so I have to do it."

Cam could feel tears burning his eyes and swiped at them to keep them from falling. His mom's pale face even more ghostly, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and ran around the table to hug her tight. "I'm so sorry, mom, I didn't mean it! I swear. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Without fail her arms closed around him tightly. She never refused a hug no matter how tired or angry or sad she was.

"Oh buddy, you don't have to be sorry. You have every right to be upset or angry at Jason," Liz soothed, rubbing her son's back as she held him tight.

Cam sniffled and pulled away from her. He was taller than her when she sat, so she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I can't speak for Jason's actions, but I know that he does care about you and your brothers, not just Jake," Liz began, her voice calm and quiet. "I'm sorry that he has hurt you because of something I did. I can't change the past and I can't force Jason to be here if he doesn't want to be. He has a life with Sam and Danny."

"He just left us, Mom," Cam choked out. "One day he was here and you were getting married, then the next he was gone. He didn't say good-bye or explain why he was leaving. You did that. You told us about the lie and asked us for forgiveness."

"Baby, I am so sorry."

Cam wiped at his eyes, then gave up and grabbed the dish towel off the stove to wipe his face with. He didn't know what else to say.

Jason is a jerk and a liar himself, Cam thought angrily.

Liz watched as her son stuffed his homework back into his bag with jerky movements. He wouldn't look at her, either ashamed at his outburst or over his tears. Her boy never cried. He had stepped up after Jason left. He had helped with Jake and Aiden, making their lunches for school or reading to them at night. He had encouraged Jake in his drawing and given him an ear when therapy had made Jake upset. The kid was mature beyond his twelve years. And Liz didn't know what she would do without him.

"Why don't we go to the bowling alley after school today? I'm off work," Liz suggested.

"I don't know."

"We can pretend the pins are everybody who has ever made us mad or sad," she cajoled with a slight grin. "We can have pizza and milkshakes for dinner."

Cam had a weakness for chocolate milkshakes and his mom knew it.

"Fine, we can go."

Liz gave him a wide smile. He added it to the tally he was keeping of her smiles. He didn't like being a cause a sadness for her. He gave her a kiss and a quick hug before heading out to the bus stop.

As he waited for the school bus to lumber down the street, he sent up a prayer for his mom to find someone who would love her for herself and would have enough love to give to him and his brothers. He wanted her happiness more than anything else in the world.

***I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes, I did not edit this before posting***