Chapter Thirty-Two
Lance's Home
When Liz and Jason walked back into the kitchen everyone was already seated and waiting for them before they began to eat.
"Mommy, Jayse, I's didn't fink yous was ever comin back, I's hongwy." Cam said accusingly.
"I'm sorry we took so long Cam. Come on Jason we don't want Cam to starve to death."
"Sorry buddy." They both sat down to the table and started fixing their plates. "Cam this looks good doesn't it?"
"Yes Jaysen, that's why I wanted yous and Mommy to hurwy up so's us can eat."
"It looks like somebody didn't wait," Jason said as he wiped Jake's mouth. "LilaRae, did you guys have fun today?" Jason listened closely as LilaRae told him all about their day. "That sounds like fun; I'm sorry we missed it."
Cam asked "Jaysen did yous come back titaly so's yous won't be sad no more?"
"Cam you are such a smart little boy. That's why I came back to Italy so I wouldn't be sad anymore; I missed you guys so much."
"Jaysen I's glad yous here."
"So am I Cam; so am I."
"Jase, I gwad yous here too." Jake added.
"I'm glad you guys are glad," Jason laughed as he ruffled their hair. When the boys started eating again Jason asked Lance, "Lance have you made plans to take Elizabeth to see the Vatican Museums?"
"Well it was one of the places I had picked out to take her to. But since you're here don't you want to take her?"
"Because of my accident I can't see pictures clearly and I just be a distraction."
"Fellas, I'm right here and you don't have to fight over who has the pleasure of not taking me. I can go by myself."
"Elizabeth you know I love for you to explain paintings to me and if we had more time; I'd love to go with you. I just don't want you to miss anything, that's all." Jason said.
"What about if I go with Liz and you two can spend the day with the kids. I can't remember the last time I had a girlfriend date."
Lance and Jason both smiled and Lance looked at Jason and said, "I'm game if you are."
"I'm in; I'd love to spend the day with my…um…with Cam, Jake and LilaRae."
Cam shouted, "YAY! Jaysen can we go wide on the wides we saw today; Lanz amember we saw them when us was in the car."
"Lance you remember the little carnival we saw on the way back; it was about twenty minutes away." Skye offered.
"Jason?"
"Sure if that's what you guys want to do and it's alright with your mommies; we can go."
Cam and Jake looked at Liz and LilaRae looked at Skye. They both said okay.
The kids cheered and Cam asked, "Mommy, we's done eating, can us go and cuss what us is gonna wide first?"
"Sure Cam, you and Jake and LilaRae go and discuss your big day." She got up and wiped off Jake's hands and face and shooed him off. She turned to look at Jason and Lance, "Are you sure you guys are up to the task? This is your first father's day out are you ready?"
Lance looked at Skye and said, "I like the sound of that. I never thought it would happen for me; that it could even be joked about. I'm more than ready for a father's day out. What about Jason are you ready for a father's day out?"
"Thanks to you Lance; I'm ready for a father's day out."
"What do you mean; thanks to me?"
"If you hadn't showed up, I would have lived the rest of my life in hell watching the boys from a distance while Lucky raised them. You appeared on the scene and everything changed. My fear of losing them to someone else overruled my fear of the danger."
"Jason what was the difference between Lance and Lucky raising them?" Skye asked.
"Elizabeth, I knew as long as she was with Lucky; I had hope. But when Elizabeth started dating Lance; I saw that hope rapidly vanishing. I always thought that Lucky maintained a relationship with the boys to stay connected to Elizabeth. Lance seemed like he genuinely cared about Cam and Jake but I wanted to be the one that made them laugh and the one they looked at with adoration. And now that they do; it's the best feeling in the world, they make me feel ten feet tall."
"Wow, Jason."
"I know; you've never heard me say so much before but as the father of two very active boys, I can't be so closed off. I don't want to limit their lives like mine has been for so many years. Children learn by example and besides my job I want to set a good example for them. Elizabeth and I decided we would tell them I am their father when we get back to Port Charles." He took Elizabeth's hand, "Why are you being so quiet?"
"I'm just enjoying this side of you. You talk to me but I've never seen you talk like this to anyone outside of your circle. I like it." Liz said.
"That circle is what has limited my life for all of these years but I'm a father now and that means doing things I might not ordinarily do. Just between the four us; I'd still be content to sit back and let everyone else do the talking. Elizabeth has always been the only one that let me be. I remember when we used to hang out in her old studio; we could go for hours without talking. She'd paint and I'd either watch her paint or read; it was a haven in the mess that is my life."
"You guys are going to try to work things out aren't you?" Skye asked.
Elizabeth answered her, "We've decided to take it slow and work on our own issues before we tried it as a couple. Right now we are just working on being parents together and it looks like my friend Jason Morgan is back and I couldn't be happier."
"Well since you are so happy will you do your friends a favor and watch LilaRae while we slip off for a while?"
Elizabeth started laughing, "Oooooooh, Lance and Skye sitting in a tree K I S S I N G."
"Grow up Lizzie." Lance laughed.
"You are so funny; I forgot to laugh." Skye stuck her tongue out at Liz.
"Alright kids or do you want to go with the other kids to cuss what wides yous gonna wide?" Jason laughed.
Lance laughed as they both stuck their tongues out at Jason. "Well will you?" Lance demanded.
"Damn Lance! You know I will. You two go on and spend some Mommy/Daddy alone time." Elizabeth giggled.
"Come on Skye before she starts singing again. We're going to tell LilaRae that we are leaving."
"You two get to go have fun while we are stuck here cleaning up the kitchen."
"Thanks a lot Jason; you should have let her be quiet."
"I love it when Lizzie comes out to play." Jason and Liz smiled at each other.
Skye said, "Remember you two are babysitting and have to wait for another time to have your Mommy/Daddy alone time." She laughed when she ducked a roll that Liz threw at her.
Jason stood up and started taking the dishes off the table, "Elizabeth is this what it would be like if we were married?"
"What do you mean Jason?"
"Having friends and their kids over for dinner. Sometimes we watch their kids while they go out or they watch ours while we go out. Simple things like that?"
"That's the way I've always imagined it would be. Through all of my marriages we never entertain anybody but family or Lucky's cop buddies occasionally. My circle was even more limited than yours and I never even realized it before. I sometimes have Robin, Patrick and Emma over or they invite us over but it's just the three adults and the kids. It was a lot more fun having you and even if we are not a couple, I didn't feel like a third wheel."
"I know what you mean, I went to dinner with Sonny and Carly alone or with someone and it was always the same thing. Sonny and Carly would argue and ruin the evening or when I was with Courtney, she and Carly would talk about shopping and then get mad if we said anything about business. This is the first dinner party I've ever been to and had adult conversations that is until Lizzie came out to play."
"Jason, I have a confession to make; I heard you that night on the plane. I wasn't asleep; I heard everything you said. It made me realize a lot of things too. I realized that I was still in love with you. I realize that I throw myself into relationships when I've been hurt by you. I also realized that I had to break that cycle and that's why I called it off with Lance. I could have been happy with Lance, for a while; just like I was happy with Lucky and Ric for a while. I couldn't do that to Lance; he's too good of a guy to be with him while I was still in love with you. You were right I still don't trust you yet and the test will come when we get home. We are always great together when it's just the two of us but then we let others get more involved than they should and we lose each other."
"You know what was really a knife in my heart about your relationship with Lance? It was when I heard you tell Lucky you would never walk away from Lance for him again. You always tended to Lucky's needs before anyone and now you were putting Lance before Lucky. I wondered why you never could do that for me and then I thought about all the times I left you when Sonny or Carly called me for things that could wait. When I got back to Port Charles Carly, Sam and Spinelli were all waiting at the Coffee Shop for me so I talked to them at the same time. I told them I finally had a taste of what it was like to be a father to my sons and if anyone of them fucked it up for me their bodies would never be found. I told them I wouldn't forgive a moment of weakness or them thinking they knew what was best for me. I fired Spinelli, told Sam it was over and told Carly to shower her husband and kids with some of the obsessive love she had for me."
Elizabeth choked out, "Oh my God, you said all of that to them. I bet Carly ambushed you trying to get you to change your mind."
"You know her too well; she waited for me to come out of the office. She started that same old crap about you weren't suited for my life. That's where I messed up was listening to people tell me you weren't suited for my life. I pointed out that you had never been to Ferncliff or Shadybrooke and you didn't have me cleaning up your messes because you handled your own shit. You didn't need to marry rich men to take care of your children. You'll agree with me about this; if Carly wasn't married to Jax, you know she would have messed up and been out of the hotel business."
"Yes I do agree with you. It always amazes me that she treats me like a gold digger and that's the only reason for me to be involved with you. How can any woman only fall in love with rich men? Do you think she would have latched onto you if you had been just a guard and not a Quartermaine turned Morgan?"
"No because if I didn't have the resources I wouldn't have been able to clean up her messes. Enough about Carly, we're done here let's go check on our boys and LilaRae."
"You're right; we'll worry about them when we get back to Port Charles. I love the sound of that; our boys."
