A/N – Thanks for your comments! I'm still behind. Sorry, I'll post again on Wed. I hate rushing writing because this story is so complex (more than I anticipated). I had to do a lot of research. * Through the Mirror Darkly – Thank you! * CCBTH – ROFL! Sorry boo. You're going to have to wait a little. No privacy where they are and I want it to be special.

Chapter 24 – Sorting Things Out

AJ woke up in the middle of the night. It was dark in the room and while he couldn't see who else was in there with him, he knew they were there. He could hear other machines. He felt strange. Yes, he couldn't move but he also felt emotional. It was anger. It was surging through him as images flashed in his mind of Sonny and Jason, but the one that shook him the most was Elizabeth. It was like he was doing battle within his own mind, not understanding why. He closed his eyes, willing it to go away. Once he was able to clear his mind, he slowly fell back asleep.

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Robin and Patrick went to check on the patients. AJ was still asleep so they just checked his vitals and moved onto Jake.

"He's doing well," Robin said.

"He is. I'm a little worried about his kidneys. I want to try something else in his protocol to help his organs stabilize."

Robin nodded. "We can brainstorm on it."

He studied Jake for a moment, thinking about Robin's decision to help Jason. Part of him was still hurt by it, but he knew it was his ego. He hadn't thought twice about coming to save Jake for Elizabeth. He was worried. Jake was so small and this was going to be hard on his body not to mention how he would do emotionally after he woke up. Cameron is so much bigger than what Jake would remember. He wasn't sure how Elizabeth and Jason were going to deal with that. It was hard enough on Johnny and Georgie. Taking another blood sample, he took one more look at Jake before leaving the room and taking it to another lab.

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Georgie sat down in the room they were using for face chats. Kevin was waiting to talk to her. Elizabeth had called him and sworn him to secrecy. He was shocked, but given the circumstances, he agreed.

"Hi," she said sitting down.

Kevin smiled. "Hello Georgie. How are you doing?"

She studied how he had aged. "I'm okay. It's been a little tough physically but it gets better every day."

"I'm glad to hear that. Elizabeth asked me to talk to you and Johnny. I want to make sure that you're emotionally prepared to come back here."

Georgie sighed. "I'm a little nervous."

He noticed she was fidgeting a little. "Talk to me Georgie. I won't judge you."

"This whole thing is just bizarre. Diego killed me and somehow Helena took my body and froze me. I mean how do you deal with something like that?"

"Keep going."

"I missed so many years. Life has gone on without me and I don't feel like the same person that I was before."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I'm a little harder. I don't know how to explain it. I was young and I just don't feel young anymore. I hate her for doing this to me but at the same time, I'm so thankful to be alive."

"That's understandable."

"Has it been hard to not see your family?"

She shook her head. "No. Actually, I'm grateful. I need some time to get my head on straight. I like it here. Johnny makes me laugh and Dylan….."

She blushed and Kevin smiled.

"Do you like him Georgie?"

She slowly smiled. "I do. I know we just met and my brain is a little scrambled but he's nice and makes me feel good about myself. Mac will probably flip."

"Why?"

"Because he's a lot older than me and he's breathing and is a guy."

Kevin chuckled.

"And even Jason has been really nice to me. He used to scare me shitless." She clasped her hand over her mouth and Kevin grinned.

"It's okay Georgie. You're 28. I think you have the right to curse if you want."

She smiled. "Thanks. Elizabeth has been great too. It's like we're one big family and there's no pressure. They don't expect me to be any different than I am now."

"And you think that will change when you get home?"

She nodded. "Maxie will be breathing down my neck and Mac will be overbearing. Before, I put up with it, but that's not going to fly with the new me."

"Georgie, you have to be okay with who you are now and stand by that."

"I just don't want to hurt anyone."

"They'll have to get over it. You're figuring things out on the fly and you have a lot to deal with."

"I just hope that my family can give me some space or I don't think they'll be happy with the results."

"The bottom line is that they love you. They are going to be concerned and worried about you. Stand your ground and try to have some patience, but never apologize for who you are."

Georgie slightly smiled. "Thank you for saying that."

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Johnny sat down in front of the computer.

"Hello Johnny."

"Hey."

"I'm Kevin. You know why you're here right?"

Johnny nodded. "Elizabeth explained it to me."

"But you don't think that you need it?"

He shrugged. "The situation is what it is. I was frozen and now I'm back."

"And you can handle coming back here and the pressure that will bring?"

"I'll deal."

"Maybe you could try and explain what you think you're going to have to deal with. Everything you say to me is confidential."

He thought for a moment. "I did something bad which resulted in my death. People thought I betrayed them and there is one person that won't be happy about my existence."

"Go on."

"Now that I've got my life back, I really don't want to be six feet under."

"Are you going to come back to Port Charles given those circumstances?"

"I could disappear but I don't want to do that. It would be cowardly."

"Is that the only thing that is bothering you?"

"Pretty much."

Kevin was just shocked that Johnny wasn't fazed by the frozen part. "Do you have family in Port Charles?"

"No. I don't know if my mother is still alive. She's in Ireland."

Jason had texted Spinelli some information and he was looking into it.

"I know Georgie is having a harder time but our situations are different."

"She's depending on all of you to be a friend to her. She considers you family."

Johnny slightly smiled. "She's a good kid."

"Woman. Remember, she's twenty-eight."

Johnny nodded. "I'll be there for her if she needs me, but she's stronger than she gives herself credit for."

"So you're good?"

Johnny nodded. "Yes, I'm good." He knew it was going to take time to adjust. A long time had passed and things were different but he felt like he could handle it. Elizabeth spent time with them every day going over current events and technology. There was so much that changed; slang, clothing, and even music. He took it as a challenge rather than be overwhelmed by it. He'd adjust. It was something he was used to.

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AJ woke up again and Robin went into the room and sat with him.

"By tomorrow you should be able to move your arms. It slow process."

"How do you know this?"

"Because Helena had other people frozen."

He closed his eyes for a moment. "Why is that woman still alive?"

Robin shrugged. "It's like watching a horror movie, she just keeps coming back."

"How's Monica?"

"She's good."

"And Michael?"

Robin sighed. "Having a rough time right now. He pretty much spun out of control after Sonny shot you."

"I remember that. He thought I had killed Connie."

"AJ, Georgie Jones and another man named Johnny that worked for Jason were bought back too."

"Is one of them in this room?"

"No."

"Then who is?"

"Jake Morgan."

AJ's mouth dropped open. "Jake's alive?"

"We found him when we found you, but we have to bring him back more slowly because he's so small."

"Wow. Elizabeth must be thrilled."

"She and Jason are."

"He's here isn't he?"

Robin nodded.

"I'm surprised he let you bring me back."

"We were trying to do the right thing. Michael needs you AJ. He's finally trying to find his way but it's been rough."

"How come I'm so tired?"

"Your body is trying to recover its functions. It's stressful. I promise you that it will get easier."

He shut his eyes and she walked away to let him rest.

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Dylan found Georgie on the roof. "You alright."

She wiped a tear away. "The more I think about home, the more I'm dreading it."

"Come here," he said holding out his arms.

She hugged him tightly. "I feel bad for not wanting to go back there."

"It's okay to feel that way. All of this is overwhelming."

"Thank you for letting me cry all over you."

He looked down at her and took her hand. "We're friends. I'm here for you."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Promise me something."

He made a face. "What?"

She slightly smiled. "No matter what Mac does, even if he tries to arrest you, you'll still be my friend."

"Hmmmm. I didn't know being arrested was involved. If I'm going to have do time, you're going to have to give me something in return."

She grinned. "It seems like you already have something in mind."

"I want you to teach me how you spin the ball."

She laughed. "You want me to tell you my secret weapon in ping pong?"

"Yup."

Her lips pursed. "I'm going to have to think about that."

He looked at her incredulously. "I was willing to do time for you and you need to think about it?"

"It's my secret weapon."

He grinned and they walked back towards the door, not even realizing they were still holding hands.

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Elizabeth had just come from spending some time with Jake. She couldn't wait for him to open his eyes. She found Jason in a room doing some pushups.

He looked up and then got on his knees worried that maybe something went wrong. "Is Jake alright?"

"He's fine."

"I just needed to do something physical."

"You could bench press me."

He smiled. "Don't tempt me," he said wiping himself down with a towel.

"There is no way you could really do that."

"Um, have you looked at me lately?"

She grinned. "Yeah. I've been looking at you a lot actually."

Jason grinned as he put his shirt back on. "Come here."

She slid into his arms. "Kevin wants to talk to us about Jake before he comes back. We're both concerned about how this will affect him emotionally. He's going to be confused."

"I know. I've been really worried about it."

"He's suggesting that we keep him at home for a while. We can introduce him to a small amount of people and let him adjust."

"What are we telling him when he wakes up?"

"That he was sick and was asleep for a long time."

"That makes sense. It would explain why everyone looks older."

"It's other people's reactions that will freak him out the most. To him, he fell asleep and woke up the next day."

Jason now understood why Kevin wanted to keep him a bit sequestered.

"Eventually, he'll wonder why everyone got older and he didn't," Jason said.

Liz thought for a moment. "Well, we could tell him he's like superman and was frozen and came back." It wasn't like they could lie when it would probably be in the paper and the news.

Jason smiled. "He'll think he's a superhero."

Liz chuckled. "Patrick thinks he'll wake up in about three days."

"I can't wait."

"I know. I just want to hold him."

"There's another thing we need to discuss."

"What?"

Jason sighed. "I think we should wait for just a little bit to tell Jake I'm his father. He'll already be so confused and he thinks Lucky is his dad."

Liz nodded. "We'll ask Kevin what he thinks is best. I don't want to wait too long after we get back though."

"I agree. I definitely don't want it to be long term. I just don't want to overwhelm him."

"I'm glad we're doing this together."

"Me too." He kissed her and pulled back. "We have another session with Kevin tomorrow."

"I know. I've been thinking about it a lot. Promise me that no matter what I say, you won't pull away from me."

A feeling of dread overcame him. "I told you that I'm not going anywhere and I mean that. I do need you to be honest with me, even if it hurts."

"Thank you."

Going over their past sins was painful, but they both were committed to getting beyond them and not making the same mistakes.

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Liz and Jason sat in the chat room and soon Diane's face popped up.

"Hello there," she said.

"Hi Diane," Liz said smiling.

"First things first, Jason, Elizabeth told me about Jake."

She smirked at the surprised look on his face.

"Congratulations. I've started paperwork on reinstating him among the land of the living. We'll have to file to reinstate his social security number. As soon as that is pushed through, discretely as possibly, I'll get his birth certificate and his name changed. Elizabeth has already faxed me the signed paperwork. I don't foresee any problems since Lucky is nowhere to be found and we have the DNA proof." Diane was filing the reinstatement paperwork in the city so no one in Port Charles would get wind of it. "When you fly back, you'll fly into New York and I'll make sure we have an appointment so that we can show the court he's alive and rebut Jake's legally dead status. This means you will have to tell them why Jake has been missing. His death was in the papers along with pictures etc. and since he looks exactly the same, I don't think they will have any other choice but to reinstate him as legally undead."

Liz squeezed Jason's hand. This wasn't going to be as easy as they thought, but with Diane leading the way, they knew it would be handled.

"I'm working on Johnny. I need to find out if anything was filed in the states regarding his disappearance and/or death. Spinelli has located his mother and she is alive and well. Now, I've found three houses that I think will be perfect for you and your growing family."

"Did you have someone check out the security?"

She smiled. "Yes. Max discretely did it as a favor to me. I've emailed the links so you can view them."

"Well, you two have thought of everything haven't you?"

Diane smiled. "Women know how to get things done. Is there anything else you need?"

"Do you think that we could rush the sale of the one we pick?"

"Money talks. I'm sure I can do it. How soon are we talking about?"

"We'll pick one today and would like to move in probably in two weeks."

Diane made a face. "I'll do the best I can."

"Are they vacant?"

"Yes."

"Jason, we'll need to decorate and I'll need to pack. Can't we move into my house when we get back?" Liz started to think about that and was hoping she'd have time to do all of that and pay attention to Jake.

"Elizabeth, if I may interject, you are going to have your hands full. I can have the house decorated and your things packed for you. It might be easier and less stressful if you just moved into the new house right away," Diane said.

Liz sighed.

"It's up to you."

"Look, once you see the place, we can spend a few days chatting about color schemes and I can show you what I'm planning regarding furniture. I know your style. You like things to feel homey and comfortable. You have kids and don't need white carpets. I can handle this with your input of course."

Liz looked at Jason for a moment who gave her a quick peck. "Alright, I'll agree to it."

Diane smiled. This was going to be a good paycheck. "Start thinking about how you want the boy's bedroom decorated. I'm hanging up. Check your email and get right back to me. Once you have decided, I can set it in motion and overnight you any paperwork you need to sign."

"Thank you Diane," Jason said.

"You're very welcome. Take care of that cute little boy."

"We will," Liz said.

The screen clicked off.

"Wow, it's moving really fast."

"Is it too fast for you?"

She shook her head. "No. It's a long time coming. Let's find our house." She would call Epiphany later and let her know that she might have to take Cam to her apartment because of the moving situation.

Jason smiled and watched her bring up her email.