Elizabeth switched the phone to her other ear and examined her heater. “Hey, Ric, it’s me. I know you’re still at the station but I didn’t want you to come home and not find me. I’m at the studio–and yes, the heater is on. For once. I won’t be long–I just wanted to paint while I still could.”

She hung up the phone and crossed to her easel, grabbing an old sketchpad and some charcoal. She arranged herself on the stool and started working on a scene from a photograph she’d taken while they were in Charleston.

A loud banging roused her a few minutes later. She stood as quickly as she could and went to the door. “Who’s there?”

“Elizabeth!”

Her eyes widened. “Jason?”

“Elizabeth, let me in!”

He sounded wrong, Elizabeth decided. Slow–and his voice was right against the door like he was slumped against it. She hurriedly unlocked the various locks and yanked the door. Jason stumbled and almost fell but she propped him against the wall.

“Jason, Jesus, what happened?” Elizabeth demanded, fearfully.

“I…” Jason cleared his throat and blinked. “I don’t know.” His hand went to his side. “Was I shot again?”

“Oh my God, were you?” She pushed his leather jacket open to search for a wound. “I don’t see anything.” Elizabeth pressed a hand to his cheek. “You look…” she frowned. “You look like you’ve been drugged.”

“I…” he licked his lips. “Was I?”

“Okay, come and sit down. You need to sit and I can’t keep you up. Come on.” He slumped against her and she struggled to cross the room under his extra weight.

He fell onto the couch and Elizabeth sat next to him, pulling his jacket off. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I was…I was at Shadybrooke…” Jason frowned. “I don’t…Carly was there. I…was trying to bring her home.”

“Why is Carly at Shadybrooke?”

“I’m not…she’s…” Jason shook his head. “It’s all…I can’t think.”

“Okay, okay.” Elizabeth tossed his jacket to the floor and pulled the comforter off the back of the couch to spread over him. As she was pulling it over his chest, she saw the tiny blood spot on his t-shirt. Frowning, she reached for the hem of the shirt and yanked it up. “Oh God, you have been drugged. There’s a needle mark here–a-and you’re bleeding.” Worried, she reached under the couch for the first aid kit.

She dabbed some peroxide on a bandage and pressed it to the tiny wound. “Jason, you have to think. Who had the needle?”

He shook his head. “I don’t–don’t remember.” His eyes closed and his head lolled a little.

“No, don’t sleep. I don’t–who knows what you were given. Stay awake, Jason or I’m calling an ambulance,” she threatened.

That got his attention and his eyes snapped open. “No…no ambulance.”

“Okay, but you have to tell me what happened. You were at Shadybrooke, trying to get Carly. Were you with Carly? Was she being drugged and you stopped it?”

Jason frowned and shook his head. “No. She…was there and…so was a doctor. The…doctor had it, I think.”

“Okay, now how did you end up with it jammed in your chest?” Elizabeth demanded.

“Carly was fighting.” He hesitated. “It was a…a sedative I think. She didn’t want it.”

“Sedative…no, that’s good. That means you’re not in any real danger.” She smoothed his hair off his slightly sweating forehead. “You’ll just sleep and it’ll be okay. You just feel tired right? No pain?”

He shook his head. “No…just tired.”

“Jason…” Elizabeth hesitated. “Why did you come here? Why didn’t you go home?”

He frowned and glanced around a little. “I thought…I was going home. But…I guess I didn’t get there.”
‘
“I live in the complete opposite direction of the penthouse,” Elizabeth shook her head and sighed. “I really don’t understand you sometimes.”

“I’m sorry…” he sighed, his voice fading and his eyes closed. “I just…I wanted to feel safe.”

“It’s okay.” Elizabeth covered him with the comforter and stood to push his legs onto the couch. “Just sleep, it’s fine.” She tugged his boots off and set them and his jacket on a nearby chair. By the time she turned back to Jason, he was asleep.

He’d come to her to feel safe.

Well, hell. Way to complicate her life.

+13

A thick fog lifted and he opened his eyes, blinking them a little. He felt groggy and unable to move.

And completely unaware of his surroundings.

A rustling to the side caught his attention and he turned to see Elizabeth sitting at an easel, sketching.

He blinked and shook his head a little. For a moment, he felt as though the past four years had drifted away and he was staying at the studio with a gunshot to his side.

But the lack of pain defied that explanation. Her long straight hair rather than the tight bouncy curls. The flash of rings on her hands as her hands moved over the paper.

The bulging of her abdomen. His Elizabeth of three years ago hadn’t been carrying anyone’s baby much less Ric Lansing’s.

He started to sit up and his movements caught her attention. Elizabeth abandoned her seat and came to the couch. “Are you okay?”

Jason shook his head. “I don’t–what happened?”

“You came here last night,” Elizabeth explained, helping him to a seated position. “You said that you’d been at Shadybrooke trying to get Carly out and she’d accidentally jabbed you with a sedative meant for her. You’ve been sleeping for the past twelve hours.”

“I came here?” Jason repeated. The entire previous night felt blurry. He remembered the hospital, he remembered Carly.

He didn’t remember coming here.

“Yeah, I was surprised myself. But it’s not like I was going to turn you away.” Elizabeth smoothed her hands over her pants, feeling awkward. “I’m–I’m glad you still feel that you can trust me.”

Jason nodded. Trusting her went without question. He’d always trusted her. But why’d he come here? Why not the penthouse? The warehouse? Anywhere other than here? “Did…did I say why I came here?”

Elizabeth looked away. “You said you wanted to feel safe.”

“Safe?” Jason rubbed the back of his neck and tried to relax some of his tense muscles. He glanced around the studio–the place where she’d taken care of him so many times–saved his life. Let him stay while she lied to everyone in her life for him. It was the only place he’d felt safe. Where he didn’t feel guilty for being or feel like it was too big and he didn’t belong. “Yeah, okay. Look, I’m sorry if I caused you any trouble or whatever. I wasn’t thinking clearly–I just…”

“Instinct?” Elizabeth asked. She stood and crossed to the shelf next to the sink. She grabbed an extra key and tossed it at him. He caught it. “You gave that back to me when you moved out two years ago. You’re always welcome here, Jason.” She shrugged. “Truthfully…it’s always felt more like home when you were here,” she confessed.

He looked down at the silver key in his hands. “This doesn’t even unlock this door anymore,” he reminded her.

Elizabeth laughed and rolled her eyes. “Geez, Jason, it’s a symbolic gesture. And anyway…you still have the extra keys to this door? Remember? I made you keep a set after you installed it.” She bit her lip. “At least…you never gave them back.”

“I still have them,” Jason assured her. He took his keys out of his pocket–with the one for his penthouse, his lockbox at the penthouse, the warehouse office and his motorcycle. And there were two keys for Elizabeth’s locks. He added the new silver key and stood. “Thanks. I should go though–I need to check on Carly.”

“I hope she’s okay,” Elizabeth said as he pulled on his boots and his jacket. “Jason–don’t be a stranger, okay?”

He stopped in front of her and kissed her on the forehead–another symbolic gesture from days past. “I won’t. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later,” Elizabeth agreed with a tiny smile.

+10

February

Elizabeth wrapped the afghan around her body more tightly and curled into a ball on her couch. The last forty-eight hours felt like a blur now but while she’d been living through them, they’d felt like forever.

It was supposed to be a romantic evening. A night of dinner, dancing and some gambling under the stars with her husband as they got ready for the birth of their child.

But something had gone horribly wrong. The night had turned from bliss to terror when someone screamed–she should still hear it echoing in her head–“The boat’s sinking!”

There was a rush for the door and with her pregnancy, Elizabeth was slower. She and Ric were separated and she was thrown to the ground. Scared for herself and for her unborn child, she crawled to a corner to try and avoid everyone’s feet.

Ric never came back for her.

But Zander had seen her, hauled her to her feet and helped her to safety. Just as she’d cleared the boat, she realized Zander wasn’t with her anymore. His foot had gotten hooked on something.

He never made it out.

She’d spent the rest of the night in the hospital, her grandmother by her side. Ric called from the station–something about finding out what had happened. He was thankful she was all right and he’d be by to see her in the morning.

She came close to miscarrying twice that night but by morning, she was stable. And she’d discovered thanks to Zander’s hastily scrawled will he’d mailed to Emily that he’d been working with Ric to frame Nikolas.

Ric had come to the hospital but she’d refused his visits. She didn’t know what she wanted to do now. They’d gotten remarried and she’d promised him forever for the second time but once again, he’d proved to her that he hadn’t changed.

She closed her eyes when she heard knocking on the door. “Go away,” she said, curling up even more tightly. She wrapped the blanket more tightly and tucked it under her chin.

A few moments later, she heard the locks turn and the door slid open. Jason stepped in, a bit hesitant. “Hey. I went to see you at the hospital but they said you’d left.”

“As long as I don’t move too much, the doctors think I’ll be fine,” Elizabeth replied. “So, I guess you heard about Zander.”

“Emily told me that he saved your life.” Jason kneeled next to her. “And that he’d been helping Ric frame Nikolas.”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth sighed. “So I decided not to go home when I got out of the hospital and I really don’t want to deal with him right now. I just…I don’t know what I want to do, Jason.”

“I thought you might be here,” he replied. “I’m sorry about Ric.”

“No I told you sos?” Elizabeth asked.

“No…I know you love him, Elizabeth. We don’t choose who we love, no matter how much we wish we did.” He cleared his throat. “Do you need anything?”

“No…” Elizabeth hesitated and bit her lip. “Maybe if you could…stay here? Just until I fall asleep?”

“Sure,” Jason agreed. “That’s no problem.”

“Thanks,” she replied. “I just….I feel safer around you,” she admitted, closing her eyes.

“Seems to be an epidemic of that going around,” he said, with a smile.

“Yeah…well…it’s a good one,” she murmured. “Thanks, Jason.”

“Anytime.”

+11

She cursed at the complicated instructions that were written in some form of English she didn’t understand.

“Place Bolt C in Slot J…” she let out a frustrated growl and dropped the pieces to the floor.

She was just two months from her due date and her tiny studio was overflowing with baby paraphernalia. Clothing, bottles, stuffed animals. Earlier, the dresser and crib she’d ordered from Wyndham’s had arrived earlier that day and she’d been struggling to assemble the crib ever since.

She’d signed her divorce papers from Ric earlier that week and at the same time, she’d forced him to sign paperwork stripping him of any legal claim to the child.

She was planning on putting Zander Smith’s name on the birth certificate.

A light knock came to her door. “Who is it?” Elizabeth called.

“Jason.”

“Come on in–it’s locked though,” she replied. She heard the tumblers being clicked open before the door finally slid open.

“Hey, I saw your light on when I was on my way home from the warehouse…” Jason trailed off when he noticed the overflowing room. “Wow…you’ve got a lot of stuff.”

“Emily and Nikolas threw a baby shower,” Elizabeth sighed. “I think this kid has more stuff than I do.”

He kneeled next to her. “I haven’t put one of these together since Michael was born,” he told her, taking the bag of bolts from her and the instructions.

“What about Morgan?” Elizabeth asked.

“Sonny had the nursery done professionally as a gift for Carly while she was on Alcazar’s yacht,” Jason slid part of the leg together. “Elizabeth…when this thing is put together…you won’t have room to move.”

She shrugged. “I know. But what else can I do right?” She handed him part of the other leg.

“You could move into a bigger place,” Jason told her pointedly. “Something…with a bedroom? Maybe even your own bathroom?”

She sighed. “I looked…but I can’t afford the rent on those places and pay for a baby too.” Elizabeth placed a hand over her abdomen, looking troubled. “As it is, I’m not all that sure I can afford the baby.”

He hesitated and glanced at her. “You know…I could help out. With money and all. You could even consider it a loan,” he added quickly as he could see her opening her mouth to refuse. “It’s not charity…a loan,” he repeated.

“A loan I won’t be able to pay back,” Elizabeth reminded him. “I need a new job but I can’t afford daycare. I had no business getting pregnant,” she sighed.

“Hey…things happen like this–unexpectedly. Doesn’t mean they’re bad. Maybe…” Jason hesitated. “Maybe you’ll get married again.”

“I doubt that. I’ve had three weddings and only one of them did I have the sense to call off.” She shook her head. “What was I thinking? I mean…either time. First, he lied to me, pretended to have raped Carly and then he kidnapped her and I just…married him again. There are words for girls like me and none of them are flattering,” she sighed.

“Hey.” Jason touched her hand. “You made a mistake. So what? So you gave Ric the benefit of the doubt and you trusted him. So you thought you saw something in him worth saving. It’s not your fault that wasn’t true. Don’t let Ric make you doubt yourself.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Okay.” She watched him continue assembling the crib. “How are you doing…since…well…since you signed the papers?” she asked hesitantly.

Jason sighed. “Okay, I guess. I think I knew all along that it wouldn’t work. She could never…never trust me enough to know what I was doing. Like even though I’d been doing the job for years, suddenly my emotions would wreck it. We never should have gotten married.”

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth told him.

“Courtney’s actually doing pretty good.” A smile tugged at his lips. “She enrolled in the police academy.”

“Wow…she went from being Jason Morgan’s wife to being a cop?” Elizabeth laughed. “That’s just…something I didn’t expect.”

“She wants to work in the special victims unit actually,” Jason told her. “So…a divorce was probably a good idea.” He set the crib’s legs up and started working on the upper part of it.

“How did you get roped into setting that thing up anyway?” Elizabeth laughed.

He grinned at her. “You would have spent the rest of your pregnancy trying to figure it out,” he teased.

“Gee thanks,” she remarked dryly. She smacked him in the shoulder with the packet of instructions.

“Do you know if you’re having a boy or girl yet?”

“A girl,” Elizabeth smiled. “I’m going to name her Stephanie…for my grandfather.”

“I never understood that,” Jason told her. “Naming people for other people. I mean…yeah, I named Michael after Sonny but that’s because Emily told me I should choose a name that had some meaning for me and Sonny was…the first person who’d ever trusted me.” He shrugged. “But I didn’t understand why they’d name Morgan for me.”

“Because they love you. Because they want him to always remember you. Because Carly knows how much you’ve done for her and wanted to repay you in some way. You always underestimate how much you mean to people, Jason. You shouldn’t do that.”

“I’ll work on that.” He stood and reached for the last piece. He slid into the slot and looked at her. “There you go.”

“Thanks.” She stood and kissed his cheek. “It looks great.”

+10

Late July

Elizabeth picked up the last box to move to her new apartment only to have Jason yank it from her hands. “No heavy lifting,” he chastised.

She rolled her eyes. “It weights like three pounds. I promise you the baby weighs more right now.”

“You’re like five minutes from labor,” Jason said, shaking his head. “Come on, the car’s waiting.”

“I just can’t believe Mrs. Barrington paid that much for the painting,” Elizabeth sighed following Jason slowly down the stair well. He kept turning around to check on her.

“It was a good painting.”

“But a hundred thousand dollars?” Elizabeth just shook her head in amazement. “And a show in September? Where she’s already offered to buy another painting at that price? Jason…I’m just an amateur artist. My stuff doesn’t rate a hundred dollars much less–”

“You once told me to stop underestimating how much I mean to people,” Jason stopped at a landing and turned to look at her. “I want you stop underestimating just how talented you are.”

“Ugh, I hate when you use my words against me–Ooh…” Elizabeth paused, pressing a hand to her abdomen. Jason immediately abandoned the box and crossed to her, taking her hand. “That felt weird,” she murmured.

“Do you need to sit down?” he asked. He braced the other hand on her back.

“I don’t…” Elizabeth closed her eyes and grimaced. “What are labor pains supposed to feel like anyway?”

“Okay, I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“Jason, what if the baby’s just kicking really strongly?” Elizabeth stepped forward and then bent over. “Ow!”

“Okay, seriously, we’re going to the hospital,” Jason decided. He moved his hand from her back to wrap it around her waist and they started slowly towards the next flight of stairs.

She cried out in pain again and her knees nearly buckled but he kept her standing. “Oh, God, Jason, it hurts so badly,” she panted. “What if something’s wrong?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he assured her. “Everything’s fine.” Not wanting to waste anymore time, he bent and hooked his arm underneath her knees to hoist her in his arms.

“I’m too heavy,” Elizabeth protested.

“I just want to get you to the hospital.” He hurried down the remaining two flights of stairs to where a car was waiting. “We need to go to the hospital,” he snapped at the guard who immediately opened the back door. He slid Elizabeth in and hurried around to get the other side. “Go, go!”

She cried out again, her hands clutching her abdomen. Beads of sweat had broken out on her forehead and her breathing was shallow and coming fast. She gripped his arm tightly. Slowly her breathing to started to even out and she closed her eyes. “Okay, I think it was just a contraction.”

“Okay, well that’s a good thing.” Jason took a deep breath and took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly. “When we get to the hospital, I’ll call Emily.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No…she’s in Europe with Nikolas until Saturday right?”

“Oh…right, right. Lucky?”

“Visiting his mother. And my grandmother’s at a conference.” She looked at him, a little worried. “You’ll come in the delivery room right? I don’t want to be alone.”

“You won’t,” Jason promised. “I won’t leave you alone in there.”

—

Stephanie Alexandra Webber came into the world thirteen hours later. The labor was difficult since Elizabeth was so tiny and Stephanie was ten pounds; Jason could tell there were a few times Dr. Meadows was seriously worried.

But now Elizabeth was in her private room, cradling her newborn daughter. She had counted her toes and fingers about a dozen times and kept asking Jason “Isn’t she the most beautiful baby ever?”

“Do you want to hold her?” Elizabeth asked.

“I…” Jason hesitated. Despite being ten pounds and bigger than both Michael and Morgan when they were newborns, Stephanie still looked so tiny to him. “She’s so small…”

“You’re not going to break her,” Elizabeth said amused. “Come on…you helped bring her into the world.”

“Okay.” She started to hold her out to him and he was careful to cradle Stephanie’s head as he settled her into his arms.

He backed up and sat down to keep her stable. “I can’t believe she’s finally here,” he told Elizabeth.

“Oh, God, I know.” Elizabeth sighed. “I wish Zander could have been here. Just to see her once.” She rested her head against the pillow and closed her eyes. “I filled out the information for her birth certificate and put his name down, you know? And I can’t wait to tell her about him.”

“It’s too bad he didn’t get his life straightened out,” Jason said. “He wasn’t bad–he just made a lot bad choices.”

“Yeah…but he was a good friend.”

After a few moments of silence, he realized that her breathing had evened out and she’d fallen asleep. Jason sighed and peered down at Stephanie who had her own eyes shut but she was waving her tiny arms around.

“Hey,” he said softly. “You know…you really lucked out getting Elizabeth as your mother. She loves you so much. She’ll listen even if what you have to say might not seem important, she’ll encourage you and make you feel good about yourself–a-and I’ll always look out for you. I mean…if that’s what she wants.”

Stephanie latched onto one of his fingers with her miniscule hand and made a little gurgling sound. He took that as a sign of approval and smiled before standing up and putting her back into the little bassinet-like thing.

He crossed to the bed and kissed Elizabeth gently on the forehead, causing her to open her sleepy eyes. “Didn’t mean to wake you up,” he apologized.

“S’okay…you leaving?” she asked.

“I’m gonna go home and get changed. I gotta meet with Sonny. I’ll be back though.”

“Okay.” Elizabeth looked over at Stephanie, a soft smile crossing her face. “Isn’t she the most beautiful baby you’ve ever seen?” she asked yet again.

“Yeah,” Jason repeated. “She’s beautiful. You want me to swing by your place and get the bag you packed?”

“Thanks.”

“Get some sleep. I’ll be back before you can miss me,” Jason told her.

“I always miss you when you leave,” Elizabeth told him with a simplistic honesty that had been missing from their relationship for so long.

“Then I’ll hurry back,” Jason promised. He smiled at her again before exiting the hospital room.

Elizabeth leaned back against the bed with a smile and closed her eyes.

+13

December 2004

“Okay…there–no there.” Elizabeth bit her lip and tugged on her ear a little. “That’s perfect.”

“How many more?” Dillon Quartermaine, whom Emily had volunteered to help her move her paintings into the gallery, asked, wiping his forehead free of sweat.

“That was the last one, thanks Dillon.” Elizabeth checked her watch. “I told Jason five right?”

“It’s four fifty five,” Dillon stated. “And besides, I doubt Jason’s gonna run off with your daughter.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah, good point. Maybe when she’s sleeping through the night.”

The bell over the gallery door tinkled and she turned to see Jason entering the gallery. She grinned at the sight of him in his leather jacket, t-shirt and jeans with a baby in one arm and a diaper bag slung over the other.

“Thank you so much for watching her today,” Elizabeth cooed as she lifted Stephanie into her arms. Stephanie waved her arms and grabbed a chunk of her mother’s hair in her chubby fist. “I hope it wasn’t inconvenient.”

“Nah, she liked hanging out at the pier with the rest of the warehouse guys.”

Elizabeth stared at him for a moment. “Did you just make a joke?”

“I think that’s what it was supposed to be,” Dillon supplied helpfully. Stephanie became enamored with Dillon’s spiky hair and reached out to grab some of it.

“She’s obsessed with hair,” Elizabeth sighed. “So…if she ever just yanks…tickle her stomach.”

“Good thing to note.” Dillon jerked his thumb towards the door. “If I’m done here, I’m gonna go meet Georgie.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Jason handed her the diaper bag. “We really just sat around the penthouse all day,” he told her. “She rolled over though–first time I’d seen her do that.”

“Yeah, she did it for the first time last night,” Elizabeth reported. She crouched down and fished Stephanie’s pacifier from the bag. “She was sitting on my bed while I sketching and she just…did it. I love seeing her do these things. The first time she held her head up…” She sighed happily. “It’s been such a great six months, you know?”

He nodded and glanced around the gallery. “You got a lot done today. Is it going to be ready in time for tomorrow?”

“I hope so. Emily’s on Steph duty tomorrow morning so I can finish.” She sighed and rubbed her hand over her daughter’s light brown hair. “I’ll be glad when I’m done this and I can just concentrate on her. Mrs. Barrington says with this second show, I should generate enough money to live off of for at least five years.” Her eyes sparked and Stephanie clapped her hands, delighted to see her mother happy. “I can’t believe I’m finally a real artist.”

“You were always an artist–now you’re just getting paid for it,” Jason corrected gently.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “You’re so literal sometimes,” she said good-naturedly.

“Well, I’d better go,” Jason said. “I’ve got some work to do at the warehouse.” He kissed Stephanie’s cheek. “See you two tomorrow.”

When he turned and was a few steps away, Stephanie started to fuss and wiggle in her mother’s arms. When Jason got nearer to the door, she started to wail.

“Oh, what’s wrong, big girl?” Elizabeth asked. Stephanie reached her arms in Jason’s direction. “Aw…you miss him already, huh?”

“Is she okay?” Jason called, the front door partly open, his arm braced on the handle.

“Yeah, she’s just a little upset her favorite person is leaving,” Elizabeth teased. “I think she’s under the impression your whole life revolves around her.”

It only took a few moments for Jason to step back inside and cross back to them. He lifted Stephanie back into his arms and she immediately quieted down. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, his tone gentle and smooth. Stephanie raised her hands to his face and found his ear, tugging on it.

“I don’t think she wants you to leave,” Elizabeth mused. “In fact, I bet Stephanie would like you to come to dinner tonight,” she said, hesitantly.

Jason glanced at her, her expression suddenly guarded. “Stephanie would…or you would?” he asked.

“We both would,” Elizabeth admitted. “She’s been trying to eat solids,” she added. “I bet she’d like to show-off for you.”

Jason shifted Stephanie in his arms. “You don’t need to sell me on coming over,” he told her. “I’d like to come for dinner. In fact…” he took a deep breath and now he looked a bit nervous. “Maybe we could try…dinner next week…without her?”

“Just–just the two of us?” Elizabeth asked. She wiped her palms against her jeans, suddenly finding them sweaty. A slow shy smile spread across her face. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Jason repeated. He crouched down and put the diaper bag over his shoulder. “So…where are you ordering from tonight?” he teased.

“Hey, I’ll have you know I can now cook Hamburger Helper,” Elizabeth said defensively as she pushed the gallery door open for him. “Without burning it,” she added proudly.

“As long as soup’s not on the menu…” Jason trailed off with a good-natured smile. He took Elizabeth’s hand in his free hand and they moved towards her car in the lot.

+11

“I don’t feel like I’ve lost all the baby weight.” Elizabeth turned the side and studied herself in the mirror against the back of her bedroom door.

“Who’s a big girl?” Emily cooed, ticking Stephanie’s stomach. Stephanie kicked her arms and legs up at her honorary aunt and giggled. “Elizabeth, it’s just dinner and it’s just my brother. He wouldn’t care if you were wearing a paper sack.”

“It’s the first time we’ve done anything without Stephanie.” Elizabeth tugged at the waistline of her jeans. “It’s been five months and I’m still two sizes from where I was before.”

“Ugh, so you’re a two and not a zero. You make me sick,” Emily grumbled. She sat up and pulled Stephanie into her arms. “She’s five months old and this is the first time you’ve let me baby-sit. I’m so excited.”

“What about this shirt?” Elizabeth modeled a green tank top. “I’ve got a sweater in this shade. I didn’t ask where we were going–”

“Oh, no, no, no, no.” Emily stood and handed Stephanie to Elizabeth before moving to the closet. She slid shirt after shirt aside until she removed a black crop top complete with a low V-neck. “This with those jeans.”

“Where did that come from?” Elizabeth asked suspiciously.

“The closet fairy,” Emily said in a sing song voice with a wink. “Early Christmas present.” They traded. Emily took the baby back and Elizabeth slipped into the top. “Perfect.”

“I thought it didn’t matter,” Elizabeth teased.

“Well, if you look sexy, you’ll feel sexy and perhaps that’ll translate…” Emily trailed off and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Don’t say sex in front of my daughter,” Elizabeth chastised. She adjusted the top and slid into a pair of black boots. “What if he’s not thinking of this as a date?” she asked softly. She sank onto the bed. “What if I’m reading this all wrong?”

“You’re not. Look, you and Jason have been inseparable for months. And since this angel was born? It’s like this warped family. Seriously, I was in Kelly’s the other day–you remember when we all met for lunch?”

“Thursday right? Stephanie spit her applesauce all over poor Nikolas.”

“Yeah, after the three of you left, one of the new waitresses who didn’t know…said that you two made the cutest couple and it was so nice to see a father who loved his kid so much.”

“So…other people think so. But what does Jason think?” Elizabeth shook her head. “No, I promised myself I wouldn’t overanalyze this.” She stood back up and moved over to her dresser to reapply her eyeliner.

The doorbell rang and Elizabeth set the eyeliner down. “You’ve got both of our cell numbers right?”

“Yes.” Emily trailed after Elizabeth towards the living room. Elizabeth pulled open the door and smiled when she saw Jason standing there–also dressed in a black shirt, blue jeans, and black boots topped with his customary leather jacket.

“Hey.”

Stephanie caught sight of her favorite person and reached for Jason. Without prompting or anything else, Jason took her from Emily and kissed her cheek. Stephanie giggled.

“I’ll get my coat.” Elizabeth kissed Stephanie’s cheek as Jason handed her back to Emily. She retrieved her leather coat and slid into it. “You sure you’re okay with watching her?”

“Yes,” Emily repeated rolling her eyes. “What are you guys doing tonight?”

“I don’t know.” Jason looked at Elizabeth. “I thought we’d just get something to eat, go for a ride?”

“Sounds great.” She slid her hand in to his and they left the apartment, Elizabeth looking back at the door longingly. “The only person who’s been alone with her is you, do you think I’m insane for wanting to just go back already?” she asked.

Jason punched the button for the elevator. “I felt like that with Michael. Robin was the only one I left him with at first. But then I let Emily baby-sit him and it got easier.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust her because I do, but…” Elizabeth shrugged. “But you know what I mean.”

The elevator doors pulled apart and he pulled into the car. “Yeah, I know.”

—

Elizabeth slid off the bike and yanked the helmet off. “That was just as much fun as I remember!” she yelled over the engine.

Jason grinned and turned the key, silencing the roar. “I can’t believe how long it’s been since the last time we took a ride.”

“Well, first we weren’t talking and then I was pregnant and then I was so busy with work…” Elizabeth shrugged it all off. She tilted her head up to the sky. “It’s nice to know that at least some things don’t change. The stars still look as close as ever.”

He put the kickstand down and swung his leg over the bike. “I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas Eve. Are you finished shopping for Stephanie?”

“Yeah, between me and Emily, we bought out Wyndham’s. She’s gonna need another room,” Elizabeth laughed. She took a deep breath. “So…why’d you suggest dinner without Stephanie tonight?”

“Well…” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “Before she was born, we spent a lot of time together and got–I got really used to it, y’know? And we haven’t been able to be alone since…I love her, that’s not what I’m trying to say–”

“So you want to be alone with me, huh?” Elizabeth teased.

“You’re not mad?” he asked hesitantly.

“No.” Elizabeth stepped towards him. “I love my daughter, Jason and I know you love her but it’s nice–it’s nice that you want a relationship with me that’s separate from her.” She blinked. “Friendship, I mean.”

“No…you got it right the first time,” Jason confirmed. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers down her jawline. “This past year has been–it’s been one of the best of my life, you know? No expectations, no disappointments–it felt like…”

“Like when we first met?” Elizabeth finished softly.

“Sort of…but even different from that. It felt right. Being there every step of your pregnancy. First kick, the delivery, just being with you, talking to you…” he took a deep breath. “I guess what I’m trying to get around to is that…I love you, Elizabeth.”

Her heart stopped for a moment and then started pounding against her chest. “Tonight…when I was getting ready, I was talking to Emily about…if maybe I was hoping for too much…if maybe you weren’t looking at tonight the same way I was…” she sighed. “And now…Jason, you have no idea how incredible it is to hear those words from you. Because…I love you, too.”

He slid his hand to the base of her neck and tugged her mouth towards him, finally fulfilling a desire he’d had since the moment she’d kissed his cheek nearly five years ago. They’d kissed before but this time it felt different–felt better.

Felt promising. They weren’t kissing because she was angry at Lucky or because he was trying to push her away–but because she loved him and he loved her and this time…

They were going to get it right.

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