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Note - Thank you for the lovely replies. I am pleasantly surprised by how many people don't mind a truly depressing, angsty story at this time.



"Anything I should know about, uh, allergies, bedtime rituals, nightmares, that sort of thing?"

It was a very strange thing for Sonny to be asking Jason as he stepped into the former mob lord's penthouse, but Jason had only to set foot inside the room to realize that the question was not directed at him…but the mother of his child.

Who was seated on Sonny's sofa.

With the aforementioned child.

Looking at him.

Jason stopped, his hand frozen on the doorknob. "Uh…"

"Jason." Sonny was on his feet instantly, smiling, but the welcoming grin was forced. He never really knew how to act around Jason anymore when Jake was mentioned, much less present; his own son's shooting and almost-death six years ago further complicated the situation and Sonny's feelings about it. So he settled on just trying to appear a little less awkward than he felt on the inside.

"Hey, come on in. You, uh, you know Jake, Morgan's friend, and Ms. Webber from the hospital."

Elizabeth reluctantly let her arm slide from her youngest son's shoulders and stood as well, fidgeting slightly. Unseen at her side, Jake rolled his eyes at the way Sonny introduced the boy's father to him and his mother. It was true, Jason and Elizabeth rarely crossed paths, much less in front of him, so he could see how Sonny felt he had to say it like that. "Hi. Jake, manners."

"Hello," he replied dutifully, if not sincerely. "It's good to see you again, Jason."

He felt just the smallest twinge of satisfaction when his father's brows shot up. It was the first time he'd called him by his first name; before he knew that his best friend's uncle was his father, Jake had always called him "Mister Morgan." No more.

His mother apparently didn't agree. "Jake! You don't address adults by their first-"

"It's fine," Jason interrupted, bobbing his head in an awkward nod. "He can call me Jason. It's fine."

Sonny shifted his weight from one foot to the other, not sure how to ease the awkwardness that permeated the room. So he set out to fill it up with aimless chatter instead. "Uh, Morgan's having his sleepover tonight. His first one. Carly and Jax would have hosted, but, er, they've got the girls coming over and you know how strict gender lines are at this age. So, yeah, that's what's, um, going on…here. Tonight. Now."

Ah. That explained what Jake was doing right across the hall. Jason knew from Carly's detailed account of Morgan's equally detailed account that the two of them had been best friends since pre-school. Thankfully, neither Carly nor Elizabeth had the heart to break up the potentially dangerous friendship between their boys and Morgan and Jake remained as close as ever.

And even though the friendship worried him at times, Jason was glad for it because he could always hope to see his son playing out back at Carly's, or watching TV on her sofa with his feet on the coffee table as if he belonged there. It wasn't perfect, but it was perfect enough.

Sonny was still chattering away, unfamiliar with his own unease. "The other kids should be here within the hour. I've got Max standing by to help, but I could use an extra pair of eyes and hands around here."

It was his attempt at a joke, but Jason barely smiled. He still hadn't managed to tear his eyes off his son, who was sitting quite contentedly on the couch next to his mother. Elizabeth was still standing, shifting her weight from foot to foot, and picking at her nails. It had been five years since they called off their engagement and vowed to stay away from each other, but they still didn't know how to behave when they were face-to-face. The room was too small, the air was too hot, their skin was just too tight.

Jason swallowed and dropped his keys on Sonny's desk, wincing at the metallic clatter that was just a little too loud. "So, uh, you're going to sleep over tonight, huh, Jake?"

The boy quirked a brow at him and smirked, looking so much like his mother that Jason's heart almost skipped a beat. "That would be the plan."

He wanted to tell Elizabeth to sit, to relax, but stopped himself. Clearing his throat, he crossed the room carefully and stiffly lowered himself into one of Sonny's overstuffed green armchairs. Elizabeth worried her lip and, seeing him sit, did the same herself with almost comic alacrity. Jake rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and casually rested his head against her forearm when his mother was next to him again. Jason rubbed his clammy palms on his jeans and waited for someone to speak.

His heart told him that it wasn't supposed to be this hard. This was the boy he'd loved since he found out about him. And here he was, sitting just a few feet away with the woman Jason had loved for most of his life as a Morgan. Yet he couldn't think, he could hardly move, he could barely speak. His brain chimed in with a reprimand, telling him that this was exactly how it was supposed to be: to the world, Jake was nothing more to him than some kid that his nephew was friends with. And his mother was nothing more than some PTA mom he hardly ever crossed paths with.

Sonny had been watching all of this from his seat across the room. Sitting in a matching armchair next to the couch Elizabeth occupied, one ankle resting on his other knee, the mob lord was concentrating very hard on appearing perfectly relaxed. He cleared his throat, abhorring the pressing silence, and grinned at Jake.

"So what do you guys have planned tonight?"

Jake hefted the dark blue backpack that sat by his feet. "Video games. Cam and I brought our controllers and Mike says that Mister Jax got him the new Mario Brothers game. You can make teams, you can hook it up to your Wi-Fi and have broadband access to gamers internationally…"

Sonny shared an amused, wry look with Elizabeth. "Kids these days - they're born knowing this stuff that I need Spinelli to translate for me."

She laughed weakly and brushed Jake's thick blonde hair away from his forehead. "Cam loved video games since Carly got him the Chuggin' Charlie learning tools game when he started kindergarten, and Jake got started on them because the boys do just about everything together. I can barely peel them away long enough for them to eat dinner."

"Oh, dinner, right, before I forget…" Sonny reached over to the coffee table and picked up a take-out menu. "I was going to order dinner for the kids from Luna Mezzo Mare. Here's their order options. If Jake's allergic to anything, or-"

"I'm not allergic to nothing," he piped up, looking over his mother's shoulder as she perused the menu. "And I like pepperoni."

"Good to know. Does that go for Cameron, too?"

Jake shook his head. "He'll eat pepperoni, but he likes green peppers. And the garlic sauce that you dip your crust into. I think crusts are gross, though - I always give him mine."

Sonny couldn't help but grin. "Hey, that's what big brothers are for, right?"

The boy grinned right back, this time looking so much like his father that the smile practically fell off Sonny's face before he remembered himself. "Uh-huh. He always eats my crust, and he sometimes gives me his pepperoni. And! And! He likes spinach, so sometimes he sneaks mine off my plate when I don't want to eat it and Mom's making me."

Jason watched as Elizabeth laughed and wrapped her arms around her little boy, tickling him and making him squeal. Jake giggled and flailed out on the large couch, his foot on the armrest and the other in the air, and Elizabeth's hair fell in her face as she leaned over him and poked his tummy. His own chair, in the meantime, was starting to feel a little too small.

"Thank you for letting me know," she grinned at her son. "I'll keep an eye out for that next time."

"I'll just feed it to the dog," Jake replied cheekily, giving his mother such a winning smile that Jason didn't blame her when Elizabeth could only smile in reply.

"You have a dog?"

His voice shook her from the playful spat and Elizabeth jerked upright and met his gaze. "Uh, no. I mean, not yet. We were, um, we were talking about getting one, me and the boys, but nothing's final yet. Amalia has one - um, Johnny Zacchara's daughter. She's got one. A big one, and the kids all love him. I think it's time Cameron and Jake had a dog of their own, though. Every boy needs a dog…"

"Me and Cameron want a German Shepherd," Jake announced. "A big old dog like Kane with big teeth and claws. He'll be scary to everyone else but be real nice to us. Mike and Morgan said they're going to help us figure out what to name him. Mister Corinthos, can I use your bathroom?"

Having raised two boys of his own, Sonny was more than used to non-sequitors and remarks that defied rational trains of thought. "Sure thing, kid. You know where it is, right?"

"Uh-huh." They watched him trot into the dining room and into the little hallway that led to the maid's room and the powder room.

A few seconds passed in tense silence. Sonny sat back in his armchair and watched Jason and Elizabeth, both of whom were trying admirably hard not to look at each other. It hadn't gotten easier for them over the years: neither easier to stay apart, nor easier to pretend like they meant nothing to each other. His best friend was stiff in his chair right across from him, and Elizabeth had her shoulders curled in and looked a lot smaller on the couch now that her son was no longer with her.

"So, uh, if the boys need anything, I'll call you right away."

She managed a small smile. "I wouldn't worry too much, Sonny, I think they'll be fine. Cameron's slept over at his Gram's a couple times when I had a late shift at the hospital. And Jake…"

She glanced up at the stairs, where Michael was in his bedroom showing Cameron the new pet snake his father had gotten him. "This is his first sleepover, but Michael and Morgan and Carly and Jax are like family to him."

She purposefully ignored Jason's stare and looked down at her hands instead. "Besides, his brother's here. He'd be just fine anywhere so long as Cameron was with him. And Cameron will be just fine since Michael's here. He looks up to him quite a bit, I think."

Sonny rubbed the corners of his mouth with his thumb and forefinger. "You know, they've all gotten pretty close lately. Michael, Morgan, Cameron, Jake. Michael asks about Cameron and Jake more than he used to - asks about how they are, if I've seen them around, that sort of thing. He never used to hang out with his little brother before unless Carly and I made them spend quality time together, but now that Cameron and Jake are around more, they've all made quite a little group for themselves. I noticed it a few months ago - I don't know what happened."

"And between the four of them and Spencer and little Mal, plus the girls, I think they've got quite a clique," Elizabeth smiled. Jake returned from the bathroom and climbed up next to her. "Those two are coming tonight, right?"

"Nikolas's meeting is running a little long, so Spencer's going to be an hour late getting here, but Patrick said he'd drop Mal off by seven."

They heard footsteps on the stairs just then, and all four of them looked up to see Michael come trotting down. He stopped when he saw his father, his uncle, and Elizabeth Webber seated on the couch with Jake kicking his feet and looking just a little smug about the whole thing.

"Uh…" He stopped and blinked. "Um, hi. Hi, Mrs. Webber. Uncle Jason, I, uh, I didn't know you were coming by."

Jason shifted in his chair, and if he hadn't been so uncomfortable in the damn thing he would have noticed the looks that passed between his nephew and his son. "Just stopped by to see your dad. Forgot that Morgan was having his sleepover tonight."

"Oh." Michael snapped his fingers and turned to Jake. "Right. Before I forget, Morgan's almost done with his bath and he'll be out in five minutes. He wanted to tell you sorry for making you sit with the adults."

"S'okay," Jake smirked, drumming his hands contentedly on the cushions as Jason wondered just why Michael looked like he was trying to hide a smile. "Don't care. Cam and I brought our extra controllers. You have the jack to plug them into, right?"

"It's in my room," he replied. "Cam'll bring it down. He's in my room with Brutus. We're going to feed him soon if you want to watch."

"I've seen snakes being fed before," Jake shrugged. "Is he poisonous?"

"Naw. Dad wouldn't let me get a poisonous one."

"You didn't leave Cameron alone with Brutus, did you?" Sonny arched a brow at his oldest son. "Mercedes is in there with you guys, right?"

"Yeah, dad, geez." Michael shook his head and hurried into the kitchen. "Back in a sec."

Elizabeth watched him go and shifted on the couch, marveling at how calm her son was. After all, he was sitting in the same room as his father and the man that would have been almost an uncle to him if it hadn't been for the choices they had all made. But Jake was perfectly at ease and blissfully unaware, and she was at least thankful that the drama from their lives hadn't adversely affected his.

"I - Oh." She looked down when she felt her phone vibrate. "Uh, I'm sorry, it's the hospital. Would you mind if-"

Sonny waved her toward the kitchen and Elizabeth hopped off the couch. She remembered herself and glanced at Jason and then down at her son, who blinked up at her much like an owl, making her realize that her apprehension was entirely unwarranted.

She managed a small smile and headed toward the kitchen. "Be right back."

Sonny let out a slow breath through his nose as he watched her depart, leaving the two Morgan men to stare at each other. Jake seemed content enough, swinging his feet off the couch, but Jason was rigid and awkward in his seat.

In the end, it was Mercedes that prevented him from easing the tension. "Mister Corinthos? Morgan's asking for you."

He looked at the father-son duo and slowly, reluctantly, pushed himself out of the chair. "All right, be right there. Ah, Jason, can you, uh…yeah."

Jason nodded, willing to sit around and watch his son until the others showed up and Sonny returned. Jake waited until Sonny was on the second floor before he leaned back and threw his arm over a pillow.

"So, Jason."

He blinked and almost unconsciously mimicked his son's position. "So, Jake."

"Don't take this the wrong way." He settled his feet on the coffee table now that Sonny was no longer around, and it amused Jason because that was what he used to do, too, until either Sonny or Carly caught him. His legs practically itched for him to do the same but he kept them planted solidly on the floor. "But don't you have something better to do on a Friday night than hang out here?"

"What do you mean?"

Jake shrugged. "Like, my mom's going to have dinner with Mrs. Zacchara because Amalia and Anna and Molly are sleeping over at CeeCee's tonight."

Amalia was Johnny Zacchara's little girl with his wife Nadine, Anna was Robin's little girl, and Molly belonged to none other than Ric Lansing. Jason was aware that the kids knew each other from school, but he had no idea that they were such good friends that they kept tabs on each other and respective plans for any given night.

"Aunt Robin said that she and Uncle Pat were going to go out to a fancy dinner after they drop Mal here and Anna at CeeCee's. Uncle Nik's has some more business to do - I wasn't really listening to what Spencer was saying. And Morgan said Mister and Mrs. Jacks are going to do some work for the hotel while the girls are at their place. Mister C's here, but only because he has to watch us. But what about you? Don't you have plans?"

Jason fidgeted in his chair, felt almost trapped in it. "No, not really."

"You done with work already?"

"Yeah. Finished up around lunch time."

Jake let out a whistle, which surprised Jason because he hadn't known that his son could whistle. It had taken Michael forever to master the simple art. "Man, done by lunch time? You've got the best job in the world."

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "It's all right."

"No, seriously," Jake insisted. "Mom and Aunt Robin and Uncle Pat and Mrs. Zacchara have to be at the hospital all the time. Uncle Pat almost missed Mal's birthday last year because he had his hand in some guy's head and couldn't take it out or the guy would have died or something. I couldn't imagine working like that. When I grow up, I wanna do what you do. Home by lunch time. Man."

If his skin wasn't already dark from the hours spent on his motorcycle the day before, Jason was sure he would have been as pale as a sheet.

His son, however, wasn't done. "So you've really got no plans tonight, huh?"

Jason weakly drummed his fingers on the armrest, torn between the urge to excuse himself and leave the room, and spend just a moment's time more with his boy. "Nope."

"No other friends to hang out with except Mister C?" He cocked his head to the side. "I mean, when Morgan's busy, I hang out with Cam. Or Mal. Or Spencer, if he's around. I mean, it's not like Morgan's my only friend. My best friend, sure, but not my only friend."

Jason smiled politely, not particularly wanting to admit that Sonny was just about his only friend. "Well, uh, I guess Spinelli's a friend of mine. But he's always busy."

"With what?"

He tried not to roll his eyes. "His fiancé. The girl he's going to marry."

"Ms. Jones? His partner?"

"Yeah."

"They're getting married?"

"Yeah."

"Huh." Jake uncrossed and re-crossed his legs on the coffee table. "Good for Spinelli."

"What do you mean?"

"That he's getting married." Jake shrugged absently. "I mean, Mister C didn't get married again even though Mrs. Jacks did. You didn't married, Max didn't get married, Milo didn't get married. None of Mike or Morgan's other guards are married. I just figured that there was a rule about getting married if you worked selling coffee."

His chest constricted at his son's words. He had no idea how close to the truth he had struck with that remark. "Selling coffee" was precisely why he had been forced to call off his engagement to Elizabeth.

"So, good for Spinelli. He gets to prove to everyone that just because you have to have guards on you all the time doesn't mean you can't get married."

He couldn't get comfortable.

The chair was too small, the back was too hard, and the room was too stuffy. And his son knew the exact spot to poke a sharp stick.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Don't you have a girlfriend or something?"

Jason crossed his legs at the ankle, then fidgeted some more. "No, not really."

"What does 'not really' mean?"

It meant that when he really needed to let off some steam after living like a monk, he'd pick up a random nameless girl at Jake's and not bother with names or pleasantries afterwards, choosing instead to leave money on the nightstand and get the hell out of there.

But he could hardly explain that to a young boy.

"No, I don't have a girlfriend. Haven't for a very long time."

"Puh." Jake let out a little snort and flopped back on the sofa. "Seriously? Even I have a girlfriend."

Jason couldn't help but grin. "Really?"

"Uh-huh."

Kids these days. His seven-year-old son had a girlfriend - unbelievable. "What's her name?"

Jake's expression became immediately serious. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"We have to keep it a secret. It's safer that way."

Jason's jaw went slack, and a good minute passed before his mind kicked back into gear. "Uh-Wh-Why?"

If Jake noticed the way he stuttered, the boy ignored it. He lowered his legs from the coffee table and leaned toward Jason. "Because it's not safe for everyone to know that we're boyfriend-and-girlfriend. You know, because of Morgan. Because of who he is."

He could hear Sonny talking to Morgan right at the top of the stairs, and he could hear the click of Elizabeth's heels as she came down the little hallway leading back to the main room, but it was as if everything else was distant and obscure except him and his son.

His lips were dry and his voice cracked, but Jason managed to eke out, "What do you mean? Morgan…?"

Jake rolled his eyes with a little smile. "Because if Morgan found out that she was my girlfriend, he'd tease her until she cried. Duh. What did you think I meant?"

The pressure in his chest abated only slightly, and Jason had to lean back in his chair and try to catch his breath. Sonny was standing on the landing, looking at them curiously, and his expression perfectly matched that on Elizabeth's face as she stood by the dining table, but Jason could only stare at his son, bewildered at his easy-going air and cherubic smile.

"…Uh, nothing. Nothing."