His Final Deal

A/N: Starts Christmas of '08. After courthouse break-up, but before they 'reunited' with anybody else. So no icky crud to deal with.

Edward Quartermaine was a dying man. The diagnosis had come from a world-renown doctor in New York City he had visited when his family thought he was off on a business trip. He felt only a mild pang of guilt about the lie and about not going to his daughter-in-law when he began feeling ill, but after receiving the diagnosis he was glad he hadn't gone. Nobody would know about his condition too soon, and he would be able to avoid having people stand around worrying him into the grave sooner than he intended to go. He would continue to visit this doctor until the strain of the travel became too much and then he would allow Monica to arrange care for him. By that time, he would be in his last days and only wished for comfort and he suspected that when he presented it to her that way, his son's wife would respect his wishes.

As for his own daughter, he wasn't sure how Tracy would react. She presented a tough façade to the world and sometimes he believed she truly wished him dead and out of the way so she could run the family business the way she wanted. However, Edward knew that she would be sad, just as she'd been devastated when her mother died. For all her bluster and presentation, she truly did just want his love and acceptance. Sometimes he hadn't given enough of it to her, and his dear, sweet Lila would try to smooth over the edges, but life was what it was and he knew that if he suddenly changed his behavior towards her she would become suspicious.

There were certain things Edward had decided he wanted to get done before he died, and it wasn't taking over a company or accumulating even more wealth. Edward wanted to fix things with his family. The doctor had given him six months at the shortest, a year at the most to live. Given his stubborn family, Edward knew it would take him every bit of that year, so he had to make sure he was around to carry out his plans. Which meant taking his medicine, following his doctor's instructions regarding his diet, and a fair amount of prayer that he would be able to manage all he wanted to accomplish.

First things first, he needed to get Luke Spencer out of the Quartermaine house, and out of their lives. For all her quirks and complaints, Edward did believe his daughter loved the crook in her own way, but the concerned father knew that it was not a healthy relationship. Luke was a user and a liar and a manipulator and he had hurt Tracy when he refused to tell Laura the truth, but instead married the mentally ill woman. His constant abandonment of his wife, and town, also grated on Edward. Tracy would get angry and threaten divorce and to cut the scoundrel off, but then fall for his charm and paltry excuses whenever he returned. It simply wasn't fair, or healthy, for her to constantly go through that cycle just to satisfy the whims of an overgrown child.

There was also something fishy in the things that had happened surrounding Alan's will. While Edward had gladly sent his daughter off to a mental hospital in the hopes of regaining control of the family company, he knew that his son's will had not been legitimate when it had been read. And somehow, Luke had been involved with it. If Edward was really honest with himself, he knew that his daughter had been involved with it as well, but while he wasn't above using underhanded means to get what he wanted, he didn't want to send Tracy to jail. He just wanted to rid her life of Luke Spencer once and for all. So he needed to find what had been in the original will, and he needed to place the blame solely on his unfortunate son-in-law and with a whole lot of luck, get him arrested and sent to jail before the miscreant could flee town again.

Edward knew that everyone was gone for the day, it was after Christmas, but not yet New Year's, and life had to continue. Luke was who knew where, Tracy was at the office, trying to squeeze a few deals in before the end of the year to pad the coffers, and Monica was at work because illness never took a holiday. Alice wouldn't bother him, she was upstairs cleaning, and Cook was working on the evening meal. No one would hear the calls he was about to make.

The first was to a man who wouldn't be averse to doing a little digging for him. Digging into Luke's finances, along with Tracy's, and even seeing if he could find the original copy of Alan's will somewhere. Or find someone that Luke may have mentioned the scam to; Edward was determined to take Luke down soon. And while the man was doing some digging, Edward was also going to have him look into some issues regarding his grandson Jason.

It had been at the annual Christmas Eve party that Edward had gained his epiphany. As he'd been contemplating his mortality, digesting the diagnosis his doctor had given him only a few days before, he'd stood back and watched his family. Really watched him. And he found himself focusing on Jason.

His grandson probably thought that nobody saw him slip in to the back of the room, hiding in the shadows where he wouldn't easily be seen. He was standing near the Corinthos clan, more than likely watching his godson Morgan as the sad, little boy attended his first Christmas without his brother Michael around. It still broke Edward's heart to think of his great-grandson lying in his room in the AfterCare Institute, in a coma that many believed was irreversible, because of the violence of Sonny Corinthos' lifestyle. But as Edward watched Jason, observing who he was actually looking at, and not just believing the younger man was there for Sonny Corinthos and his worthless family, he was surprised to realize it was someone else that seemed to have caught Jason's attention.

The mobster wasn't watching Santa, or the Corinthos family, he was actually watching Elizabeth Webber and her children. And that caused Edward to watch them. And the more he watched the single mother and her two little boys, the more he began to notice little things. Like the shock blond hair of her youngest son. And the piercing blue eyes that astonishingly reminded him of Lila's. And the solemn way he observed everything around him, studying it quietly before acting.

Edward realized that night he was watching a miniature Jason.

There was no doubt in his mind now that Jake Spencer was actually Jason's child. He cast his mind back over the long and tangled history of his grandson and Emily's friend, and realized the pair had been connected in numerous ways for years. There had been the fight at another hospital Christmas party years ago where Nikolas had yelled at Jason and gotten angry at his grandson for sleeping with Elizabeth. There was the many times that Elizabeth and Jason had talked together, presumably about Emily, but who was to say that was all they were talking about. There was the time that Jason came to a family dinner, all so he could get a list of ELQ properties because that dear, sweet artist was missing. And there was the irrefutable declaration at Jason's murder trial that the pair had slept together.

There had also been a question about the paternity of her youngest son that Elizabeth had denied and said her husband was the father of her child, but Edward wasn't so sure. Even though the family had questioned Lulu, could they really expect a Spencer to tell the truth? Perhaps the girl hadn't known, or she'd decided to lie to save face for her brother. Why had they simply believed her and not looked into for themselves?

Well, that was something Edward intended to rectify. Especially after watching the look of longing and pain that crossed his grandson's face as he watched Elizabeth and her children. Jason had been fully focused on the nurse and those two little boys and Edward had remembered even more whispers of rumors he'd heard floating around. The youngest boy had been missing for a little while and yet, he was now in his mother's arms. Jason was sporting some scrapes and cuts and the old businessman was smart enough to piece together the likely story. If Jake had been in danger, Jason must have found him, and returned him to Elizabeth. He had found his son, and returned him to his mother.

But they obviously weren't spending time together. Why was that? Did Jason not know the boy was his child? As Edward had pondered it that Christmas Eve night, he decided that couldn't be the case. Jason looked at that little boy with pure love that he'd tried futilely to mask. He'd also looked at Elizabeth and her oldest boy the same way. Clearly there had to have been some sort of relationship, but no longer. Not with the way Jason was keeping his distance, and not with the way that he'd left the party when Elizabeth happened to scan the crowd and had seen Jason. That moment had cemented so many of Edward's thoughts.

That was the moment that Edward had realized that the cheerful, happy demeanor the young mother was exuding for her children was merely just an act. When she'd seen Jason across the room, had seen the want and regret in his eyes, her own face had crumpled. Regret and pure misery washed over her and the octogenarian had been struck with the overwhelming desire to give her a hug as he had done to Emily on so many occasions and tell the young mother that everything would be alright. Even though he had no idea what was truly wrong.

Eventually the moment between his grandson and the nurse was broken and Elizabeth forced her emotions back, pasting a happy and enthusiastic smile on her face when it was time for the children to sit on Santa's lap. She took the boys up together, situated the brothers on Santa's lap and stepped back to raise her camera. After the brilliance of the flash faded, she lowered her camera and looked around, her shoulders slumping in defeat when the spot Jason had previously occupied was now empty. It wasn't long after that that she gathered her young family up and left the party, her enthusiasm for the gathering having completely waned once she noticed Edward's grandchild was gone.

It was that looked, combined with the look in Jason's face as he'd walked away, that led Edward to spend his sleepless Christmas Eve planning. His grandson was a father; there was a new generation of the family continuing, even if Jason did go by Morgan now. It would have thrilled Lila to pieces to know that Jason was a father and had a family of his own. She would have wanted him to be with them, to hold them close and love them, just as she and Edward had loved each other. As he'd thought of his dear wife, thought of his impending death, and hoping that he would be able to see Lila once more, he knew that he couldn't leave this earth before he'd set things to rights.

It's what she would have done, it's what she would have wanted, and he was not going to meet her on the other side without having fixed the mess of things that Jason was currently in. His grandson deserved happiness. He didn't deserve to only have Sonny Corinthos' children in his life. He deserved to have someone who cared about him and wanted him to be happy, not just wanting him around to clean up her messes like Carly Jacks. And he especially deserved someone sweet and lovely like Elizabeth Webber, not that two-bit con artist Sam McCall that Jason had previously been involved with.

A thought came to Edward and he called his man back and gave him one more assignment, and then he hung up the phone, contemplating his next phone call. It was one he wasn't quite sure how to face, and it was almost laughable that a man such as him should be hesitating over this next step. He was a fierce businessman and a take-no-nonsense negotiator. He'd faced down foreign investors and defeated hostile takeover attempts; surely he could pick up the phone and call his grandson.

As he was about to pick up the phone, he paused and then lowered his hand, his eye caught by the picture of Lila to the side, her silver hair perfectly arranged on the top of her head and her pearls offset against a lovely lilac dress. She always had a way of softening the edges of their grandson, just as she had softened the edges of him. Perhaps that was why Edward and Jason had clashed too often; they both were stubborn and didn't ever want to admit they were wrong. The family hadn't done things right when the young man had woken up from his coma, and maybe they - he - could have come to accept him doing something besides medicine, but Edward would never accept the presence of Sonny Corinthos in Jason's life. And Jason would never admit that he'd fallen in with the older man at a time when he hadn't been fully prepared to understand all the consequences of the choices he was faced with.

Lila, though, had overlooked Jason's profession and simply loved the boy for who he was. Her grandson, the son of her son, and encouraged him to be a better man. She accepted the time he gave her and never demanded more visits, and she intervened when the family became too overbearing. If only she were here now, she would know how to best approach their grandson about this situation. She would be able to listen to him and coax the admission out of him that he was a father, and then find out why he wasn't with his family.

"You could have spoken to him, Dear," he said softly to her picture. "I'm not sure what to say to him."

And that was the reason he was holding back. It would be hard enough to get Jason to take his phone call, let alone come visit him. Then when the young man did arrive, Edward wasn't sure how to breach the topic of young Jake Spencer. But he knew that nothing would be accomplished by sitting around and avoiding the problem. He hadn't gotten to where he was today by holding back.

He simply had to pick up the phone and call. And when he spoke with his grandson, he simply had to forge ahead and put it all out there. He may never be as refined and easy-tempered as Lila, but he would talk to his grandson. He was not going to give up trying to do what was best for this family, and that family included Jason.

Mentally prepared, now, for whatever came his way with Jason, he reached out for the phone and decisively dialed his grandson's number.

"Morgan."

"Jason," he began evenly. "It's your grandfather. There's something I need to talk to you about."

A weary sigh was heard through the line, and then the younger man's voice was edgy and hesitant as he said, "I'm busy right now. I don't really have time to meet."

"I know this may be inconvenient and not something you wish to do," he said, biting back the anger that naturally wanted to come out in the face of his grandson's irritation. "But I would appreciate if you could find a moment in the next week or two to meet with me."

There was a long pause, and then finally Jason said, "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Jason," he said. "I appreciate it, and I look forward to seeing you when you can come."

Jason stood on the bridge over the gorge and hung his head in weary frustration while tightening his grip on the railing. The damage from where Diego Alcazar had crashed Sam's car into it was long ago repaired, but he could still see it when he closed his eyes. He could remember Elizabeth's panicked face as she stared up at him out of the back window, he could remember the surge of anger and adrenalin that flowed through him when he kicked in the window and reached in to save her, and he could remember the terrifying moment when he thought he would go over with the car and never see the face of the woman he loved again. He remembered her cradling him in her arms and visiting him in the hospital while he recovered and waiting there in his penthouse when he returned from Seattle after having his surgery.

He would forever remember that moment when he asked her to marry him and finally convinced her that it wasn't because she might be pregnant with his child, or because it was the right thing to do and the look of pure love and joy on her face when she accepted. His hands tightened when he remembered that mere seconds later it all crashed down around them when they heard word that Michael had been hurt, and he remembered breaking both their hearts when he ended things with her the next day because he never wanted her to experience the debilitating pain of one of their children being hurt and having his life hanging in the balance.

But he simply couldn't stay away from her, and when she fought for him, when she refused to let him push her away, he was selfish and gave in to her pleadings because he'd wanted to. And in the end, they had paid for him being selfish. Jake had been taken once again and nearly died. Elizabeth had been heartbroken and terrified as her child was missing because of one of his enemies, and Jason had decided that he simply could not do that to them again. He could not be in Elizabeth or the boys' lives and have them be a target for one of his enemies. He had to keep them safe and protected, and the only way to do that was to keep his distance from them.

It was just so hard to do. He longed for them. He couldn't stay away from Elizabeth's street and he would drive by her house and see a square of light illuminated in the dark and know that Elizabeth was inside, getting the boys ready for bed, reading them a story and tucking them in, and his heart would ache. He wanted to be a part of that so badly that sometimes he simply could not find a way to breathe past the pain that stabbed him. More than once Spinelli had looked at him in concern when a memory would assault Jason and he would gasp for air while trying to push past it.

He knew he shouldn't have gone to the party at General Hospital on Christmas Eve, but he hadn't been able to stay away. He'd needed to see Elizabeth and her boys, especially after all that had happened. He'd looked at his son and the little boy he loved simply because he was Elizabeth's and saw that they looked happy, they looked healthy and he really hoped that Jake didn't suffer any lasting effects of his recent ordeal. He'd watched as Elizabeth interacted with her colleagues and held Jake and talked to those around her, but he'd seen it was all an act. There were moments when her face would show the incredible sadness she was holding back, and those moments had killed him. Especially when she lifted her head and zeroed in on where he was standing, as if she'd sensed his presence and was drawn to him. Her pain, her longing, her regret, it was all laid bare and he'd taken half a step towards her before he realized what he was doing. That was why he'd left when she turned to put the boys on Santa's lap. He had to go before his resolve broke and he stepped forward and claimed his family.

What he hadn't realized was that someone else had witnessed that exchange.

Edward had noticed his presence at the hospital and the way he'd been watching Elizabeth and her sons. And then Edward had noticed something about Jake. How the little boy looked amazingly like Jason had as a child. When he'd met with the old man after the first of the year, he had never expected his grandfather to state that he knew Jake was actually Jason's son and not Lucky's.

"I don't know if the rest of the town if blind, Jason, or just willfully deceiving themselves, but that boy looks everything like you. And it gets stronger all the time," Edward stated. "For whatever reason you're not telling anyone, but pretty soon it will impossible to hide. So what's holding you back?"

He hadn't confirmed his grandfather's suspicions, but he was sure the look on his face gave him away. He had simply been too surprised to mask it quickly enough. He was sure Edward had called him over to harangue him about Sonny or Michael or some business venture he was intending to block; he'd never expected the old man to reveal he knew Jason had a son.

While Edward might have thought he was doing a good thing, Jason had left when the older man began pushing him to claim his family and acknowledge them. He said that Jason was a strong and capable man who could protect his family, but the enforcer knew that was a lie. Michael lying in a coma was proof positive of that. Jake's kidnapping was also proof the old man was wrong. He wasn't able to protect his family if he was with them; the only way he could keep them safe was to stay away.

And he would now have to avoid Edward. The old man wasn't giving up on his crusade to get Jason together with his son. In the two weeks since he'd gone to visit his grandfather at the estate, there had been many run ins around town, and each time, Edward would say something about family and children and fathers being there for their children. He would reference his regrets with Alan, and talk about how Alan had fought for Jason, and many other statements that were no doubt intended to wear the younger man down, but only succeeded in creating a deeper well of pain. He wanted to be with his son and the woman he loved, but he couldn't. It was a dream; an unobtainable dream, and that's all it ever would be. His life simply would never allow him to have a family, and he couldn't handle any more references to it from Edward.

He should have known that his grandson would be stubborn when they spoke. After all, it took the boy long enough to finally come see him. Edward had exercised extreme patience as he waited, the days turning into a week and then more before Jason finally came by, edgy, tense and distrustful; he hadn't called his grandson and harassed him, pushing him to come, he had waited and tried to give the young man space and show that he trusted him to keep his word. As each day passed, it grew tougher, but Edward was glad he'd waited.

It made Jason slightly less irritable when he slipped in through the terrace doors and asked why Edward had called. They spoke of Lila, of the past Christmas with more and more family members gone, and then Edward had deliberately softened his voice and did everything he could to keep accusation and calculation out of his voice when he told of his observations at the hospital party and finally said aloud he believed Elizabeth Webber's youngest son was Jason's. The look on his grandson's face gave him perfect confirmation, even though the younger man had never actually verbalized it.

Edward had done his best not to judge him or harangue him, or claim that young Jake would be the next CEO of ELQ, he'd merely spoken of family, of regrets, or seizing the moments when they arrive. But that hadn't stopped Jason from walking out the door, or avoiding him whenever they encountered each other. And Edward made sure they did encounter each other. Jason wasn't the only one in the family who could be stubborn and persistent. Edward wanted his grandson happy, and he knew that being a father to his son, being a family with Elizabeth and her children would make him happy. He wanted Jason to realize that as well, and to realize that the best thing in life would be to make a family with the single mother.

However, Edward was also a shrewd businessman, and he knew that he'd pushed enough for right now. He'd said enough to annoy Jason a bit, but that annoyance would also keep Jake and the others in the young man's mind. The harder he tried to ignore them, the harder it would be for Jason to actually be able to. So the best thing to do right now was to let his grandson stew in his thoughts for a while before he once again began his press.

Which meant that it was time to turn his attention to other important matters.

Like the removal of Luke Spencer from this house and their lives. And Edward felt that he was moving closer to that end. He still didn't know what Luke and Tracy had done to Alan's will, but he had finally found something that he could use to get rid of Luke Spencer. He just had to play this right, because Tracy could be so ridiculously loyal to the scoundrel that she just might try to bail him out and negate all of Edward's plans.

Luke Spencer was a crook always looking for a buck. Rules didn't apply to him and he thought that if he was caught, his charm and his wit would save him. It certainly had wormed his way into Tracy's life. But Edward had finally found the piece of evidence that if he played it right would anger Tracy enough to leave her worthless husband floundering in the wind. Then more evidence would come to light, and with Edward making a well-placed comment, it would hopefully get his daughter to see that the man was not worth the pain and heartache she was experiencing.

And it would all happen today.

Luke Spencer had forged his wife's signature on some loan documents and the sale of some stock certificates. Seems he was planning to get his old rust bucket, the Haunted Star, up and running without Tracy knowing about it or hindering it, so he'd pulled a scam while Tracy was in Los Angeles visiting Dillon and Ned after the holidays. It was only because Edward's private investigator had been watching the man that they'd learned of his scheme. Edward had alerted the bank, the bank had alerted the local police and the FBI - Edward had insisted the WSB not get involved because of Luke's past with them - and today when his worthless son-in-law went to finalize the deal, he would be arrested.

Ned had been instructed to keep Tracy away from the news and her phone for a couple of days so Luke would be unable to call his wife hoping to persuade her to his side and avoid the charges. In those days that Tracy was in the dark about what was happening, the Haunted Star and Luke's old blue's club would be raided and more stock certificates missing from Tracy would be found. Along with some of her jewelry. Right next to the marriage certificate of Luke to Laura that proved Luke Spencer was a bigamist - Tracy and Luke thought the preacher who married Luke and Laura was a fake, but Edward had ensured he wasn't - and the one way plane ticket in Luke's name to a country with no extradition treaty with the United States. The kicker for his daughter would be the discovery of the passport with Laura's picture, but a fake name. She would have no trouble believing that Luke had decided to leave her and break Laura out of the mental facility and spend the rest of his life with his first wife. Especially when the letters from the facility's director were discovered that said Laura was responding to medication again and coming out of her catatonic state.

Edward didn't like what he was about to do, because he knew it would hurt Tracy. He had seen her insecurities about Laura Spencer and Luke's devotion to the mother of his children. She would believe that if Laura was waking up again, of course Luke would leave her. His plans to leave town and abscond with her money fit perfectly in with his past actions of skipping out on her before. His plans to default on a loan in Tracy's name and leave her with financial troubles would just be his final blow to her. In spite of all the anger that Tracy would feel regarding the rapscallion, she would also be hurt. She would feel like she'd only ever been a substitute and all of her time with her husband was nothing more than a lie.

The dying man didn't want to deliberately hurt his only remaining child, but he knew that in the end, this was the best thing to do. Luke Spencer would be behind bars where he finally belonged. Tracy would divorce the man and cut him out of her life for good. And in time, she would, hopefully, see all that Edward had done was for her own good. He could only hope so. Because he didn't want to die with his daughter not speaking to him.

Edward Quartermaine knew Jason was Jake's father. Not just suspected and made a lucky guess; he knew. Because Elizabeth had confirmed it. He'd walked into Elizabeth's hospital room during the bio-toxin crisis and when she asked Emily's grandfather what he was doing there, he said that he was going to sit with the mother of his great-grandson and ensure that she wasn't alone. She broke down into tears at his declaration, and then as the hours passed, she found herself confessing everything to her son's relative.

She talked about her fears regarding Lucky and everyone telling her that Lucky needed the baby to get sober, and she admitted her fears about not wanting to be just an obligation to Jason when she was sure he still loved Sam and wanted to have a life with the other woman. She told him the long, complicated history between her and his grandson and ended with the reason Jason was not a part of their lives now. She admitted that after Jake's second kidnapping, she'd been too afraid of something like that ever happening again and so she'd agreed to Jason's declaration that there would be no more contact between them.

Now it might have been the drugs, but she was pretty sure she got a chastisement from Mr. Quartermaine.

"That is just codswollop, my dear girl," he told her with a shake of his head that sent his jowls shaking. "That has got to be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. The things that happened to you and my great-grandson were tragic, but they were certainly not because of your involvement with Jason. They happened because the two of you believed that you were better off without guards and letting everybody believe that Lucky was Jake's father. You went to a cabin that Lucky wanted you to go to instead of having Jason's guards around you. And given Lucky and Sam's investigation, who's to say that the Russians didn't follow them and take Jake simply as a way to get revenge on the cop and his girlfriend thinking they were being clever in their investigation?"

He'd left her with a lot to think about, but the thing Elizabeth kept coming back to was that she and Jason had agreed. She had spent months begging Jason to be with her, to be a part of her and the boys' lives, and their worst fears as parents had been confirmed. Even with guards, there was no guarantee that the boys would be safe. They would be openly acknowledged as part of Jason's life and enemies trying to get a piece of the territory would see them as a means to attack in order to get that. The constant danger that surrounded Sonny's children confirmed that, as did the fact that Michael was now lying in a coma. She'd tried to make Edward understand that, but the man refused to listen.

"My dear, that is because Sonny Corinthos is an arrogant man who thinks that the rules of life and nature do not apply to him," Edward growled. "He declared he was out of the business and didn't have guards around him. Now I may disagree with my grandson about a lot of things, but the one thing I know about Jason is he is very conscientious about safety. He would have never taken Michael, or especially one of your children, to that warehouse without having it swept and making sure there were guards. Life is dangerous and you cannot control everything."

Maybe they couldn't, but this was one thing she and Jason were in agreement on. She wasn't going to fight with him anymore, she wasn't going to add to the burdens he carried by begging once again for a life with him. She missed him, of course she did, and she wished they could have found a different way, but she knew that no good would come of dwelling on such thoughts. They had to go forward and she had to make the best life she could for her boys. And that life would, unfortunately, be one without Jason.

But she would know that he loved her, and that this was just as tough on him as it was on her. The look she'd seen on his face at the hospital Christmas party had convinced her of that. As had the look he'd given her through her hospital door window when he'd stopped by during the toxin crisis and looked in on her. Edward had still been by her bed, so Jason hadn't come in, but he'd stood in the hallway for several long moments and looked into her room. There had been concern and worry etched deeply into his face, but his eyes had softened in that special way they did whenever he looked at her. She felt his love, even though they were separated by glass. Elizabeth had no doubt that if his grandfather hadn't been in the room that Jason would have come in.

It touched her deeply and sustained her, knowing that he still thought of her even though they'd promised they wouldn't contact each other. It helped ease her worries and her fears, and it helped her be strong when Lucky burst into the room unexpectedly and declared that he had broken through the police line for her. She didn't look on him with gratitude and adoration, but wondered what he was thinking coming into a toxic environment when he had been safe. Who would look after the boys now?

Edward had been equally unimpressed with Lucky, especially when her ex-husband demanded to know why the older man was there. Jake's great-grandfather said that he was visiting Emily's closest friend, not that it was really any of Lucky's business. Perhaps the underlying animosity was exacerbated by the fact that Luke had recently been arrested and the Quartermaine family seemed to have turned against him. Or perhaps it was because Edward refused to leave the room simply because her ex-husband told him to go. Or maybe it was due to the fact that the older businessman said that he was reporting Lucky's illegal actions to Mac, or to the FBI, because the incompetence of the police force disgusted him, and Lucky was the chief culprit on the force.

As Elizabeth held the paper this morning as she sat on her couch, still recovering and recuperating from breathing in the bio-toxin, she had no idea that Edward hadn't just meant Lucky coming through the police line. He had meant everything. Stuff that he had learned listening to Elizabeth speak while they were sitting in the hospital. But her name was never mentioned as a source; in fact, the evidence presented against Lucky had been gathered from multiple sources that didn't even come close to linking her.

The fact remained, though, that Lucky Spencer was now sitting in a jail cell next to his father. He had been arrested on evidence tampering, dereliction of police duties, corruption, bribery, drug possession, endangerment, and a laundry list of other crimes that went right up to his recent illegal undercover investigation against the Russians. The city was embroiled in a scandal and every arrest and conviction Lucky had ever been a part of was now under scrutiny. The mayor's approval ratings had plummeted, Mac was under pressure to resign and a special commission had been convened to investigate the entire mess. Elizabeth felt horrible that Mac was in such trouble along with several of Lucky's partners, but she also couldn't forget the way that they had talked to her, or pressured her, making Lucky's problems her problems and telling her she had to fix him. She didn't want Robin's uncle to lose his job, but maybe with today's recent revelation that Ric had pressured Mac into reinstating Lucky, perhaps he wouldn't.

It was a mess, but Elizabeth knew that ultimately she was not responsible for it. Lucky's was guilty of the charges, and it was time she stopped making excuses for him or thinking it was her responsibility to fix his messes. She needed to focus on the boys and helping them deal with photographers that had been camped out in front of the house until Edward had stepped in and intervened, getting them removed, and with the fact that the only man they'd known as Daddy was now in jail and likely to be there for a very long time. She needed to get better, focusing on herself and her children, and she simply didn't have any extra energy to waste on Lucky Spencer.

"What did you do?"

Edward looked up when the terrace doors opened unexpectedly and his grandson entered the room, snowflakes caught on his leather jacket that then drifted to the carpet. He set down his pen and said, "Jason. This is an unexpected surprise."

"What did you do, Old Man?" the younger man repeated.

"What do you mean?" he asked, even though he had a suspicion. He wanted Jason to admit it, to actually voice the words aloud. It would make him have to mention Elizabeth and her children, and make it harder to him to ignore the family he wasn't with.

"This whole thing with Lucky being arrested," Jason stated, placing his hands on his hips. "I know you were the one who gave much of the evidence to the cops and the federal prosecutor and made them deal with Lucky."

Edward took just a minute and then admitted. "Yes, I admit it. It's time this town dealt with the scourge that is the Spencer family. Luke's been arrested and is facing charges, and now his son has proven he was cut from the same cloth. I will not apologize for protecting the women in my life by getting the Spencer men out of theirs."

"E-Elizabeth isn't in your life," his grandson shook his head, his brows drawing together.

"She is the mother of my great-grandson, whether that has been acknowledged by anyone other than those immediately connected to the boy," he countered unabashedly. "That makes her a part of this family and a part of my life. Lucky Spencer is as worthless as his father and I will not apologize for bringing his crimes to light and getting him out of Elizabeth and those sweet children's lives."

"Everyone now thinks that Jake and Cameron's father is a criminal," the younger man growled, almost sounding pained. Perhaps that was what he feared people would say if it was known he was their father. "They'll be labeled as children of a dirty cop."

Edward sighed sadly and said, "Yes, that is unfortunate. But they are children and they are resilient and in time, the town won't look at them and see Lucky Spencer's children; they will see they are the sons of Elizabeth Webber, a strong and exceptional woman, and they will be judged on her merit, and their own. Besides, this town has long known what the Spencer family has done, and there are plenty of people who don't like them. Being a Spencer isn't as wonderful as Luke and Lucky seem to believe it is. There are plenty of people in this town who would have judged those boys even if Lucky hadn't been arrested."

"But you didn't have to make it harder on them by having Lucky arrested," Jason countered.

"Jason," he said with a shake of his head. "I simply will not apologize for what I have done. I will not apologize for freeing Elizabeth Webber from Lucky Spencer's tyranny. I listened to that young woman as she rambled, probably not even realizing what she was saying part of the time, and truly heard what she was saying. That young man you seem to almost want to protect has abused that sweet girl for years. He has walked into her work and yelled at her, screamed at her, and called her vile and disgusting names."

He shook his head again, and stood, too agitated to sit. "I did many things in my life that hurt my dear Lila and let her down, but the one thing I never did was yell at her or call her any of the names that Lucky Spencer has called Elizabeth Webber. I have to wonder what kind of man thinks that is acceptable on any level. I have to wonder if a man will yell at a woman like that in public, what is he doing in private? What is he saying in front of her children? What is he saying to her children about their mother? I'm not saying that Lucky has done any of that, but I wouldn't put it past him. I wouldn't say he would never do that, simply because he's proven that he is verbally abusive."

Turning his back on the troubled look of his grandson, he closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over his chest, trying to ease the pain that had started as he became upset. He knew he needed to calm down to lower his blood pressure, but he had one final thing to say. Pivoting to face Jason again he said, "I believe that Elizabeth and those children are better off without Lucky in their lives. The man is a former drug addict with enormous anger issues; now they no longer have to worry about him becoming enraged or going back on pills. They are free from him."

Moving so that he could lean against his desk he debated his words, but finally said. "You believed that a drunk wasn't a good father for Michael. I'm amazed that you thought a drug addict was an acceptable choice to parent your son."

"It's better than growing up as the son of a mobster and a degenerate," Jason replied, using Edward's own intemperate words against him.

Slowly shaking his head, both to refute those words and to clear his vision, he said, "I'm not so sure about that anymore, Jason. I'm not so sure."

When Jason left without comment, Edward slumped back heavily against the wooden structure behind him, and then made his way to his leather chair, reaching for the medication hidden away inside a side drawer. He hoped he was able to convince his grandson to change his mind soon, because he wasn't sure if he would be able to repeat another charged confrontation like this.

Her father was up to something. Tracy didn't know what it was, but he was definitely up to something. She was certain he was behind Luke's arrest, but instead of gloating about her husband when she returned home from California and telling her he was right and Luke Spencer was a no-good degenerate, he had told her was sorry for any hurt she was feeling. He hadn't needled her about her poor choices in life, he hadn't used her marital problems as a way to try to oust her from ELQ and take over once again. Instead, he went with her to work every day, didn't challenge her position as CEO, but scheduled meetings where they could actually talk about the future of the company and her ideas for going forward.

He became excited about business prospects and deals she suggested, and then let her handle them. He would ask about them, but his tone was never challenging, it was never belittling, and the one time he asked if she needed any help, she actually believed he was sincere instead of trying to prove that she was incapable of running the company. It was all completely out of character for him and made her very suspicious.

Especially when he would go to New York City for business meetings she knew nothing about and he wouldn't talk about, and then not rush back to try to work a few more hours in the day. He would instead return home where Alice would wait on him, and then he would ask Monica and her about their days and actually listen to the answers instead of charging onto the next question or overriding them with talk of his day. He was still mentally sharp, he hadn't missed an error on a spreadsheet that got past their VP of Accounting, but there was something...missing in his normally gruff demeanor and cut-throat nature.

If she didn't know any better, Tracy would almost think her father was sick. But she'd asked Monica if he had been around the hospital on non-board meeting days and her sister-in-law said she hadn't seen him. Tracy had even done a little digging and found out her father hadn't been going to Mercy, not that she expected him to go to that second-rate hospital, but she was trying to figure out what was going on.

Which was why she was in his office at home looking through his agenda, his files...anything that could explain to her why he was behaving the way he was. And once she figured that out, then she could use it to her advantage. While he wasn't challenging her position at the company now, it simply wasn't in his nature to relinquish control to somebody else. Especially her. Her father believed that men were better suited for business and was therefore always trying to get one of his grandsons into ELQ. He always thought she wasn't cut out for the business world and she was certain that sooner or later he would try to undermine her.

"May I help you find something, Tracy?"

She spun around to see her father standing in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, but he wasn't scowling at her. He almost seemed to have a twinkle in his eye as if he'd expected this, but his lips remained in a firm, thin line. When he didn't begin ranting or raving at her, going on about her untrustworthiness or railing at her for invading his privacy, she frowned. He should be yelling at her, not staring at her quietly as if he actually expected her to answer his question.

"Well?" he asked as he walked into the room, stepped past her and sat down at his desk. "Was there something you were looking for, Tracy? A pen, perhaps? A pad of paper? Some stamps?"

He looked up at her, raising his fuzzy, white brows expectantly and she huffed and flung her hand out to her side. "I want to know what's going on with you."

"What do you mean?" he asked, once again infuriatingly calm.

"This," she waved her hand at him. "You're calm. You come in and find me going through your desk and you're not even yelling. My husband-"

"Soon to be ex-husband," he said, reminding her that she filed divorce papers as soon as she returned from California.

"Gets arrested for fraud, embezzlement, bigamy and a few other things," Tracy said, swallowing down the hurt that still surfaced when she spoke of Luke, "and you haven't even gloated once about it. You haven't said 'I told you so' or anything else. Luke obviously still loved Laura best and he was planning to run away with her with my money and you're offering me sympathy. You're helping me at work; you're not overtly trying to undermine me. It's...it's not like you, Daddy, and I want to know what's going on."

He laced his hands together on top of his desktop and asked, "Should I make you feel bad, Tracy? Worse than you're already feeling right now? I've never hidden the fact that I didn't like Luke Spencer and I felt that he was no good for you. But do you really expect me to gloat in the face of your recent misfortunes?"

"Yes!" she exploded. "It's what you do. It's what we do. We're Quartermaines; we practically eat our young for breakfast."

"And look at where that's gotten us, Tracy," he said, leaning back in his chair almost wearily and spreading his hands out. "Your brother is gone. His oldest son is dead, the youngest one doesn't want to acknowledge that we are actually his family. Your sons have fled to California rather than be here with the family. Your mother is dead. It's just the three of us rattling around in this big house and the next generation of Quartermaines was raised to hate us and is currently lying in a coma. What has our tendency to turn on each other really gotten us?"

Tracy stared at him quietly and then sat down in the chair across from his desk. "Are you sick, Daddy?" she asked him. "That's the only reason I can think for you to be acting like this. You're...introspective. You're still shrewd...but you've softened some. It..."

She trailed off and swallowed thickly. "It reminds me of after Mother died and you were so sad. It makes me wonder."

"So you came to rifle through my desk looking for my medical records?" he wondered. "Or were you hoping that I'd set your husband up so you could find a reason to reconcile with him."

"Did you set him up?" she asked him, lifting her brow and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tracy," her father leaned forward. "How many times has Luke Spencer taken off during your marriage? How many times has he tried to swindle you? To swindle this family? The man is a thief and a liar and he has repeatedly hurt you. I will not pretend that I am sorry to see the back of him; I am only sorry that you have been hurt. But I will say that I truly and fully believe that you are better off without him in your life, and I honestly think your mother would say the same thing. She had a big and generous heart-"

"As evidenced by the number of times she forgave you," she said.

Daddy sighed softly and the corner of his mouth turned up. "Yes. And she had a bit of a soft spot for Luke Spencer. But in the end, she would have sided with family and she would have deplored the way he's treated you and she would have encouraged you to be done with him."

Ridiculously she felt eyes sting and she asked, "Do you really think so?"

"I do," he nodded resolutely. "Which is why I am going to help you out."

"Help me out?" Tracy questioned. "What do you mean? Are you going to admit you framed Luke?"

"No," he shook his head. "But I will place the blame solely on Luke for the forgery of Alan's will that the two of you presented to this family after your brother's death."

"What?" she demanded, surprised at the sudden declaration. That incident was years ago. "What are you talking about?"

"Tracy, Tracy," her father shook his head with a slight tsk. "You may have thought to destroy Alan's will after you altered it, but your degenerate of a husband was never above thinking of his own backside and not you. I'm sure that the copy my investigator found in Luke's blue's club, hidden behind a panel in the wall that the FBI didn't find, was meant to be his ticket to further extortion from you."

"You're lying," she said. Surely this was a bluff. Luke wouldn't have been so stupid as to have actually kept a copy of Alan's original will lying around.

Taking a key out of his pocket, he unlocked a drawer, and then fiddled around a bit, probably lifting a false bottom. Then he straightened and held up a blue bound legal document and she swallowed. Unfolding just the top he read, "The last will and testament of Alan Quartermaine. In which..."

His voice went strangely odd and he cleared it before continuing, "In which he leaves his ELQ stock to Jason Morgan's future children."

"He was with that two-bit tramp Sam McCall," Tracy said indignantly. "Surely you can see why I wouldn't want to give her incentive to become pregnant with the next generation of this family."

"Yes," her father nodded. "I can certainly understand why you chose to protect the family from the likes of her. But Jason is no longer with Sam. It is time for the truth of Alan's will to come to light. Monica deserves to have that."

"Monica," Tracy huffed as she rolled her eyes.

"She is his wife. And he loved her. Just as you claimed you loved Luke," he stated with a raise of his brows.

"And look where that got me," she snorted. "But as for Sam and Jason...they were working together last month during the bio-toxin crisis at the hospital. I'm sure she's undoubtedly working some angle to get him back since that's what she does. Moves from rich hu- mark, to rich mark."

"You're right," he agreed. "I do not believe my grandson is completely rid of Samantha McCall; so help me make sure she's gone once and for all."

Tracy narrowed her eyes and asked, "How exactly do you think I can help you?"

Her father laughed, not mean-spiritedly, but a jovial laugh she had not heard in some time. "Tracy, my dear, you don't fool me for one minute. I know you did something that got rid of her when she was working for me. I admit I was using her in the hopes of getting Jason to come back to the family, and she claimed she wouldn't help me, but she also looked at me with dollar signs in her eyes. Then all of the sudden, she couldn't work for me any longer and high-tailed it out of here and you looked like the cat who ate the canary.

"So tell me what you have on Sam McCall," he said as he leaned forward and rested his forearms on his desk. He was all business now, the way she'd seen him countless times as he turned the tables in a negotiation and put the other person over the coals to get exactly what he wanted, "and it's only Luke who is going to have additional charges added to his indictment. If you don't give me the information to get rid of Sam McCall once and for all from this town and this family, then you better hope you look good in prison blues, Tracy, because I'll make sure you're implicated right alongside your worthless soon-to-be ex-husband."

He leaned back and said smoothly, "The choice is yours."

"You'll have the information by the end of the day," she promised him. Then she narrowed her eyes at him and said, "But don't think this means I'm giving up; I'll figure out what's going on with you."

"You're welcome to try, Tracy," he told her. "Just make sure I have the information by the end of the day before I talk to federal prosecutor."

With this information Sam McCall would be out of Port Charles for good. Maybe one day, Alexis Davis would actually be grateful for what was about to go down. Although with that woman it was hard to tell.

The part that Edward was most concerned with, was making sure that she was removed from Jason's life before she could get her claws back into him. It galled him that she would never be charged with hiring men to come after Elizabeth and her two little boys with guns, but Edward simply hadn't figured out a way to confirm Elizabeth's confession through other means. That weird little computer geek living with Jason had probably erased all record of the con-woman's involvement.

However, that hadn't been the case regarding Jake's first kidnapping. Edward had spoken with Maureen Harper personally, stating he was Jason's grandfather and wanted to make sure she was doing well and continuing to get the help she needed, and she agreed to make a formal statement detailing Sam's witnessing of the crime. From there it would be a simple process for the new D.A., one actually committed to justice instead of personal vendettas like Ric Lansing, to connect the dots and realize that Sam had withheld evidence and impeded an investigation.

It would seem like almost a paltry tag on to the other charges she was facing, but Edward was especially pleased about it. While others would be happy she was facing charges of fraud and grand larceny, along with murder, Edward would know that this was all payback and retribution against the woman who dared to stand by and watch his great-grandson get kidnapped and hope he was never found.

Edward looked over at the picture of his beloved Lila on the desk and sighed. "I hope you'll forgive me for what I've done, Darling. I simply have to make sure this family is taken care of before I go."

While Edward would also love to eliminate Sonny Corinthos and Carly Jacks from his grandson's life, he knew that would be tougher to do. And in the end, it might backfire on Edward. If Sonny was gone, then Jason would step up and become the head of the organization, and then he'd feel even stronger that he couldn't be a family with Elizabeth and her two little boys. But by getting rid of Lucky Spencer and Sam McCall and having their crimes come to light, then two of the biggest obstacles that had constantly come between his grandson and the woman he loved would be gone.

Elizabeth wouldn't return to Lucky, and Jason wouldn't let Sam manipulate him again. And maybe Edward's words would finally get through to both of them. Jason would realize that Lucky hadn't been the better choice for Elizabeth because of his abuse he inflicted on that dear girl. And Elizabeth would regain her trust in his grandson and choose Jason to make a life with and believe he would protect them. He would need to talk with her again, encourage her to follow her heart and fight for her family.

But first, he needed to speak to his grandson.

It wouldn't be easy to get Jason here after their last conversation. Hopefully the younger man would understand clearer now that it was better Lucky was out of the Webber family's life and not be so upset. But regardless of whether his grandson understood or not, Edward needed to speak to Jason. He needed to understand what was in his father's will, and what it really meant for Jake.

So Edward took a deep breath and picked up the phone, punching the correct numbers and then settling back as the line rang. Just when he was sure he would have to leave a message, he heard his grandson's voice.

"Morgan."

"Jason," he said. "It's Edward. I need to speak to you as soon as possible. It's about Jake."

Jason hadn't known what to expect when his grandfather called and asked to meet with him, but he hadn't expected this. He'd expected more statements about Lucky's treatment of Elizabeth and the boys, or how Jason wasn't stepping up and being a man by not being with his family, all things intended to rile Jason up and make him claim his family. The statements did anger Jason, and not just against his grandfather.

He had finally seen what the old man had done to Lucky was about protecting Elizabeth and showing his concern for her. Jason had always been concerned about Elizabeth and the boys and the way Lucky acted around them and treated them, but he'd often felt that his hands were tied in what he could really do. For so many years Elizabeth had always gone back to Lucky or asked him not to hurt the other man. She'd choosen to protect Lucky over herself, or put his wants ahead of anyone else's, including Jason. While the enforcer had agreed to Elizabeth's request to let Lucky be Jake's father, he couldn't deny that she'd hurt him with her plea. It was just another example of Lucky mattering more than him.

Of course, he knew that he could not place the blame for their situation fully on Elizabeth. So many times she was asking him, almost begging him, to step up and tell her what he really wanted, to claim his family and make that decision. But he'd always step back and defer to her, or put the decision back on her by claiming she had more to lose or face, and she'd shut down and go with the status quo. If he'd just stated that yes, he wanted his family, would she have fully gone along with it? There were times he thought she would have, but it was hard to think about that, because then it led to painful moments of envisioning what their lives might have been like, and he simply couldn't live that way. He couldn't indulge in what ifs, he had to focus on the now in order to keep everyone safe.

He'd been prepared to stand his ground and tell his grandfather that while he could now acknowledge that Elizabeth and the boys would be better off without Lucky in their lives, that didn't mean that their lives would be better with Jason. He was glad that Elizabeth would never be yelled at, or threatened, or abused the way Lucky had terrorized her for years. And he was grateful that Cameron and Jake wouldn't grow up with Lucky's erratic behavior, wondering why their father didn't come around, or having to worry about his temper or the things he might say about their mother. If Jason hadn't worried about Elizabeth hating him for doing something to Lucky, he would have gotten rid of the punk years ago. So he was glad that Edward had decided he didn't care whether Elizabeth liked it or not; he simply acted and got rid of the man.

And Jason had a suspicion that his grandfather had done the same thing in regards to Sam. While he didn't know how the old man had found out about Sam's past of marrying men under false names and stealing their money, or how he'd found out that she had stood by and watched Jake's first kidnapping, the information had been completely accurate and had led to her arrest. She was facing multiple charges in multiple jurisdictions and was being charged with first degree murder in the death of Bill Monroe. The D.A. in that case was even talking about seeking the death penalty.

Alexis, of course, was frantic over her daughter and had even come to Jason to ask for his help. The mobster had simply stood there during her pleadings and then said that there was nothing he could do. The charges had been filed, the information was true, and he couldn't do anything to change it. And he wouldn't, because of what she'd done in the Jake Spencer kidnapping case. Then he stated that given that Alexis' own child had been kidnapped, he couldn't believe the mother thought that Sam should be allowed to go free. If she wanted to represent her daughter or do something, then that was her choice. But Jason and Sam were no longer together and there were many reasons for that, and he was not going to do anything.

When Alexis then said that wasn't what Sam believed, that her daughter believed Jason and Sam were growing close once again during the times they'd worked together and would be reconciling, Jason had a strong guess as to why Edward had acted against Sam, especially now. It wasn't just retribution for what she'd done to Elizabeth and Jake, it was to prevent her from becoming involved in Jason's life once again. His grandfather seemed determined to protect everyone and the mobster was no exception.

While Jason had been expecting to talk about those issues, he had not expected his grandfather to tell him that he'd discovered Luke Spencer had forged Alan's will and a real copy had just come to light. He was glad for Monica's sake that his father's correct will had been found, but he didn't understand why it made Edward call him, and say that it concerned Jake.

"Because, Jason," Edward said slowly, his voice soft and definitely not edged with exasperation or anger. "Your father left his ELQ stock to your future children."

The younger man paused, the words tumbling around in his mind as he tried to process them. His father had left something to children that Jason didn't even have...or that people didn't believe he had. Jason had only found out that Elizabeth was pregnant with his child right before Alan's death.

"Jake," he breathed out, finally voicing to his grandfather what Elizabeth had apparently already confirmed. Jake was his child.

"Yes," the older man nodded. "As of right now, Jake is the sole heir of your father's considerable ELQ stock. Of course, should you have any children in the future, whether biological or through adoption, they would all receive equal portions."

He looked at his grandfather at the obvious reference to Cameron, or future children, but knew the older man was correct. Even though everyone believed Lucky was Jake's father, the young boy was his, and he had been referenced, however indirectly, in Alan's will. He was the owner of substantial stock and it seemed Edward wanted him to have it.

"I know you're probably thinking that Jake will be fine in his life without your father's stock and that this really doesn't change anything," Edward continued on. "But you have to see, Jason, that when this comes to light, things will change for Jake. When I was in Elizabeth's hospital room, she shared a lot of information with me. Including the fact that she felt horrible that she had stopped you from telling Monica the truth about Jake when so many other people knew. The Spencers know, Carly, Sonny and Jax know, Lucky and Sam know. There are many people in this town who know that Jake is your son. When these new charges against Luke are made public, some of the details about Alan's will are going to be made public as well. They'll highlight the things that were changed, and that includes Alan's stock going to your future children. There are many people who know what that will mean for Jake; do you really think all of them will never say anything about it?"

He could only shake his head. Sam could say something out of spite and then claim that she hadn't meant to, Lucky could say something out of anger, or so could Luke, or even Carly could say something, complaining that Jake got Alan's stock while Michael got nothing. His grandfather was right; a lot of people knew about Jake's true paternity, and when the details came out so the could the truth about Jake.

"I called you to let you know about this so that you and Elizabeth can then discuss what you're going to do," the older man pressed forward. "The two of you are going to have to talk about what you plan to do, what is best for Jake, and how you intend to handle all of this."

He started to speak, but coughed, gasping for breath until he reached for a glass of water present beside him and took a drink. Jason's brows furrowed as he watched his grandfather pale momentarily until he finally seemed to be able to catch his breath and continue on.

"I've asked the prosecutor on Luke's case to hold off making these new charges public to allow the family some time to deal with a few matters," he stated. "But I don't know how long he'll be able to wait. He's anxious to begin the trial, and then the forgery of Alan's will is going to become public knowledge. So please, Jason, put aside your fears and go and speak to your son's mother. This isn't something you can wait on."

He finished on a gasp of breath and Jason frowned. "Are you okay?" he asked as the older man reached for the glass of water once again.

"I'm fine," Edward waved his hand dismissively, but Jason wasn't entirely convinced. "Just a lingering cough I've had since the hospital crisis. I'm sure it's nothing."

"There was an airborne toxin," he said with concern.

"I didn't breathe nearly as much of it as others did," his grandfather denied. "If Elizabeth can go back to work after she was practically on death's door, then I can handle a minor cough."

He wasn't entirely pleased, but really felt there was nothing more to say. And he was anxious to leave now before Edward started speaking about Elizabeth's condition and how he had sat beside her, but Jason had never looked in on her. It was still hard to think about how ill she had become and what could have happened if the anti-toxin hadn't been recovered. But he knew it was something that would eventually have to be addressed, because he was going to have to meet with Elizabeth. This new information about Alan's will was something they had to discuss. And Edward was right; they needed to do it soon.

As Jason left the study, Edward clutched at his chest and coughed once again. The exposure to the toxin certainly hadn't helped him, but that wasn't the only reason he was coughing more. His condition was getting worse and it was getting harder and harder to hide it. He had less energy and less desire to work, but he knew he had to keep up appearances. However, as he reached for the drawer that contained his medicine, he knew he was going to have to call his doctor. He wasn't feeling as much benefit from the medication and knew that they'd need to increase the dose, or change it.

That was going to mean tests, and a lot of them. And that was going to mean staying at the hospital while they were done. After swallowing the medicine, he loosened his tie and leaned his head back against the high leather chair and allowed his eyes to drift closed. He breathed deeply and slowly and hoped that his heart rate slowed and he returned to normal quickly. Monica was due home from her shift soon and her shrewd doctor's eye had been turning towards him more and more. While Tracy seemed to sense something might be wrong, he was certain Monica knew and pretty soon she would be pressing for details and attempting to take care of him.

After a few moments he felt well enough to sit up and reach for his phone, calling his doctor in New York. The receptionist agreed to schedule him in the next day and then patched him through to the doctor who asked Edward a few questions and then declared that he would like if Edward could come down to New York City today, instead of waiting. The businessman promised he would see what he could do, but if that wasn't possible, he would be at the doctor's office tomorrow.

Then he hung up the phone just as there was a knock on the door and Alice stepped inside, carrying a tray. "Mr. Quartermaine," she began, "I brought you a light lunch since you didn't eat earlier."

"I'm not hungry, Alice," he shook his head, and then scowled lightly when she placed the tray down in front of him decisively.

"Mr. Quartermaine," she stated. "I have worked for this family for many years and I have put up with a lot of things. I don't get involved in your business-"

"Hmmph," he grumbled under his breath.

"But I know that there is something wrong," the maid continued. "You're sick. You've changed your diet, not complaining about the healthier choices Cook has been placing out, and even asking for certain foods. You're fighting less with the family and cutting back on your hours at work. And I can look at you right now, sir, and know that you're not feeling well. I will not tell the other family members; it is your business what you tell them. But I know that they're beginning to worry about you as well. Dr. Quartermaine has asked me to check on you a few more times during the day and just ensure that you have everything that you need. Right now you need to see a doctor."

Letting out a slow breath, Edward admitted, "I do."

"Your doctor is in New York City, isn't he?" Alice asked, even though she sounded sure of the answer. "You haven't been seeing anyone at General Hospital because you don't want the family to know."

The old man nodded tiredly and the maid said, "Then I'm going to pack a bag for you, sir. Your toiletries and clothes, including a comfortable and warm robe if you need to spend a day or two in the hospital, and I will be back downstairs in just a few minutes. I'll instruct the driver to bring the car around, and then I will help you outside."

She paused and then ventured, "I'll even travel with you, sir, if you would like and then return back to Port Charles. I'll simply tell Miss Tracy and Dr. Quartermaine that I was taking care of an errand for you to explain why I was gone."

Edward looked at her, the woman he had often just dismissed as an undutiful maid at times because she didn't always do what he wanted, and said gratefully, "I would appreciate that, Alice. I'm afraid I'm not feeling very well at the moment."

Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the soft tap on the back door, even though she had been expecting it. Quickly she rushed through the darkened kitchen, catching her shin on one of the kitchen chairs even though she'd made sure to clean up the floor and tuck all the chairs under the table when Jason called this evening and said he needed to stop by to see her, but wouldn't come until it was late and most of the street was asleep. Grumbling under her breath, she peeked out the curtain over the window and could just make out Jason's shadow and his leather jacket in the dark - since she'd made sure to not have the back porch light on, either.

"Jason," she said softly as she opened the door. "Come in."

He stepped in silently and then pulled the door closed behind him, making sure to flip the locks. Meanwhile she was over at the drawer that held all the spare pencils and rubber bands and pulled out a flashlight, clicking it on. "I'm not going to try to navigate my way through the dark again," she said. "Come on."

He followed behind her until they were up in her bedroom where a lamp was on beside her bed. She firmly looked away from the bed where she and Jason had slept together, and instead led him to her walk-in closet, turned on the light and stepped inside. He walked in behind her, a puzzled look on her face, but closed the door.

"There," she declared, turning off the flashlight and sitting down on the floor. "It won't look unusual for there to be a light on my bedroom since I often read after I get the boys down. But there's no reason to worry about your shadow being seen, or the boys hearing us if we talk in here. Since you were so insistent that you come late at night so no one could see you come in the back door, I figured I'd take a few extra precautions."

She looked up at him expectantly and asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Jake," he breathed out as he lowered himself to the floor, brushing aside a shirt that hadn't made it all the way into her hamper when she'd hastily cleaned up, and had fallen to the floor when he bumped it. She hoped he didn't take a closer look at it since it was a camisole top, and she could feel a slight blush color her cheeks at the silk and lace and how she'd worn it for him once when they met secretly.

"What about Jake?" she asked instead, hoping to get him to say what he needed to say and then he could go. It was going to take all her strength and willpower to talk to him and not be assaulted with memories of their past together and the moments they'd spent loving each other.

"Edward called me and said he needed to talk to me about Jake. It turns out that Luke forged Alan's will," Jason said. He wasn't looking directly at her, so maybe this was just as hard for him to be alone with her as it was for her to be alone with him. "Alan left..."

He trailed off and scratched his eyebrow with the back of his thumb and blew out a breath. "Alan left his ELQ stock to my unborn children. Luke apparently gave them to Tracy...probably in the hopes of somehow getting them for himself somewhere down the road. Of course, that's the reason Edward told me. I think Tracy was involved somehow and she didn't want Alan's real will to be known because I was dating Sam at the time and Tracy never liked Sam."

Her stomach twisted as a myriad of thoughts rushed through her. Tracy hadn't wanted Sam to be a mother to Jason's children and Elizabeth couldn't say she disagreed. She'd known how she felt when Sam and Jason had begun trying to have a child after Jason believed he wasn't the father of the child she was carrying. It certainly hadn't helped her morning sickness to hear Sam talk about being late to work because she and Jason were having sex and trying to conceive. It was what had made her think that Jason really was glad he believed he wasn't the father, since he'd so quickly begun trying to create a family with Sam.

She quickly pushed those thoughts aside and instead focused on other matters. Like the fact that Jake was the legitimate heir to Alan's ELQ stock. Edward knew Jake was Jason's son, and she could only imagine that the older man would want that fact known. Looking at her son's father she asked, "So what does this mean?"

He shrugged his shoulders slightly and said, "I don't know. Edward told me so that we could talk about it and figure out what to do before the truth about Alan's will became public. The forgery and the fraud associated with it will be added to Luke's indictment and because of that, what was changed will be made known as well. There are a lot of people who know that Jake is my son, and when they hear that Alan's stock was left to my future children..."

"They'll realize that Jake is the inheritor," she finished. She nodded slightly while pulling her lips between her teeth.

"Edward is concerned that with as many people that know, with the kind of people that know," Jason said, "someone may say something about Jake and then the truth will be out."

Drawing her knees up and bracing her elbows on them, Elizabeth ran her fingers through her hair and looked down at the beige carpet. "Everything we've been trying to do could be blown simply by someone being petty or jealous or just not even thinking. Luke's trial is going to be a huge thing; people will be talking about it everywhere. Add in the truth about Alan's will and the speculation about you having children somewhere down the road and it may all become too much to keep quiet. Someone, somewhere, somehow may say something without even realizing and someone else will overhear..."

"Yeah," he agreed softly.

She shook her head, her hair brushing over her feet and sighed wearily. "I don't even known what to say, Jason," she admitted. "I don't know how to prepare for this. Except..."

She kept her gaze down, focusing on her pink toenails as they disappeared and reappeared as she curled her toes into the carpet and then straightened them. "Except," she repeated, "to say that maybe it's time we faced the truth and accepted that we can't hide it forever."

"You-you mean you want to tell the truth about Jake?" he asked, his voice growing thick as he spoke.

Looking up at him, her eyes were moist as she said, "I've always wanted to tell the truth about Jake. I've just been too much of a coward. I've thought that I could make this situation be what I wanted it to, simply because I wanted it a certain way. But each lie I told, or we told, it all just seemed to spiral further and further out of control until it seemed to be too large to actually tell the truth."

With a shake of her head, Elizabeth said, "I'm tired of living this way, Jason. I'm tired of this oppressive weight on me, trying to remember who knows the truth, and not being able to say what I really think and feel. I'm tired of looking at my children and knowing that I'm lying to them each and every day and feeling like a hypocrite when I'm trying to teach them that it's important to tell the truth. I can hardly remember why this all started because the reasons always seemed to change and I'm just so tired of feeling empty and ashamed and afraid."

"Elizabeth," he said softly, yet there was anguish in his voice.

"I used to sometimes wish you would just take the decision out of my hands and say that it was time we told the truth. That you were ready to tell the world that Jake was your son and face everybody," she continued on, a half-hearted shrug barely lifting her shoulder. "I was twisting in the wind not knowing what to do and sometimes I just wanted someone else to say this is what we're going to do."

"You always faced so much more change...so much more danger," he began. "I didn't know how I could really be the one to decide that."

She closed her eyes wearily and willed the tears that burned them away and said, "I know. I know, Jason, that you were just as afraid as I was. We'd get close and then something would happen and we'd think it was better. Well...maybe there is no perfect and we simply have to deal with the hand life gave us."

Opening her eyes and meeting his gaze head on she said, "Jake is your son. Lucky knows that, your grandfather knows that...it's time Jake knew it. It's time to just stop hiding from everything and face the reality of the situation. And this isn't just because I want Jake to have Alan's stock; I don't care about that. He doesn't need that because of the trust you set up for the boys. I'm just...I'm tired of feeling weary at the end of every day because of the burden of the secrets I'm keeping."

"I know this has been hard for you," he sympathized.

"And it's been hard on you as well," she replied. "And it's going to get tougher. I...I lied on the stand at your trial. I have no idea if I'm going to face charges for that...but if there are consequences, then there are consequences."

"I'll talk to Diane," Jason immediately told her. "I'm sure she can come up with something."

"It doesn't matter," she shook her head. "What's more important is preparing the boys for this, and to make sure that they're safe."

Elizabeth swallowed and said, "This is your area of expertise. I'm sure there are things you want to change about the house to make it safer. I know that there will have to be guards. I know that you're going to worry and so I promise you, Jason...I promise you that we will listen to everything that you say, to everything the guards say. I will not fight you on whatever you decide to protect us. We will work on your timetable; we will follow your plan."

He swallowed and simply stared at her, looking at her in awe as if he could not believe what she'd said. She was sure he was frightened, because she was frightened, but she also felt better than she had in a long time. She felt lighter and freer. Whatever happened now, she would face it and deal with it. But she was tired of hiding from the truth and pretending that it didn't really exist. It wasn't fair to anyone, but especially Jason and Jake.

"I...I don't know what to say, Elizabeth," he finally spoke. "I can't...there's so much-"

He stopped when she stood up abruptly. She swallowed hard and fought to keep frustration and anger down. "I understand. You don't want to do this because you want Jake safe. Well then you need to come up with something, Jason, because I am completely out of ideas."

She moved towards him, anxious to get out of the closet that now felt stifling and get some space. Even in the face of the fact that it was going to become even harder to hide the truth about Jake's paternity, Jason still wanted to insist it was safer if it wasn't known. She had to believe it was about the safety because she knew how much he loved his son, but it was hard at this moment not to feel like Jason was rejecting their little boy. So she needed space so she could regain her rationality.

Jason stood up and blocked her exit and her hands clenched at her side; she was trying not to feel desperate but she wanted out of here. "Move," she whispered, staring at his chest. "Just move, please."

"Elizabeth," he said softly, his hand settling on her shoulder and making her feel like she'd just grabbed a live wire. "I want Jake. He's my son and I love him. I...I want everyone to know that he's my son. But we've spent the last two years saying it was safer that nobody knew he was."

"Too many people know, Jason," she said, unable to look up at him. "And with Alan's will, and Luke's trial, and Lucky's trial, and Sam going on trial...I cannot live in fear that it won't suddenly come out. This is a way for us to control it, to have safety precautions in place, to have things lined up instead of reacting after the fact. I don't know what else to say except that I think that this is the right thing to do. But I will not cut myself and bleed anymore trying to convince you. If you disagree, then you have to decide what we're going to do."

Then she pushed past him and sucked in a deep breath once she was in her room. She moved in agitation to the bed and turned off the lamp so that his shadow wouldn't be seen if he followed her, but mostly she hoped he would just leave. That he would disappear silently down the stairs and call her later when he figured something else out. But he didn't. He stood in the doorway of her closet, and she stood by her bed with her back to him. They seemed frozen for hours, the clock on the table only showed that ten minutes passed. Finally she heard him move, but he didn't leave the room, instead he came to stand behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

A sob mixed with a groan in her throat when she felt his touch and she closed her eyes and commanded herself not to lean back against him like every muscle in her body was screaming for her to do. This wasn't some romantic interlude; no matter how intimate the setting.

"I'll call Diane in the morning," he said, his breath whispering over her hair. "I'll let her know we want to change Jake's birth certificate, and I'll get her started preparing in case you're charged with perjury. I'll also start the guards making upgrades on the house and setting up a detail. We can introduce several to you and the boys to make sure you're comfortable with them."

Elizabeth swallowed thickly and could only nod. Then Jason stepped closer to her, his chest pressing against her back, as he wrapped his arms around her. He lowered his head and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I don't know what's going to happen," he said, his voice still low. "But I know you're right. Hiding from this isn't going to fix anything. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you and the boys are safe."

"I know," she told him. "I know."

Just like she knew that even though he was now going to acknowledge Jake was his son, he still wasn't going to be a part of their lives.

It was early in the morning when Edward's phone rang. The orderly had just helped him back into bed after he'd had some tests done, and the tired businessman was tempted to just let it go to voicemail, but he reached for it in case it was Jason calling. He really hoped his grandson would step up and do the right thing for his family.

"Hello?"

"Edward, it's Jason." His grandson sounded just as tired as he felt and he remained quiet to let the younger man talk in his own time. "Elizabeth and I spoke...we're going to change Jake's birth certificate."

He sounded as if he was tortured by the decision, and Edward could appreciate how hard this must be for the man worried about protecting his son. While he wanted to crow in delight and ask if this meant he and Elizabeth were not together again, he instead said, "Thank you for calling, Jason. I'll give the go-ahead to the prosecutor. We'll wait on the stock until things are finalized."

There was silence on the other end and then finally his grandson said, "Why are you in the hospital, Edward? What's going on?"

"Hello, Edward."

Her father-in-law looked up as she entered his room and smiled briefly, slipping his recently acquired reading glasses off as she approached.

"How are you feeling this afternoon?" she asked as she sat down in the wingback chair that matched the one he currently occupied.

"Tired," he admitted truthfully, and she could only imagine how much it had taken for him to actually give an honest answer. It was not in his nature to admit weakness, but these past few weeks had forced him to admit the truth to everyone.

Tracy had been almost shell-shocked when Edward called while on his business trip and confessed that he'd actually been admitted into a hospital in New York City. He asked his daughter and Monica to arrange for him to be transported to Port Charles and General Hospital, and requested that Monica monitor his vitals on the trip up. Then they both were at his side as he was admitted into General Hospital, one of Monica's colleagues received a thorough update on his condition and his original doctor's diagnosis and then they all worked together to get him stabilized and healthy.

He had only been released a few days ago, and Monica had taken some time off to get him settled in and monitor him closely. He seemed to be responding to the medication well, and was comfortable. But she had looked at his chart and knew that his original diagnosis was correct. Edward was in the slow process of dying and while they could make him comfortable and maybe find him a few extra weeks or months to live, nothing would stop the inevitable. His heart was going to fail and he had accepted that. He didn't want an artificial heart or heroic measures. He just wanted to be comfortable and with his family.

It was quite a change from how she thought this would originally go, but she could now see that he'd been adjusting to his prognosis for quite some time. And had been working his own special brand of magic to help people's lives. Luke Spencer was on trial for his numerous crimes, including forging Alan's will. Lucky Spencer was set to go on trial soon as well. And the truth had been revealed that Elizabeth Webber's youngest son was also Jason's.

Monica had cried when her son showed up at the house and confessed the truth to her. He had apologized for not telling her sooner, had explained that he'd only wanted to keep his child safe, and while she hadn't understood or agreed with all that he'd said, she was just so happy that he was telling her now. And offering her the chance to meet Jake. It was something that she'd never thought she would see, and could only lament that Alan hadn't lived to see it. But knowing that her husband and son would live on in the sweet blue-eyed little boy helped ease the pain she felt.

Jason had been there for the first meeting, when Monica met with Elizabeth and her two little boys and she was introduced as Grandma, but then he hadn't been around after that. Elizabeth didn't mention it, and Monica didn't press, but she sensed that it wasn't anything the young mother hadn't expected. Jason may have started the process to change Jake's birth certificate and claim the young boy as his own, but things were still very unsettled amongst the parents of her newest grandchild.

"Do you want me to call Elizabeth and postpone today's visit?" she asked cautiously. She knew that Edward was anxiously looking forward to today, but Monica didn't want to jeopardize his health.

"No," he shook his head firmly. "I slept later this morning and I even napped after lunch. I am not missing this visit with those sweet, little boys. Not when they don't have to worry about being too loud in my hospital room or catching on a wire or being in the way of a doctor. We're going to sit outside and I'm going to show them Lila's roses and Alice said she bought some toys and games they could play with."

He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. Then he opened his eyes and they were bright with determination. "It has been too long since this house has heard the sound of children and I am not going to miss it. You will be there, Alice will be there, and Elizabeth will be there. Two of you are medical professionals. I am sure between all of you I will be just fine and can enjoy an afternoon snack with my great-grandsons."

Monica smiled as she nodded her head. She'd known how he would react, and she couldn't say she blamed her father-in-law. She anxiously took every opportunity she could to visit with Elizabeth and her children, or to simply say hello to them, sometimes going to the daycare at the hospital just to look at them and watch them play. The little boys were still adjusting to all the changes in their lives and the adults didn't want to overwhelm them, but Monica and Edward were eager to spend every spare minute they could in the presence of their grandchildren. And neither of them wanted to exclude Cameron from the visits. The little boy was Jake's brother, and though they'd never discussed it, they both looked at him as one of the family and treated him accordingly.

"Okay," the doctor stated. "Then would you like me to help you get ready to go downstairs?"

"I thought you'd never get around to offering," he grumbled at her good naturedly with a smile and it was an odd thing to see on the former curmudgeon's face, but she had come to realize that his health issues had brought about a change in Edward. He had decided not to waste his remaining time fighting with the family, but was instead doing everything he could to fix things with everyone.

In short order they were heading down the hallway to the elevator, Monica had declared no stairs, and then they stepped outside into the late spring afternoon. Summer was not far away, so she knew he would be warm enough, but would not get overheated. It was the perfect day for this gathering, she was glad the weather had held. A few clouds overhead would bring a little shade, but they didn't have to worry about an impending storm.

She had just sat down in her chair when she heard the front door chimes through the open terrace doors. Alice greeted the young family, and Monica stood as the screened doors opened and Elizabeth stepped out holding Jake on her hip and trying to keep Cameron from running off at full steam.

"Grandma!" the older boy shouted. Then he looked at Edward and grinned, "Grandpa!"

"Hello, Cameron," Edward greeted him warmly. Then he looked at the little boy in Elizabeth's arms and said, "Hello, Jake. You look like you just woke up from a nap."

"He nearly fell asleep in the car on the way over," Elizabeth laughed. "I think the excitement was almost too much for him. All he and Cameron could talk about today was coming to your house. They wondered if they'd get cookies and milk like when they went to Grams'."

"Oh," Edward smiled, his eyes twinkling at the boys. "I think there will definitely be some cookies and milk today, along with a few other things."

"How are you feeling, Mr. Quartermaine?" Elizabeth asked as she came to sit beside him. Her eyes flickered over briefly to where Jake and Cameron were kicking some balls around with Alice, but she soon realized her boys were in good hands and turned her entire attention to him. "The boys aren't wearing you out, are they? As you can see, they can get a little rambunctious."

"No, my dear," he shook his head. "I'm having a lovely afternoon."

Then he smiled as he looked at her and said, "And please, dear, call me Edward. You're family; none of this Mr. Quartermaine."

She looked as if she was uncomfortable with the request, as she did every time he made it, but she nodded and he wondered if this time she would actually follow through for more than a few moments. They watched the boys playing for a few minutes and then Elizabeth softly cleared her throat.

"Thank you for inviting us over today, Edward," she said. "The boys have really enjoyed getting to know you. I'm not sure they fully understand it all, but they're having a great day. After all this running around, they are going to sleep well tonight."

"Thank you for bringing them, Elizabeth," he told her, turning to look at her as his voice softened. He held up his hand before she could apologize to him once again for him not knowing sooner and continued, "The past doesn't matter. You and Jason were doing what you thought best at the time."

"Except it wasn't the best," she shook her head, her voice turning self-recriminatory. "Lucky never treated those boys the way he should have. He didn't go into rehab until he thought I was pregnant with his child. And then he would use the fact that he was keeping Jake's paternity a secret to his advantage. It was so tense and stressful and I can't help looking back and wondering what if I was just braver and told Jason the truth the day I went to his penthouse with the paternity results."

"And my grandson could have actually asked you instead of telling you he already knew and that it was better Lucky was the father," Edward countered. "There were mistakes on both parts, but you can't keep dwelling on them, Elizabeth."

"It's hard not to," she confessed. "Especially when I hear what people are saying. People are talking about how I only admitted Jake's paternity now when the truth about Alan's will came out and Lucky is about to go on trial. If we really cared so much, why didn't we say something sooner?"

She looked as if she was about to say something more, but then stopped, blinking rapidly. He sighed and said, "And people think that the only reason you admitted Jason is Jake's father is so that you could get Alan's stock and become Jake's proxy. Since Jason doesn't see the boy very often, and declared he wants you to stand in for Jake until he's of age, people think you're an opportunist who's using your child to get rich."

The young mother pressed her lips together and looked away, her shoulders tense and stiff. Edward shook his head and said, "They don't know that you said you wanted Jason to be Jake's proxy since he already had ELQ stock, and nobody knows that Jason is doing this because he wants you to be involved with your son's family. And nobody knows that the most feared man in this city is actually nothing more than a coward."

Elizabeth's head whipped around and her eyes snapped as if she was going to challenge him, but instead, her shoulders slumped down and she said, "Jason thinks it's his fault that Michael was shot and he's determined to do everything in his power to not make the boys a secondary target by being around them."

"It's cowardice," he said decisively. "But it proves just how much you love him that you defend him and absolve him. You are so like my Lila that way."

"Jason will always hold a special place in my heart," she said softly. "He's been my friend for many years and he's the father of my child. It's the same reason I look at Zander and focus on the good; I do it for my son."

Silence stretched between them and Edward watched the boys laughing and playing on the grass. Eventually, Jake grew tired of chasing after the ball and toddled over to the table where they'd had cookies and milk earlier. He began to forage for something and Monica quickly joined him, lifting him to her hip and walking around the table, searching for something for the little boy. Cameron was enjoying having one on one time with Alice and the great-grandfather watched with pride as his efforts at kicking the ball grew with each swing of his foot.

Looking over at Elizabeth he broached a new topic. "Has there been any word from the D.A.?"

She tensed and then shook her head. "Not yet. I've spoken with Diane. She says she has contacts at the courthouse and Ric has been seen around town fuming. He's supposedly met with a few judges, but she doesn't know what about. I'm pretty sure that if he was still D.A. he would charge me. I think the new D.A. is more focused on the high profile, nearly open-and-shut cases against Luke, Lucky and Sam."

While she tried to put on a brave smile, he could see the worry in her eyes as she said, "I don't know whether it's a good or a bad thing that it hasn't immediately been looked into. I can't ever forget that it's there, but I just hope that if they do decide to come after me, they won't come to arrest me at the house. I...I would hate for the boys to see that."

"Diane Miller is a smart, and shrewd, woman, or else she wouldn't be working for my grandson," Edward said in an attempt to encourage her. "I'm sure she's got several defense strategies worked out and if something does happen, she will be prepared for it and will have you out and back with your sons in no time. But there is no sense borrowing trouble, my dear. Just enjoy your time with your sons."

He hesitated a moment and then asked, "Does Jason see them?"

"He's come by a few times," she said softly, swallowing thickly. "It's hard for him to feel comfortable, but I'm hoping that it will get easier for him with time. He's missed so much of Jake's life; I just want them to know each other."

That wasn't all she wanted, but she would never voice that. Edward wanted it for her as well, and he would never let up hoping for his grandson to see that he could be with his family. And since he knew hoping wouldn't be enough, Edward was also still planning to push Jason to claim his family until the day he died. He just hoped it didn't take that long, because each day he knew he was getting closer to that final moment.

Jason Morgan was furious. Ready to punch a hole in his wall, smash up a bar, or break someone's skull seething with pure fury. Diane had just called him from the police station and told him that Elizabeth had been arrested on perjury charges from his trial. Ric Lansing had somehow wormed his way into the D.A.'s office while they'd all been preoccupied with Edward's setback in July, and the first thing he pushed for was for charges to be brought against Elizabeth.

Jason no longer cared that the man was Sonny's brother, or that he was once again in the D.A's office, the man was going to die. It would be slow, it would be painful, but there was no way he was going to get away with this. The beat down Jason gave him in the penthouse parking garage was going to pale in comparison to what Jason was going to do to him now.

However, the most frustrating thing was that Diane had told Jason not to come to the police station. As if she'd known that he was already reaching for his keys and had one foot out the door. She claimed that she could keep the police focused on Elizabeth and begin the process for her defense a lot easier if Jason wasn't there. It had been hard to stay away; in fact, he'd driven by the police station, but when he saw the photographers outside, he knew Diane was correct. It would become an absolute zoo and Elizabeth's picture would be plastered all over the papers and the five o'clock news if he was spotted walking into the station.

Instead, he kept driving and found himself pulling into the driveway and parking to the side of the Quartermaine house. He took a chance and walked around the side, peering in through the terrace doors to see if his grandfather was in the den. He liked to come down in the afternoons and sit with the doors open and smell the heady fragrances from Lila's garden come drifting through the screen doors. As he neared the side of the house, Jason knew that Edward was downstairs, because he could hear the old man yelling.

"Now you listen to me, Arthur," Edward growled. "I have contributed regularly, and generously, to your re-election campaigns. I kept you a member of the country club when the membership committee was ready to kick you out after you caught with your secretary in the pool house during the Ladies' Aid Luncheon. Are you now really going to tell me that you can't do anything for my granddaughter?"

Jason reached for the doorknob as his grandfather huffed, "She is the mother of my great-grandsons, that makes her my granddaughter. There is no way Ric Lansing should have ever been allowed back into the D.A.'s office, and there is certainly no way he should be anywhere near a case involving his ex-wife. To say there's a conflict of interest is a gross understatement. He should have never been allowed to ask her that case at Jason's trial in the first place. And is it any wonder Elizabeth denied it? Her abusive husband was sitting in the courtroom and she feared for her safety and the safety of her children. I presume you've been following the testimony that's come out in Lucky Spencer's trial this summer."

He paused while the judge spoke and looked up, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw Jason. He rubbed absently at his chest and the younger man frowned, worried that his grandfather was getting too worked up and would further damage his already weakened heart.

"Thank you, Arthur," Edward said, his voice now kinder. "I'm glad you see how important this matter is to me and are willing to look into it. If you could somehow arrange for this case to be on your docket I would be extremely appreciative."

Then he hung up and rubbed at his temples. "What are you doing?" Jason asked. "You shouldn't be getting upset like that."

Raising his steely eyes to meet his grandson's he said, "Of course I'm going to get worked up when the mother of my great-grandson is arrested on ridiculous, trumped up charges. I'm surprised to see you here when Elizabeth is at the police station."

"Diane thinks it's better I stay away," he said as he sat down, rubbing his hands over his thighs. "I came here because I was restless and too anxious and didn't really know where else to go."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that," his grandfather said. "Staying away from Elizabeth seems to be your specialty. It seems to be second nature to you and I'm surprised it even bothers you that she was arrested."

Jason's eyes flashed dangerously at Edward and he said, "Don't push it, old man. Of course I'm upset Elizabeth has been arrested. I'm furious Ric's in the D.A's office. I don't care what Sonny says, but Ric isn't going to get away with it this time. Elizabeth was arrested at work, the boys were in daycare and I was going to get them until Monica said she'd get them and take them home. I wanted to go to the police station and sit with Elizabeth, in fact I drove down the street, but I didn't go in because there were reporters outside. I'm trying to keep a low profile around Elizabeth and the boys; the last thing I want is for Elizabeth's picture to be plastered all over the news."

"And I think the last thing she would care about would be that; I think she would be more appreciative to know that you actually cared," Edward shook his head.

"You have no idea how much I care," the enforcer growled. "Don't you presume to know what I feel about Elizabeth or those boys."

"All I can do is presume," his grandfather stated. "Because you never say anything and all I can do is judge your actions. You claim Jake, getting his birth certificate changed, but you don't claim your family. You may see the boys, but from the sounds of it, it's only about once a week or so. You're pretty much living your life exactly as you did before, so one has to wonder exactly why you went through all the trouble of changing Jake's birth certificate."

"Because he's my son," Jason stated, his jaw tense. "I've always wanted to claim him, but now, Elizabeth felt it was the best way to deal with things that might come out during the trials."

"So you only did it because that's what Elizabeth wanted to do?" the other man asked. "No wonder that girl doesn't know what end's up. And then here you've left her twisting in the wind; she's been labeled a gold digger by this town, who only now came forward with the truth about her son because Lucky's been arrested and her son stands to inherit millions of dollars. She's been arrested for perjury, but you're sitting around on your backside doing nothing."

Standing abruptly and sending the chair he was in scraping over the floor the anxious father demanded, "What do you want me to say, Edward? Do you want me to tell you how much I love Elizabeth? How much this kills me to know that she's in a jail cell right now, wiping the ink off her fingers? Or how much I hate...hate that she's going to worry about her boys finding this out? That Mommy was arrested and has been labeled a criminal?

He whirled around and paced away, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "Why do you think I stay away from them?" he demanded. "I don't want to have them see me arrested. I don't want to have someone tell them that their daddy is a thug, even though I know someone, someday is going to tell them that. I don't want them to be standing next to me and wind up with a bullet in their skull and watch Elizabeth go through what Carly did. Do you think I'm happy staying away from them?"

Taking a breath he said, "I want them in my life more than anything. I want to wake up each day and see Elizabeth and the boys. I want to give Cameron my name. I want to have them with me, but it's impossible. It isn't safe. They're already in so much danger just because it's known Jake is my son. I worry about their safety all the time."

"Jason," his grandfather said, startling him as he laid an aged hand softly on his shoulder. "Jason, my boy, I am so sorry. I didn't fully understand the burdens you were carrying; I just thought you were being stubborn."

A feeble tug on his arm along with a "Come sit down beside me, Jason," had the younger man turning immediately and realizing that Edward needed to sit. Taking his grandfather's elbow, they slowly walked over and sat down in matching leather chairs.

"Jason," the older man said once again, "I know that this has been hard on you. I figured out Jake was your son by the look of longing on your face at the Christmas party last year. I knew I was dying then, and I wanted to fix things with my family. The thing I wanted most for you was for you to have a family. A family of your own; not the leftovers of Sonny Corinthos. I saw that Elizabeth could be to you what Lila was to me. Someone who makes you want to be a better man. Not because she demands it of you, or gives you ultimatums, but because you want to be better for her; to somehow feel that you are worthy of her love."

He looked away, his eyes softening with memories that washed over him and said, "But the thing you must realize, Jason, is that those kinds of women, they love you simply for who you are. They want you as you are. Simply because they want you in their life. They fell in love with the man you were, they know who you are, and they just want to share their life with you. That is all Elizabeth wants from you. She doesn't expect you to be superhuman; she doesn't expect you to guarantee that nothing bad will ever touch her or her children-"

"But Michael," Jason said brokenly.

"Was a terrible tragedy," his grandfather said, leaning forward and resting his hand on Jason's arm. "But you are not responsible for what happened to him. While you may have claimed to have been his father for the first year of his life, you are not to blame for what happened. Carly chose to make a life with Sonny because she's a greedy woman who loved the money and the power that came with being his wife. Michael was shot because Sonny Corinthos was a fool who didn't take the proper safety precautions. I told you before that I know you would have never done that. You are too conscientious and too diligent. You did not put that bullet in Michael's head and it's time you stopped blaming yourself for that."

Jason swallowed thickly and the older man forged on. "The only person who is really to blame is the person who pulled that trigger. But you are letting that person continue to have power over you by robbing you of a life with your son. Of a life with the woman you love and the family you want."

He let out a soft, troubled breath and said, "I have tried to bully you into seeing that, I have hoped you would have an epiphany and realize that, I have prayed for your happiness and wished that I would live long enough to see it. But ultimately, Jason, you are simply going to have to decide what is more important to you. A rigid attempt at control that there is no guarantee of, or allowing yourself to experience happiness and love with a family who wants nothing more than to have you in their lives."

"I want them," Jason said. "But I am so afraid of something happening to them and having it be my fault."

"Sooner or later you'll have to decide if the fear is going to win forever," his grandfather said. "Because you will condemn your entire family to a miserable existence for the rest of your lives, and run the risk of your boys resenting you for never being there."

A ringing phone cut through the heavy tension that had settled over them and Jason shifted to pull his phone out of his pocket. "Morgan."

"Jason, it's Monica," his mother's voice came through the line. "I hate to bother you, but the boys are a little unsettled right now and I'm not exactly sure how to explain why Elizabeth didn't get them from daycare or how long she'll be. Do you think you could call Elizabeth's lawyer and find out?"

He closed his eyes and swallowed thickly and then said, "I'll do that, Monica. And then...and then I'll come over and see them."

"Oh," she said in surprise, but then quickly evened her voice. "I'm sure they would love to see you. It might help distract them from their mother not being here."

"I'll see you in a few minutes," he told her. Then looked at Edward and said, "I have to go. Are you going to be okay?"

He smiled softly and said, "I'll be fine, Jason. You go take care of your family."

With a nod, the younger man stood and strode from the room, his fingers punching the numbers for Diane's phone. He didn't care what the lawyer needed to do, or what judge he needed to see, but Elizabeth was going to make it back home to her boys tonight. And then...the two of them needed to talk.

Edward watched his grandson leave the room and smiled wistfully. Something had just shifted in the young man with that phone call, and the aging grandfather hoped it was for the better. Jason deserved a family and he deserved happiness, and Edward could only hope that his grandson had finally decided to reach out and grab it.

Although Elizabeth had expected this day might happen, nothing had fully prepared her for it. To have the police show up at the hospital with Ric standing smugly behind them, to have handcuffs placed on her wrists like she was a common criminal, to be read her rights, stuffed in the back of a squad car and still have fingerprint ink staining her fingers...it all seemed surreal to her. She'd been frightened, even with Diane's reassurances and fierce attacks against the charges and Ric's obvious vendetta, and she'd been lonely. She thought that once he heard she'd been arrested, Jason might actually show up at the police station. Yet as the hours passed and Ric taunted her in the interrogation room and traded barbs with Diane, as she went to court for an expedited bail hearing and watched as her lawyer shredded Ric with motions and challenges, she came to the depressing conclusion that Jason wasn't coming.

When Monica showed up to pay her bail, Elizabeth had a hard time mustering up the enthusiasm to say thank you. She was grateful to the older woman, and knew that it was more than her grandmother would do for her, but it still didn't heal the pain that had settled into her heart. Even when Diane rode to Elizabeth's house with the two of them and said that she'd told Jason to stay away so as to not incite a media frenzy or give Ric ammunition, it still hadn't soothed her pain. If Jason really cared, he would have come. Look at all the times he had bailed Sam out of jail, or even broken her out of jail, or put his life, reputation and freedom on the line for Sonny and the mobster's family, yet he couldn't come to the police station for her.

Getting out of the car, Elizabeth took a deep breath and forced all her hurt down. She needed to reassure the boys that she was fine, that she was in a little bit of trouble, but Diane was helping her. She needed to reassure Patrick and Robin, who she was sure were watching Cameron and Jake, that all was well and they could go to their house and not worry about her.

However, instead of seeing Robin and Patrick when she walked into her house, she saw Jason standing by the fireplace holding Jake and looking like everything she'd ever dreamed of. He didn't look awkward or uncomfortable being there, he looked relaxed andright; like he perfectly belonged. Cameron came barreling towards her as he cried, "Mama! You're home!"

"Mama," Jake copied, struggling against Jason's hold until his father set him down and he toddled up to her.

She knelt down and engulfed both boys in a hug, burying her face in her sons' necks and tried to hold back her tears. "Mommy's okay," she told them. "I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up from daycare. I had to take care of something with Diane."

"That's okay," Cameron said. "Grandma got us and then Jason came over and talked to us and said you would be home tonight. We was playing with him."

She lifted her eyes to meet Jason's and couldn't seem to find words to all the questions she had running in her mind.

"Let's let Mommy get up," Monica said, distracting the boys so they would release her. "I know that Jason said he'd start dinner while I went and got Mommy, so let's go see if it's done."

She turned to look at Elizabeth and then Jason, but they hadn't stopped staring at each other, and then finally the doctor looked over at Diane. "Diane, would like to join us? I think Jason was going to do pasta."

The lawyer quickly seized on the way to exit the room. "Sure."

Soon they were out of the room and Elizabeth could only stare at Jason. She couldn't make out the look on his face, or make sense of the fact that he'd come over to be with the boys while she was at the police station. Her brain felt frozen and she was sure she was staring stupidly, but she didn't know how to shake herself out of it.

"Come here," Jason said as he moved to her and reached out to draw her into his arms. She couldn't help that she stiffened for just a moment; physical contact had been so sparse between them that she was surprised and almost swamped with guilt and the feeling that she shouldn't do this. But then she melted into him as her arms came up around and she held on with everything she had as silent tears crested and streamed down her face.

He rubbed gentle circles on her back until she quieted, and then he pulled back and took her hand, not saying a word as he led her up the stairs to her bedroom. He went into her bathroom and she could hear water begin to run, but she didn't move. She remembered the last time they'd been here, and how Jason had agreed to change Jake's birth certificate, but nothing else had really changed. In fact, it had only become harder because now they had contact, but she still didn't have him in her life.

When he came back into the bedroom she looked at him over her shoulder and asked, "Did I make you do something you didn't want to do, Jason? Do you hate me for saying I wanted you to claim Jake?"

"No," he shook his head immediately as he crossed the room to stand beside her. "You were right, Elizabeth. It was the right thing to do, and you saw that."

He drew her into his arms once again and this time brushed a lingering kiss over her hair. "We have a lot to talk about, but we'll do that later. Right now...why don't you go take a bath while I help Monica get the boys dinner. She's offered to take the boys to the mansion tonight...to turn this into an adventure for them. So after your bath, you can spend some time with them and say good-bye...and then we can talk."

In the end, it went exactly as he'd told her. The bath helped her relax, to forget some of the fears and stress of the day and also helped her realize that she just needed to stop worrying about or wondering what Jason had meant. Coming home and seeing him there with the boys had reminded her of the day of Emily's funeral when she'd come home to find him. It had been what they'd both needed, to spend time together, to simply reaffirm their love and their memories of the young intern lost too soon. While she wasn't expecting to fall into bed with Jason tonight, simply having him there waiting for her was exactly what she'd needed. To know that she wasn't alone and that he hadn't forgotten her.

After her bath, she played with Cameron and Jake, read them stories, helped them pack their suitcase and make sure they had all the essential toys and nighttime routine makers. She'd laughed with them, listened to their days, and allowed them to boost her spirits and help her forget about the harsh click of the door into the interrogation room, or the constant ringing of phones and drone of people talking. And when she kissed them one last time as they got into the car with Monica, she was able to send them off with a smile instead of wishing they'd stay to spare her from the evening to come.

Letting out a sigh as she stepped back into the house and closed the door, she looked at Jason and said, "Thank you. I'm-I'm glad that you came over to see the boys. And thank you for being here when Monica and I got home."

"I'm sorry I didn't come to the station," he told her, taking her hand and leading her to the couch. "I wanted to. I drove past the police station a couple of times and wanted to barge in there and put Ric's head through the wall for doing that to you. But Diane asked me to let her handle it her way and I had to trust in her. I..."

He paused and blew out a breath while scrubbing his hand over his face. "It's so hard for me to let go. To not try to fix everything for everybody. It's what I do. I find a problem and I fix it. It's what I do for Sonny; it's what I've done for Carly for years...it's my first instinct. And sometimes...I'm finding out, my instincts aren't always right."

Elizabeth didn't say anything; she just looked at him, sensing that he needed to speak right now. So many times he'd listened to her while she rambled her way through a problem, coming to some sort of solution and attributing it to him. Maybe this time, she needed to just let him speak and eventually he'd make sense of his jumbled feelings.

"Watching what's happened with Michael and Morgan, and even Kristina, I thought that all of the bad stuff that happened to them was because of the lifestyle that I live in. And some of it is that," he stated. "But Edward has been trying to make me see that it was also because of Sonny. He's rash and impulsive and acts first and thinks later. I'm always there to talk him through things, to talk him out of things that are only going to cause problems and the times when I'm not there to do that, or can't do that, then things happen. And I've always felt that it was my fault because my job is to take care of Sonny and his family."

"And so when something happens to them, even if it's because Sonny doesn't listen to your advice, you think it's your fault," she said with understanding. "Like Michael's shooting. You thought Sonny should have guards, but he didn't."

"Right," he nodded. "And so I thought that I'd failed Michael. I thought that I was responsible for what happened because I acted as his father for the first year. But Carly chose to marry Sonny and have him adopt Michael and...and in the end, they are his parents. They're responsible for their choices. Just like we're responsible for ours. We'll have to accept whatever judgment Jake has for us when he gets older and understands what happens. But...but I want to give him so many good years before that happens that he'll remember those moments and not what happened when he was little."

Now she frowned at him and asked, "What...what do you mean, Jason?"

"I can understand why you asked if you forced me to do something I didn't want to do," he sighed. "Because I was acting like I wasn't happy that we'd acknowledged I was Jake's father. It's because I was still so worried about his safety, and Cameron's and yours that I thought I still needed to stay away. Yes, he is my son, but I'm not around him, so my enemies couldn't shoot him by accident."

"Oh, Jason," she said softly, her eyes blurring slightly as tears rushed to them.

"I didn't walk away from you and the boys because I don't care about you or because I don't love you. I do, Elizabeth. I never stopped loving you or thinking about you and wishing I could be with you, but I just didn't think it was possible," Jason confessed. "That it was safe. But when Monica called and said the boys were unsettled she just asked if I could call Diane and find out what was happening. She didn't even ask if I could stop by and see them because she probably thought I'd claim I was too busy. Too busy to see my sons, to comfort them and be there for them...and I finally realized what you and Edward and Monica had been trying to get me to see. I can choose to stay away from my family, and then we're all miserable. The boys don't really understand what's changed because I only saw them once a week or so, and how is that really being a father? That's just Mommy's friend who sees them sometimes. I want to be their father."

He swallowed and said, "I want to be their father when they're going to bed, when they're waking up, when they're coming home. I want to read them stories and give them baths and...and take care of them when they're sick. And...and I want the same thing with you. I love you, Elizabeth. I love you so much and I'm so afraid that one day you'll hate me because something happened to the boys, but I don't want to live like we are anymore. I want to grab each day that we have."

Gently he reached out and captured her tears with his thumbs and then, in a rough, emotional voice said, "That's if you still want me. I know that I hurt you."

"We hurt each other," she shook her head. "And we hurt ourselves, and I don't want to hurt anymore, Jason. I just want you. I love you. I love you so much and I've just wanted to be with you, to be a family with you."

He leaned forward slowly, as if he expected her to pull away, but then his lips brushed over hers. It had been so long, but it was exactly as she remembered. Even better. She felt his love, and she felt his commitment and she believed that he wouldn't pull away again. That he wouldn't break their hearts again. They'd lived with the pain of the past months and they weren't going to go back there.

Pulling back to get his breath, he captured her lips once again, this time with a deeper fervency, a deeper meaning. She hadn't thought she'd end up sleeping with Jason tonight when she first came home and saw him standing by her fireplace. But now she knew that's exactly what was going to happen.

"Goodnight, Grandpa," Cameron and Jake chorused softly after they hugged him.

"Goodnight, Cameron and Jake," he replied, his eyes and heart filled with delight.

"Go with Alice," Monica told them gently. "I'll be right in to read you a story."

Once the boys were out of the room his daughter-in-law sat down in the other chair and looked at him. "I don't know what you said to Jason when he came to visit you, but something changed in him. There was this...determination in him when he was with the boys. He didn't seem uncomfortable; he looked like he was exactly where he wanted to be."

"I believe he was, Monica," Edward said. "I know that's where he's always wanted to be, but he felt that he couldn't have that life. I think he finally realized that nothing is absolute, there are no guarantees, and he could either make them all miserable by trying to keep those boys safe with his absence, or he could make them a family and take what happiness they could."

"Well," she sighed as she stood and smoothed her palms over her thighs. "I hope he's really committed to them this time. And I hope that somebody makes Ric Lansing pay for what he did today. How that man wormed his way back into the D.A.'s office is beyond me."

She smiled and said, "I better get in there for story time. Do you need anything before I go?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm fine."

She left the room and he smiled in contentment as he leaned back in his chair. He had hoped when Jason took off today that he had finally decided to claim his family. Based on what Monica and the boys said, it appeared that he had. He hoped it was true, because he wanted to see his grandson finally be with his family.

"Good-bye, Ric," Jason said as he closed the car door. The other man's eyes stared at him frantically through the window, but Jason merely straightened and turned away.

"Take care of it," he commanded the guards who stood by, awaiting his orders. They quickly nodded and moved off to make sure that the lawyer's car went skidding off the cliff and burst into flames which would char the body and erase all evidence that he'd been beaten before his death. The paralytic agent Jason had injected him with to keep him in the car and unable to stop his fiery destruction, yet fully aware of his impending death, would be gone from his system, should the coroner be able to find some tissue on the corpse that he could sample.

Another guard followed behind Jason and collected the syringe the enforcer discarded, the gloves and clothes he stripped off and Jason knew the man would dispose of the evidence completely. Because these were men that were loyal to him. These were men that had come to work for the organization when Sonny had stepped down. These were men who had been ready to walk away after Jason turned the business back over to the Cuban, but had stayed because Jason had asked them to. These were men who had guarded his family, ensuring Jason that their safety was paramount and they would follow his orders before they ever followed Sonny's. And these were men who had just followed behind him as he had betrayed Sonny's command that Ric not be harmed.

Even though the older man had been angered along with Jason by Ric's maneuvering back into the D.A.'s office and for pressing charges against Elizabeth, he still held loyalty to his brother over loyalty to those around him. Jason had always been angered by his boss's blindness to the other man, but he'd ultimately obeyed. This time, however, Jason had gone behind Sonny's back and engineered an accident that would eliminate Ric Lansing forever. The man would never be able to hurt anyone else in Port Charles again, and he had finally paid for all the hurt he had inflicted upon Elizabeth over the years.

Jason was very visible as he returned to the warehouse and talked to Sonny. They discussed business, the message from the Five Families in response to the message Jason had delivered earlier in the day, and the head of the organization became Jason's unknowing alibi. When Ric's body was eventually found, of course Jason and Sonny would be suspected in his death. The animosity between the men was too well known, and with Elizabeth's recent arrest it had surfaced again. But Sonny would say Jason had been with him at the time of the accident, and he would never suspect his second had engineered anything because the order had been given not to harm Ric. It was simply a tragic accident on a notoriously dangerous section of road. Should the police try to question them more intensively, Diane would be called, she would expedite the process and Jason would keep his plans for tonight.

Because nothing was going to keep Jason from his plan.

Yet, the police never showed up to the warehouse, and Jason was able to shower at the penthouse without interruption. Spinelli wasn't even around to pepper him with questions or babble on incessantly while the determined man went about his task. He packed a bag to take to Elizabeth's to explain his return to his penthouse as something other than the need to shower to ensure that he didn't have any trace of Ric on him when he returned to his family.

Since the night Elizabeth was released on bail, Jason had in essentials moved into Elizabeth's house. He was with her when she went to pick up the boys from the Quartermaines and saw the delight in his grandfather and mother's faces when he told them that he and Elizabeth were back together. He helped explain to the boys that if they were willing to accept him, he would be moving in with them and they would all be a family now, forever. And that night, he helped put his boys to bed and was there when they woke up the next morning and little by little his belongings migrated from the penthouse to Elizabeth's.

They were still taking things a bit slow, being sure about their feelings, but Jason knew that he wasn't going to change his mind. He was going to show them that he was there for them, that they could count on him and that they were important to him. Like when Carly had called insisting she needed to speak to him and he said it would have to wait until later because he and Elizabeth needed to meet with Diane. Or the time that Sonny wanted to schedule a meeting, but Jason said that if it wasn't urgent, it would have to wait because he was taking the boys to visit with Edward. The other people in his life hadn't quite known what to make of the sudden shift in him, but he wasn't going to let them deter him. Just as Spinelli's pleas of what would he do now without his sensei didn't deter him from moving out of the penthouse and into Elizabeth's fortified house.

Eventually they might need to look into something bigger, but for now, he was basking in the warm cocoon of his family. And tonight he intended to show just how committed he was to them. He stopped his bike in the driveway and was glad to see that Monica's car was still at the house. He had hurried and hoped he'd get to see the boys before they left to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's, but he'd been delayed slightly by packing a few extra things from the penthouse because he didn't intend to go back there for several days.

"Daddy!"

Joyous cries greeted him when he stepped in through the front door and he smiled broadly as he bent down to catch Cameron who ran at full speed to launch into his arms. Jake was right behind his brother and slammed into both of them. He kissed them both and then said, "Hello, boys. Did you have a good day today?"

"Uh-huh," Cameron answered for both of them. "We made pictures at daycare. We're going to take them to show Grandpa, but we wanted to show you first."

His sons charged off and Jason stood, greeting Elizabeth with a hug and then turning to Monica. "Thank you for waiting. I was hoping I would see them before you left."

She smiled at him tenderly and said, "They would have been disappointed to miss you. There's no rush for us. If Tracy thinks we're delaying dinner, then she's welcome to go elsewhere tonight."

"Look, Daddy," Jake managed to say before his older brother, and Jason's attention was diverted back to the boys. He admired their pictures, told them that Grandpa would love them, and then hugged them once again while admonishing them to be good.

"We will," Cam promised. "We'll see you tomorrow, Daddy. Bye, Mommy!"

After helping carrying the boys' bags out to the car and telling Monica good-bye, he returned to the house and bent down to kiss Elizabeth the way he'd wanted to when he first arrived. As he pulled back, he brushed his fingertips slowly down towards her temple and then tucked her hair behind her ear, liking the look she gave him with her eyes cloudy and her cheeks flushed. "Are you ready to go?" he asked softly.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked, her eyebrows raised in hope. She had been trying to get him to tell her where they were going as soon as he'd suggested they see if Monica could watch the boys one night for them.

He kissed the tip of her nose and shook his head. "No. It's a surprise."

"Well, I dressed comfortably, but warmly," Elizabeth said, her eyes twinkling at him. "So I hope that means that perhaps we might be going for a bike ride?"

He thought of toying with her, but simply could not deny her, or himself, the pleasure of saying, "Yes. We're taking the bike. I thought it would be nice since the evenings haven't really gotten cold."

As they were leaving summer and getting close to fall, there was a definite crispness entering the air. But it wouldn't be too cold for a ride. And since it was still early in the evening, he intending to spend a while riding before they ultimately arrived at their destination.

"I don't suppose you'd let me drive?" she asked, turning around to look at him as she waited on the landing near the door.

"Always trying to drive," Jason shook his head with a smile. "Tonight, Elizabeth...just let me drive."

The pout that was beginning to form on her lips turned into puzzlement as he reached into the coat closet and pulled out the overnight bag he'd packed for them this morning before she woke up. Then he took her hand, led her outside and to his bike after making sure to lock the house. He knew the guards would follow at a discreet distance, he wasn't going to sacrifice her safety simply for privacy, but this would still be a special night where it would feel like it was just the two of them.

She held on tightly and squealed with delight as he pulled out of the drive, and all through every windy and twisty back road that he knew of. Finally, he went up the cliff road, knowing that the emergency vehicles would be gone by now, and he felt Elizabeth gasp and tighten her hold on him as he turned onto the road that led to the safe house they'd shared together for a time.

Looking at him questioningly, and with a slight amount of trepidation, she followed behind him and gasped once again as she stepped inside. He'd cleaned the neglected rooms and prepared it for tonight and he was glad she appreciated his efforts. It wasn't terribly fancy, but he thought she would appreciate being here more than she would want to get dressed up and go out to some fancy restaurant. There was no sign of the guards, but Jason knew they had to have just left. The food smelled warm and delicious on the table near the kitchen and he took her coat and then led her over to sit down.

"When did you do all this?" she asked him with pleased wonderment. "Jason, this is amazing."

"I wanted to create new memories for us, Elizabeth. This will still be our special place, but I don't want it just be somewhere we sneak off to and hope no one followed us." He took her hand and gently rubbed his thumb over the back of it. "This is where we can get away from the demands of the city and our jobs and just focus on one other. I kept this house because I remembered the time we spent here and even though it always felt too short, I was happy to spend any moment I could with you."

Clearing his throat he said, "Being with you and the boys now; it's what I always wanted. I love waking up and seeing you there, knowing the boys are just down the hall. I want that forever, and I'm committed to making sure you know just how much I love you."

"I know, Jason," she told him, her eyes glittering with tears. "I know. I feel it every time I see you."

"I've asked you this before, Elizabeth," he said, "but I've never gotten it right. This time, I'm doing it right so you know."

She frowned and asked, "Know what?"

But her confusion melted away when he pulled a small box from his pocket and opened the hinged lid. "I love you, Elizabeth," he told her. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you and the boys. I want to marry you and I hope you'll believe me when I tell you that nothing is going to keep me from you, this time. This time, I'm going to give you everything you deserve. Including a proper ring you can wear."

"Oh, Jason," she shook her head. "All I ever wanted was you. I don't care if it's a piece of glass or the Hope Diamond. Although I hope it's not the Hope Diamond; I'd be scared to wear it for fear that I'd lose it."

"It's not," he said. "Because it wouldn't look right on your hands. Your hands are small, yet are the strongest hands I know. You've nursed me back to health so many times, you've held me, conveyed your feelings in just a touch, held our sons, and you do so much good with your hands. I wanted something that was beautiful like you; strong, like you are, and artistic because you've shown me how to see the world."

He picked up the ring and slipped it onto her hand as tears spilled down her cheeks as she finally looked down at it and she whispered her acceptance. It was the perfect size for her hand like he'd known it would be, not overpowering, yet strong and sure. He wouldn't tell her that the flawless diamond and the platinum setting custom made by a top jewelry designer cost half the price of her house. He wanted her to be comfortable wearing it, because he wanted her to see everyday just how much he loved her and was committed to her.

Edward looked over at the picture of Lila that sat on his side table and sighed blissfully. Jason had confessed only a few days ago that when the boys were here tonight he planned to ask Elizabeth to marry him. The young couple had been engaged briefly before, but they had let fear tear - and keep - them apart. Now that Jason was committed to being with the woman he loved and their children, he saw no reason to waste anymore time. He knew what he wanted, and tonight he was going to propose. Edward knew, even if she hesitated for a moment, that Elizabeth would agree. She had loved his grandson for years and wanted to be with him.

Jason would have his family, finally. It was all Edward had wanted for him since seeing him last year longing for the family he thought he couldn't have. It eased the pain in his heart, and made it a little easier to let go now, knowing that the future of his family was coming together. Soon, he would see his dear, sweet Lila, and he found himself longing for the end.

"Absolutely not."

"Edward," Elizabeth said softly. She wasn't on duty this afternoon; she was just a family member sitting with a loved one who was sick. "We were thinking of you."

"Well, that's ridiculous," he groused, shaking his head. It wasn't quite as vigorous as it used to be, but then his health had rapidly deteriorated in the last forty-eight hours. Monica had stopped by his room at the mansion two nights ago and placed a frantic call to 911 when she saw his labored breathing and the blue tinge beginning in his lips. Since then, the family had been rotating shifts to sit with him in what they knew were going to be his final days.

"It is not ridiculous," she charged back. "I don't think it's ridiculous at all to want my fiancé's grandfather present at our wedding. You saw what Jason and I were trying to hide, and not just the fact that Jake is his son. We were trying to pretend that life was fine the way it was and you refused to let us settle for that. You are the reason that Jason and I are where we are today and we don't need, or want, a big fancy wedding. We want you."

He softened slightly as he said, "That is very touching, my dear, and of course I want to see your wedding."

"Perfect," she smiled. "Monica says that if there are no major complications or changes within the next few days that you'll be able to go to the chapel. Father Coats has agreed to perform the ceremony."

She rolled her eyes and blushed self-consciously, "Jason is flying in a designer from Italy to customize a dress for me when I told him that I was going to go out on my lunch break yesterday. Honestly, I would have married him wearing jeans, or even my scrubs, but he thought we should have something nicer for our wedding pictures."

Teasing with a smile she said, "We have to keep it just between us that he's such a traditionalist."

"He's a romantic," Edward declared emphatically. "Because the right woman inspires him to be so. He wants your children to look at these pictures and see how beautiful their mother is, and how much he loves you. And getting married in scrubs or jeans doesn't show that. It's no better than sitting in some tacky pink car in Las Vegas while an Elvis impersonator leans out of a fast food window and declares you husband and wife.

"And that is why," he continued on, wagging his finger at her. "You are not going to get married in the hospital's chapel."

"Edward," she sighed, trying to get him to understand.

"No, my dear," he said. "You are going to get married in Lila's rose garden. The warm fall days have kept them blooming, but we must do it soon before the nights get too cold and burn the leaves with frost."

Frowning as she bit her lip, she knew that while his doctors might clear him to be unhooked from all his monitors and wheeled to the hospital's chapel, it would be a lot harder to get them to agree to Edward going to the Quartermaine house. Even if there would be plenty of Elizabeth's friends from the hospital there.

"Now I know what you're thinking," he said. "There is no way my doctor's will let me go. Well, they'll have no choice but to let me go because I simply refuse to die in this hospital. I will not be surrounded by clinical, antiseptic, sterile surroundings. I want to be at home, surrounded by my family and my memories. Lila is strongest there, and I want to spend my last days there. I've declared my wishes, I'll have hospice, and they'll have to give me what I want."

He held out his hand and Elizabeth reached out and took it, feeling his strength and determination, even as his body was growing weaker. "And I would be pleased if you got married in Lila's garden. The boys have loved playing there; I have enjoyed watching you there; and I feel like my dear Lila is surrounding me when I sit there. I think she would want you two to get married there, and it's what I want. If you want to get married where I can attend the ceremony, then I'm afraid the hospital chapel simply won't work because I won't be here. But I will be sitting in among Lila's roses."

"Well," she smiled, as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "When you put it that way, I guess we'll have to get married in your garden."

"Excellent," he smiled at her, even though she could see he was tiring. "I'm glad you saw it my way."

"When you put it so persuasively, it was rather hard to resist," she told him.

"Hard to resist what?" Jason asked as he walked into the room. He wasn't suspicious or distrusting as he would have been in the past, simply curious about their conversation.

"Elizabeth was agreeing with me about getting married at the house," Edward stated before she could say anything. Of course, her lips were a little occupied at the moment with his kiss. "It is ridiculous that you two would even think of getting married in that tacky hospital chapel."

"We were thinking of you," her fiancé echoed her previous declaration as he straightened and pulled a chair beside hers.

"I appreciate that, Jason," his grandfather answered. "But as I told Elizabeth, I won't be here. I know that my days are short. And I refuse to spend them in this hospital. I intend to die at home."

Jason's hand tightened around hers and his voice was a little rougher as he asked, "Will they let you go home?"

"It's my choice," Edward answered. "I've signed up with hospice; I've told my doctors what I want. I decided this long ago when I knew that I only had a few months to live."

His eyes twinkled slightly as he teased, "Why do you think I pushed you so hard, my boy? I wanted to see this; I wanted to see you with your family. And I will hold on until I see you slip a ring onto this wonderful woman's finger and claim your family."

Elizabeth's heart went out to her fiancé as he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. He had fought so many years with Edward, and suddenly it was all changing. Jason told her that it brought back so many memories of when Alan died suddenly and Jason finally realized the years he'd wasted arguing with his father. It hit him especially hard because she had told him only hours before that he was the father of her unborn child. Jason was finally appreciating the man his grandfather was, and it only happened because they learned he was dying.

"Then I guess I better tell the guards to set up security at the house, and get things delivered to the house," Jason said.

"Thank you, son," Edward said, his voice fading as he drifted off. Elizabeth's eyes immediately shifted to the machines monitoring his vitals and she was reassured when they continued to measure out a slow heartbeat and show his blood pressure. He had simply fallen asleep, a common occurrence since his admission to the hospital, but one that sent them all into a brief moment of anxiety until they realized exhaustion had simply won out.

She touched Jason's arm softly, offering quiet support when his head dropped and he rubbed at his eyes. Then he swallowed audibly and raised his face, his red-rimmed eyes meeting hers.

"Diane has the marriage license," he said. "I'll tell Father Coates the change of location and make the other arrangements."

"Soon, Jason," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "He's determined to see you get married, but he's growing weaker every day. It needs to be soon."

He swallowed thickly and nodded, his hand covering hers and squeezing. "I know. And it will be."

"Daddy, we should get you inside."

Edward looked up as Tracy stopped at his side and looked down at him. Shaking his head he said, "Nonsense; it's not that cold out here."

"It's not the cold, Daddy," she said. "You've been out here a long time, I thought you might like to rest."

"Thank you for your concern, dear," he told her. "But I don't want to leave. I'm enjoying myself too much."

"Jason and Elizabeth have left," his daughter said, sitting down beside him and resting her hand lightly on his arm. "The staff is cleaning up."

"But Cameron and Jake are still playing," he replied. "I love to watch them."

She looked over at the two boys playing with Alice, now dressed in jeans and shirts; their little suits they'd worn to walk their mother down the aisle now packed away. Edward almost thought he saw a wisp of a smile cross her face, but she schooled it away.

"They should come in as well," she said. "Although I suppose it is good Alice is letting them run off some of that sugar they ate."

"Oh, Tracy," he sighed and she looked over at him. "Don't turn into me."

"What do you mean?" she demanded.

"Don't make the same mistakes I made," he told her, sincerely hoping she would understand his plea. "Don't become so focused on money and wealth and making everything happen the way you want it that you miss out on the things that truly matter. I was never content to proud of what you and Alan accomplished or who you were. And I pushed all of my grandchildren to be what I wanted them to be, and instead I pushed them all away."

He reached out his hand and pleaded with her, "I always told Alan he'd wasted his time becoming a doctor. As if helping people, making them better was some worthless frivolity. I belittled you and acted like you couldn't run the business simply because you were a woman. I wanted a grandson to take over the business, but wanted him to do it all my way and never accepted that they were individuals. And look what's happened, Tracy. Your sons have fled across the country to get away from us. You have a granddaughter you don't see because she wants to be a singer instead of an executive. I have one great-grandson in a coma and two I never would have gotten to know if I hadn't found out I was dying."

Squeezing her hand he said, "I don't want you to end up the same way. Alone without family to care for you."

"If I'm alone it's because you put my husband in prison," she huffed.

He raised one full eyebrow and said, "Don't even pretend that your life hasn't turned out better without Luke Spencer in it. You don't need some jaded conman who is guaranteed to let you down. If you want someone around, then you need to reach out. Talk to your sons, support them, let them know you love them, even if they are doing something that you wouldn't choose for them."

His daughter looked away, but he thought he saw a wistful look in her eye. He could only hope that she would listen to him. Perhaps he'd been too focused on Jason that he'd neglected his daughter, but he hoped she would realize what had almost come to him too late. It wasn't the bottom line, but family that mattered most in the end.

"I still think you should come in, Daddy," she told him, squeezing her hand softly that rested on his arm. He realized it was her way of showing her concern and so even though he was enjoying himself, he yielded, and could only hope she would learn to yield as well.

"Okay, dear," he answered. "Would you help me in?"

Tracy blinked several times and then said, "Of course, Daddy. Of course."

Perhaps she had decided to listen to him, or perhaps she was simply so pleased he agreed with her, but they had a very pleasant conversation as she helped him up to his rooms. Not long afterwards, Monica and Alice brought Jake and Cameron to say goodnight to him before Alice took the boys off to their baths. Monica laughed as they tromped out of the room with the maid and then sat down beside him, gently taking his hand to press her fingers against his wrist and count his pulse.

"How are you feeling?" she asked kindly.

"Tired," he answered honestly. "It's been a long day, but I was so pleased to see it."

"So was I," she replied wistfully. "I think Jason and Elizabeth are glad they agreed to get married in the rose garden. Elizabeth was absolutely glowing and Jason couldn't take his eyes off her."

"She did look radiant," he agreed. "And there definitely was a certain glow about her."

When Monica looked at him with a sharp question he continued on. "I think it was love, and contentment. It's been missing from both their lives for a while. She just wore it more obviously today."

His daughter-in-law pressed her lips together shrewdly but didn't say anything.

"It's a shame they felt they couldn't take a proper honeymoon," Edward sighed, settling back against his pillows. "That's why I've put it in my will that I will pay all expenses for their honeymoon later. I want you to make sure they take it. Knowing the two of them, they'll say they don't need it, or Jason will insist he can pay for it. And he certainly can. But tell them I want to do this for them; tell them to think of me wherever they are."

"I think they'll always think of you, Edward," she replied softly. "As we all will. I know we've fought, but I don't know what I'll do when you're gone. This house is already too big as it is; what will we do without you here?"

"You could always invite Jason and Elizabeth and the boys to move in," he suggested mischievously. "Although I'm sure Jason would worry about your safety. Just make sure you invite those sweet boys...and any other children they might have some day...over as often as they'll allow. And tell them stories of the family...and make sure Tracy doesn't harass them too much."

"I will, Edward," she promised him, her eyes bright and moist as she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his temple. "You should get some rest, now. It's been a very long day."

"Yes," he agreed. "It has."

She said goodnight and then left the room, pausing to look back at him over her shoulder. Then he was alone, but not for long. He saw his dear, sweet Lila come to sit beside him and smile at him lovingly as she took his hand.

It was hard to put the Christmas tree up this year. For a self-proclaimed Christmas freak, his wife was having a very hard time getting in the Christmas spirit. Of course, he wasn't finding it easy to be jolly. The saving grace for them was the boys.

With two rambunctious boys, eager and excited for Santa to come, they were forced to get things done. There was a tree to put up, decorations to hang and presents to buy. Elizabeth did her best to make sure the boys enjoyed this year, emphasizing all the amazing things that had happened to them, the biggest of all was them becoming a family. She didn't minimize their feelings when they said they missed Grandpa, but she did her best to encourage that they didn't dwell on the older man's death, but instead focus on how much he'd loved them. But it wasn't unusual for Jason to come downstairs after putting the boys to bed to find Elizabeth sitting on the couch, staring at the Christmas tree with tears in her eyes. He'd merely sit beside her, take her in his arms and hold her as she cried for the man who had done so much for them, and then died when he finally saw his dreams realized.

It hadn't been a surprise to them when Jason's cell phone rang the morning after their wedding and Monica informed them that she'd gone in to check on Edward and found that he'd passed during the night. Even though they'd stayed up late into the night celebrating their wedding and should have been tired, they'd both woken up early and said they'd wait to make any plans for the day until they called Monica to check in on the boys. But they'd really been wanting to check on Edward, and they both seemed to have sensed their wedding was his final day with them. As soon as they knew his grandfather had died, Jason and his brand new wife had grabbed their bags and left the safe house where they'd spent their wedding night.

They arrived at the mansion and held the boys, hugged Monica and Tracy and did their best to help. While it had been expected, it had still hit everyone hard and Jason had learned that being a father meant dealing with the sad as well as the good. They took the boys home and explained that Grandpa had gone to Heaven. The boys knew the older man had been sick, but they didn't fully understand right away that it meant they wouldn't see him anymore when they went to the mansion. When he finally seemed to understand Cameron crawled up on his father's lap and wept and Jason could only sit there and hold the little boy while he cried as well.

Yet, in the midst of sorrow came moments of joy. He was able to stand by his mother's side and support her, truly feeling connected to her. He was able to stand strong with Elizabeth's support and the love from his children. He found the ability to smile and reasons to celebrate and laugh, even as they faced the somber task of burying yet another member of his family and had memories flood over them of too many funerals in recent years.

"Hey," he said softly as he came around the couch and saw Elizabeth sitting there with a pile of Kleenex on her lap.

He sat down beside her, arranged the blanket over his legs as well and pulled her close. Pressing a kiss to her temple he just held her, resting his cheek against her head as they looked at the shimmering lights on the tree. His wife let out a soft sigh and said, "I wanted to start wrapping presents, but I just can't find the energy to do it, Jason. There are just a few more to go, but I just can't seem to do it."

"It's okay," he told her, turning to press another kiss against her hair. "I'll get out some gift bags tonight and we'll put the gifts in there. Nobody is going to care that they're in a bag instead of wrapping paper."

"I just can't help but miss him," she confessed. "For so long he was Emily's slightly intimidating grandfather. And he was someone I could never like because he would insult you; he used to make me so mad like Taggert did when he'd call you a criminal and disparage you. Then I would try to avoid him because he was the grandfather of the man I loved but couldn't be with and the great-grandfather of my son and nobody was ever supposed to know that. And then..."

Her voice trailed off as emotion choked her and she cleared her throat roughly. "And then he was the man who was pushing me to realize that safety was fleeting and happiness was the truly important thing. And he was no longer this scary, old curmudgeon, but he was someone who smiled so brightly at the boys and that they loved getting to know. And even though we knew it was coming..."

"I know," he spoke, his own voice rough and thick. "I know. I didn't expect to miss him this much. It was like when Alan died. I'd spent so long pushing him away, and then suddenly I regretted all the years that were lost. I was just getting to know my grandfather, and then he was gone."

"We have a very nice trip to go on because of him," Elizabeth said, her voice expressing her bemusement with the bequest in Edward's will. "And since the boys aren't in school, we can take them and spend some time enjoying ourselves and showing them things that they'll learn about one day."

"And you'll be feeling well enough to go," he said, placing his hand over her stomach and feeling the slight rounding under her navel. It was more pronounced because of the weight she'd lost with her morning sickness, but still not big enough for them to feel anything yet.

"You're not mad I told him first, are you?" she asked for not the first time. "When I went to say good-bye to him that night...I don't know how to explain except that I knew I wasn't going to see him again. And I wanted him to know. I hadn't intended to tell anyone before I told you that night in our cabin, but I had to tell him."

"Elizabeth," he replied, once again seeking to reassure her. Her emotions were all over the place because of her hormones and because of her guilt over the way she'd concealed Jake's paternity. "No, I do not mind that you told Edward you were pregnant. I'm glad you did. He was thrilled when we announced I was going to adopt Cameron, and I know he wanted more children for us as well. For you to tell him that you were pregnant, that there would be another baby, and that we would be together for all of it...I think that's why he knew he could let go. He was at peace."

"Oh, Jason, I hope so," she said, as she turned towards him and hugged him, her tears dampening his shirt. "He was so thrilled when I told him. He said if it's a girl, he'd like us to have one of her names be Lila."

"So would I," Jason confessed.

He paused for a moment, then continued on, knowing they had worked through their past and he didn't need to fear mentioning it. "When Sam was pregnant with Sonny's baby and Lila died, she said that maybe we could name her baby Lila since everyone thought it was mine. I guess I agreed with it, but then when everyone found Sonny was the father, they didn't name her Lila. Now...now I'm glad that we could give our daughter that name."

"If it's a girl," Elizabeth said, snuggling further against him as her tears ended. "Personally...I hope we have a boy."

Pulling back slightly to look at him he asked, "You do? I thought you'd want a girl."

"Oh," she smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling. "I'm not giving up hope for a girl, and if this baby is a girl, I'll love her to pieces."

Jason's hand joined with hers in caressing her small stomach. "But," she continued on, "I hope we have a boy. Because I want to name him after your grandfather."

He couldn't help wrinkling his nose up at the thought, "Edward Morgan...I'm not so sure about that. It sounds like an investment firm or a bank."

"Perhaps Edward could be his middle name," his wife said compromisingly. "But I don't know, it just seems right that this baby should be a boy and that his name should honor his great-grandfather. Edward didn't give up on any of us, and because he didn't, we got married and we're having another child. Our family is together because of him. It just feels right."

"Do you think it's a boy?" the expectant father asked, his broad hand pressing down to cover their child.

"I don't know," Elizabeth said after a minute. "With Jake, I...I felt he was going to be a boy. With Cameron...I was so nervous and unsettled I didn't know what I was feeling. Now...I don't know if I think we're going to have a boy because I want to, or because that's what I really feel."

She let out a soft sigh and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I suppose that it really doesn't matter. If it's a boy and he's named after Edward or if it's a girl and she's named after Lila. What matters is that either way, our child would carry on the name of a great-grandparent who came to mean so much to both us and our family. I really can't complain about the thought of either."

"Neither can I," Jason agreed. "Either one would be wonderful."

They sat silently together, and then he noticed a change to his wife's breathing. She rested more heavily against his side and he knew as he looked down at her that he would find she'd fallen asleep. Running after two little boys while also being pregnant took its toll on her and she seemed to fall asleep easily at night. Gently he moved the blanket away and put his arm under her legs; then supporting her back, he stood and moved towards the stairs. Once he was upstairs, he tucked her into their bed, taking a moment to brush a kiss over her cheek. He looked at her, feeling love flow through him, amazed that they had found their way back together and created another child here in this very room the night he finally told her he was claiming his family and he wasn't going to walk away anymore. His grandfather had been right; Jason was happier with his family, and his life was better for being with them.

After a quick trip downstairs to clean up, turn off the Christmas lights and ensure the house was locked and secured for the night, Jason made his way back upstairs. He tucked the boys back under their covers, taking a moment to simply watch his sons sleep. They were excited about the thought of another baby and moving into a room together. They were such wonderful boys that Elizabeth had raised and he was honored to be their father now, just as he was honored to be her husband.

Making his way back to his bedroom, he quickly got ready for bed and then slipped in beside his wife. She turned towards him, her hand reaching out for him and he twined their fingers together. The rest of the presents could be wrapped tomorrow before they went to the party at General Hospital, where this year would be very different from the last. This year he would stand beside his family, watching as his sons listened to the Christmas story and sat on Santa's lap. This year, he would be where he wanted to be, and where Edward had hoped he'd be. He didn't care about what gifts they opened the next morning, he already had his present. He had his family, and he knew his grandfather was watching over them all.

The End