Fic: General Hospital/Friday Night Lights: When the Heartache Ends [G]
Title: When the Heartache Ends
Author: pdxscaper
Fandom: General Hospital/Friday Night Lights crossover
Summary: Finally she might be able to go forward instead of always looking back.
Characters: Jason, Elizabeth, and Jake Morgan, Eric, Tami, and Gracie Belle Taylor
Rating: G
Spoilers: Ha! This is way too AU crossover cracktastic for any kind of spoilers even if I knew them.
Word Count: 3,009
Disclaimer: Characters belong to ABC-TV, Disney, NBC Universal Television, Imagine Television, Universal Media Studios and Film 44 and the people who created them. No copyright infringement is intended, no money is being made.
Notes: Huh, sure never thought I’d be writing a GH/FNL crossover. For Jules' [jadengreen36] prompt: Liason [Jason & Elizabeth]/FNL crossover where Liason have moved to Dillon to start over after leaving the mob. The title and lyrics below are from Rob Thomas’s song-When the Heartache Ends. Thanks to chicklet25 for the once over!
It’s alright
why don’t you tell me again
how you’ll still be there
when the heartache ends
+++||+++
When the Heartache Ends
It was a warm, bright blue sky day and Elizabeth enjoyed watching Jake run in the park because he looked like he was having fun, playing with a little pigtailed girl about his size. When the girl fell down seemingly on purpose in front of him, Jake tumbled over her, sprawling hard on the ground. Elizabeth reached him by the time he scrambled up and stood brushing grass and dirt from his hands.
“I’m okay, Mommy,” Jake said with a lopsided grin before she could even ask him.
A redheaded woman rushed up and knelt down in front of the little girl, took her by the arm. “Gracie Belle, honey, that’s not nice. You can’t just go around knockin’ boys down.”
“But I was teachin’ him how to chop block, Mama, jus’ like Coach Riggins teached me.”
“Taught you, honey. Just like Coach Riggins taught you.”
Satisfied that Jake was fine, Elizabeth couldn’t help but chuckle as the woman huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes. Something told her that Coach Riggins, whoever he was, could count on getting an earful from Gracie’s mom next time she caught up with him.
Turning to Elizabeth she asked, “I’m real sorry, is he alright?” Genuine concern was evident in her question.
“He’s just fine. Jake’s a pretty tough little boy,” Elizabeth said as she ruffled his hair before he took off at a run, chasing Gracie across the park.
“Yeah? Well, that’s good, especially if he’s going to be anywhere near Gracie Belle. I tell you, that girl is gonna be the death of me.”
“She’s definitely a spitfire.”
“Oh, that she is,” the woman said with a mother’s knowing smile. Turning back to Elizabeth she said, “My name’s Tami Taylor. Just thought I should introduce myself in case Gracie Belle does anything else to your little boy. Then you’ll know who to call.”
Elizabeth shook Tami’s outstretched hand. “Elizabeth Morgan.”
“Nice to meet you, Elizabeth. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, are you all new to Dillon?”
Elizabeth nodded. This was always the tricky part. She and Jason had gone over it until she felt like she could recite their history in her sleep, but even now, after three years, her stomach turned any time someone started asking questions. Still, she had gotten to be a pretty quick judge of character and something told her this woman was someone she would like to get to know.
“How are you likin’ it here so far?”
“It’s nice,” Elizabeth said and meant it. It was the first town that she and Jason and Jake had lived in that she felt maybe they could make a real home in. “I hope we can stay for awhile.”
“Move around a lot?”
“Definitely more than I’d like.”
“Your husband coach football?”
Elizabeth shook her head, lifted her eyebrows in question.
“I just asked ‘cuz I know the feeling. We’ve lived in more places than I can remember on account of Eric’s job. He’s the high school football coach.”
“The Panthers, right?”
Tami laughed and nodded. “Doesn’t take long, does it?”
Elizabeth shook her head. It wasn’t as if just about every store in the town didn’t have a Dillon Panthers poster in the window. “Is high school football really that big here?”
“Honey, it is all that. You think it’s bad now, just wait until the season starts.”
Hopefully they would still be here in the fall. Elizabeth’s eyes followed Jake as he and Gracie ran back and forth across the park. They seemed to take turns with the football which was good. Without Cameron to teach him, Jake was having a hard time learning how to share. She had nobody to blame but herself and Jason. After what happened they hadn’t let the little boy out of their sight, they made over him with everything he did, big or small. It wasn’t his fault that he thought everything should be about him. She knew they were smothering him, holding on way too tight, but Elizabeth couldn’t seem to do anything else. She wasn’t sure how she was ever going to be able to do any different.
She turned to find Tami studying her, a concerned expression on her face. “You okay?”
As she composed herself to answer, Elizabeth heard Jake’s high pitched scream of glee. “Daddy!”
He took off running toward Jason, who’d just parked in the lot and was walking across the expanse of green grass toward where she stood. When he heard Jake, he stopped and turned waiting for the little boy to run to him. Jason knelt as Jake closed the distance between them and when the little boy was close enough Jason scooped him up and swung him around. The sound of Jake’s laughter brought a smile to Elizabeth’s face.
“They do have a thing for their daddies, don’t they?”
Elizabeth could only nod. Her throat was tight and she wondered if seeing the two of them together, without Cameron, was ever going to get easier.
“Hey,” Jason said in between Jake’s sentences as they stopped in front of her.
“Hi.” Elizabeth saw his eyes slide over to assess the woman standing next to her even as he listened to Jake’s animated story about the football and Gracie and playing tackle. She wondered if he’d ever lose that habit. Sizing people up, assessing their threat level. She doubted it. And if she were truly honest with herself, she would admit that it always made her feel safe. It had been a while since anything bad happened in their lives and Elizabeth knew that was because Jason was the way he was.
Gracie came running up, ball in hand and said, “C’mon, Jake. Hurry up.” The little boy squirmed out of Jason’s hold and took off running again.
“That’s my girl. Always buttin’ into the middle of everything, bossin’ everyone around. Sorry about that.” A rueful grin slid across Tami’s face.
“It’s okay,” Jason said as his eyes followed Jake across the park. “He looks like he’s having fun.”
“Tami, this is my husband, Jason. Jason, this is Tami.”
“Nice to meet you, Jason.”
Jason nodded and shook the hand she offered, his eyes shifting immediately back to Jake.
Elizabeth caught Tami’s eye and the other woman rolled her eyes with a smile as if to say, “Men, what are you gonna do with ‘em.” She was glad to see the woman hadn’t taken offense at Jason’s brusque greeting.
+++||+++
Elizabeth set the glass of wine and the bottle of beer down on the dining room table and turned to go back into the kitchen to dish up their plates when Jason caught her hand and drew her back to him. He’d just finished getting Jake to sleep and she knew it hadn’t been easy.
“There’s food,” she said with a soft laugh as his lips brushed down the side of her neck, tickling, sending her blood rushing through her veins, red hot and electric.
“Yeah, I know,” he murmured, his breath soft and warm against her throat.
“It’s going to get cold,” Elizabeth said half-heartedly.
“Don’t really care.” She could feel the smile against her cheek as his lips worked their way to hers. It was a minute before he swung her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, laid her down on the bed and replaced the thoughts of dinner with other things.
+++
They sat on the sofa, arms touching, eating the dinner that had gotten overdone in the oven.
“Tami Taylor invited us over to dinner on Sunday.”
Jason put down his fork, rested his elbows on his knees. He could tell from the way she said it that this was important to Elizabeth. “Do you want to go?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I think it would be good for Jake. He and Gracie seem to get along well. He needs to be around other people, Jason. Other kids. Not just us.”
“I know.” They weren’t doing their son any favors by being so overprotective. Jason realized that. No matter how much he wanted to keep the boy from harm, he had to face the fact that holding on too tight wasn’t always the best thing. Still, after Cameron’s death, it seemed like neither one of them could do anything else.
Jason hoped it would get easier, but he wasn’t sure how that was ever going to happen. He knew Elizabeth still had nightmares. Even though they’d been gone from Port Charles for three years and lived in more places than he could count, he could hear Epiphany’s voice on his cell phone as clear as if it had happened yesterday.
“Jason, it’s Epiphany. You need to get to General Hospital as quickly as you can There’s been a shooting. Elizabeth needs you.”
The whole ride to the hospital his mind had pushed everything away: all the possibilities, every scenario. He couldn’t go there, because if he did he’d never make it back. He’d never be able to do what needed to be done.
When he’d gotten to the hospital Epiphany’s grim face met him. All she said was the number of the trauma room where he found Elizabeth weeping as she held Cameron’s lifeless body tight to her. The light blue scrubs she wore were dark from the little boy’s blood. Too much blood. Max stood next to the bed, more blood on his hands, the front of his light shirt dark crimson with still more blood. Tears tracked down the big man’s cheeks as his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Milo stood next to his brother, a hand on his shoulder, gripping hard. Sonny, his face set in a blank stare, stood next to Michael who was sobbing. Jason knew he would hear Michael’s I didn’t mean to…I didn’t mean to…it was an accident… for the rest of his life.
“Jason, are you okay?” Elizabeth asked as she smoothed her hand down his arm. “We don’t have to go if you think-“
“No, no,” he said, shaking his head to clear the picture of that day out of his mind. He didn’t think about it often, not anymore, but when the memories came, they always came in a big wave. “We should go. You’re right; it would be good for Jake. What do you know about these people?”
“Well, Tami’s husband, Eric, is the football coach at the high school. And Tami works there too. She’s a guidance counselor. They have another daughter, Julie, who’s in college. I’m not sure where, I don’t think Tami said. And they have little Gracie Belle who’s the same age as Jake. She’s quite the little hellion,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “But she’s a sweetheart, too. All yes ma’am and no ma’am. She’s got Jake saying it already.”
Elizabeth relaxed against him, wine glass in hand and tucked her feet up under her. Jason reached an arm around her and settled in. It was good to see her smile again.
+++||+++
“Oh, before I forget, I invited Jason and Elizabeth over for dinner on Sunday. You’re gonna make some of your championship barbeque.”
Eric tore his eyes reluctantly from the game tape he was studying and turned to his wife, a puzzled look on his face. “Who?”
“Jason and Elizabeth Morgan. The couple with the little boy, Jake, that Gracie Belle plays with at the park. You know, I told you about them.”
He shook his head. When had she told him about them? “Great, that’s great. And just what am I supposed to talk to this Jason character about?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. I’m sure you and he can find something you have in common.”
“Well, do you know anything about them?”
“Just that they moved here a couple of months ago. Elizabeth’s hopin’ they can stay here for awhile. Sounds like they move around a lot. Course, I told her I knew how that felt.”
“Of course you did.”
“Yes, I did,” Tami said as she held out the beer she’d gotten for him. With one hand he took the cold bottle and with the other he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto his lap.
“Maybe they’ll be busy.”
“I hope not.”
“Maybe we’ll be busy.” Eric said as swept Tami’s hair aside and skimmed her throat with his lips. “You smell good.”
“Yes, I do. It’s that new shower gel.”
“Well, you can keep on buyin’ that.”
“And you can keep on doin’ that, sugar,” Tami said with a throaty laugh as he slid his hand up her bare thigh.
+++||+++
“I hope they’re okay,” Elizabeth said apprehensively as she looked outside and saw Jason standing with a beer in his hand, not saying anything as Eric stood over the barbeque. “Jason isn’t much of a conversationalist.”
“Well, honey, neither is Eric unless he’s talkin’ about I formations and Cover Three defenses. Then he will talk your ear off.” Tami stood in the kitchen tossing a green salad in a big wooden bowl. When she finished with that, she took down two wine glasses and filled them each with white wine, handing one to Elizabeth before she turned back to check on the brownies in the oven.
“So, Elizabeth do you work outside of takin’ care of your little guy?”
“I did when he was a baby, as a nurse. But not right now. I’d like to, I think, once Jake’s in school.”
“Oh, well, you should talk to Corrina Williams then. Remind me before you go to give you her number. She’s a nurse over at the women’s clinic. I bet she could help you out there. At least she’d know where you could start, who you might talk to.”
“Thank you. That’s really nice.”
“What does Jason do?”
“He was in the coffee business. Importing and exporting.”
“Sounds exciting.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Not especially. He’s glad to be out of it.”
“That why you all moved around so much?”
All Elizabeth could do was nod. She couldn’t tell Tami that they’d moved around so much because they were running away from things they didn’t want to remember. “Jason really loves motorcycles. He’s thinking about opening up a shop.”
“Well, I hope he does,” Tami said with a warm smile. “That way you can stay put for awhile.”
+++||+++
“So, Jason, what do you do?”
“Between jobs right now.”
Jason watched the apprehensive look on Eric Taylor’s face turn into a concerned one as he watched his daughter wrap her arms around Jake and tumble him to the ground. “Gracie, honey, don’t do that.”
“But Daddy, I’m practicin’ my tacklin’. Did ya see? I kept my head up.”
“Yes, you did, but stop it, ya hear? This isn’t a practice field.” Eric turned back to Jason and said, “Sorry. She’s been spendin’ too much time on the field with the team. Thinks she’s as big and tough as those boys are.”
Jason couldn’t help but grin. Elizabeth had been right; the little girl was a hellion. “Jake’s pretty tough. He likes to wrestle, so he should be okay.”
Eric’s assessing eyes followed Jake. “Yeah, he’s quick. Make a good wideout.”
“Don’t know much about football,” Jason admitted as he took another drink of beer. It was beyond him how the guy could look at a 4-year-old and see something like that.
“Well, stick around Dillon for awhile and you’ll learn.”
More often in the last few weeks, Jason thought that was something they might be able to do. Elizabeth was more relaxed than he’d seen her in a long time. Jake was smiling more, talking more. Even Jason had found himself falling into the ease that flowed through the small town.
It had been awhile since he thought about Port Charles and all that they’d left behind. He didn’t miss it much anymore, didn’t miss the danger, or the sick feeling in his stomach every time the phone rang. He’d made his peace with Sonny. Finally got Carly to realize that she didn’t really need him as much as she thought she did. And he’d forgiven Michael what he’d done because Jason had known that if he didn’t the rest of the boy’s life wasn’t going to be worth anything. He wasn’t sure that Elizabeth would ever be able to do the same, but he understood that and he accepted it just as she understood why he’d felt the need to absolve Michael of his guilt.
The sound of Eric’s stern voice broke into Jason’s thoughts.
“Gracie Belle Taylor…what did I tell you?”
“That this wasn’t a practice field.”
“That’s right. Quit knocking Jake down, awright?”
“Yes, sir.”
Eric couldn’t do much but shake his head. “Yeah, your boy, he’s a tough one. Maybe linebacker, instead of wideout.”
+++||+++
Elizabeth lounged in the swing on the front porch of the old farmhouse, enjoying the dusky wide sky and the warm summer night while she waited for Jason to finish tucking Jake in. When he came outside, he shut the screen door quietly and settled down next to her.
“Did he finally go to sleep?”
“Yeah. He was pretty wound up,” Jason said as he stretched his arm around her and pulled her close.
Elizabeth smiled, “It was fun seeing the two of them together. I had to laugh; Tami kept saying she was sorry.”
“So did Eric. They seem to have their hands full.”
“Yes, they do.”
Jason pressed his lips to her forehead. “You smiled a lot today. So, did Jake. It was good. It makes me…it’s good to see you two happy.”
Unable to trust her voice to answer as her throat tightened and tears welled in her eyes, all Elizabeth could do was nod. It had been a long time since she’d felt this carefree and light. In some ways she felt guilty, but mostly she just felt relieved that finally she might be able to go forward instead of always looking back.
And that brought another smile to her face. Jason was right. It was good.
End
...
Author: pdxscaper
Fandom: General Hospital/Friday Night Lights crossover
Summary: Finally she might be able to go forward instead of always looking back.
Characters: Jason, Elizabeth, and Jake Morgan, Eric, Tami, and Gracie Belle Taylor
Rating: G
Spoilers: Ha! This is way too AU crossover cracktastic for any kind of spoilers even if I knew them.
Word Count: 3,009
Disclaimer: Characters belong to ABC-TV, Disney, NBC Universal Television, Imagine Television, Universal Media Studios and Film 44 and the people who created them. No copyright infringement is intended, no money is being made.
Notes: Huh, sure never thought I’d be writing a GH/FNL crossover. For Jules' [jadengreen36] prompt: Liason [Jason & Elizabeth]/FNL crossover where Liason have moved to Dillon to start over after leaving the mob. The title and lyrics below are from Rob Thomas’s song-When the Heartache Ends. Thanks to chicklet25 for the once over!
It’s alright
why don’t you tell me again
how you’ll still be there
when the heartache ends
+++||+++
When the Heartache Ends
It was a warm, bright blue sky day and Elizabeth enjoyed watching Jake run in the park because he looked like he was having fun, playing with a little pigtailed girl about his size. When the girl fell down seemingly on purpose in front of him, Jake tumbled over her, sprawling hard on the ground. Elizabeth reached him by the time he scrambled up and stood brushing grass and dirt from his hands.
“I’m okay, Mommy,” Jake said with a lopsided grin before she could even ask him.
A redheaded woman rushed up and knelt down in front of the little girl, took her by the arm. “Gracie Belle, honey, that’s not nice. You can’t just go around knockin’ boys down.”
“But I was teachin’ him how to chop block, Mama, jus’ like Coach Riggins teached me.”
“Taught you, honey. Just like Coach Riggins taught you.”
Satisfied that Jake was fine, Elizabeth couldn’t help but chuckle as the woman huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes. Something told her that Coach Riggins, whoever he was, could count on getting an earful from Gracie’s mom next time she caught up with him.
Turning to Elizabeth she asked, “I’m real sorry, is he alright?” Genuine concern was evident in her question.
“He’s just fine. Jake’s a pretty tough little boy,” Elizabeth said as she ruffled his hair before he took off at a run, chasing Gracie across the park.
“Yeah? Well, that’s good, especially if he’s going to be anywhere near Gracie Belle. I tell you, that girl is gonna be the death of me.”
“She’s definitely a spitfire.”
“Oh, that she is,” the woman said with a mother’s knowing smile. Turning back to Elizabeth she said, “My name’s Tami Taylor. Just thought I should introduce myself in case Gracie Belle does anything else to your little boy. Then you’ll know who to call.”
Elizabeth shook Tami’s outstretched hand. “Elizabeth Morgan.”
“Nice to meet you, Elizabeth. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, are you all new to Dillon?”
Elizabeth nodded. This was always the tricky part. She and Jason had gone over it until she felt like she could recite their history in her sleep, but even now, after three years, her stomach turned any time someone started asking questions. Still, she had gotten to be a pretty quick judge of character and something told her this woman was someone she would like to get to know.
“How are you likin’ it here so far?”
“It’s nice,” Elizabeth said and meant it. It was the first town that she and Jason and Jake had lived in that she felt maybe they could make a real home in. “I hope we can stay for awhile.”
“Move around a lot?”
“Definitely more than I’d like.”
“Your husband coach football?”
Elizabeth shook her head, lifted her eyebrows in question.
“I just asked ‘cuz I know the feeling. We’ve lived in more places than I can remember on account of Eric’s job. He’s the high school football coach.”
“The Panthers, right?”
Tami laughed and nodded. “Doesn’t take long, does it?”
Elizabeth shook her head. It wasn’t as if just about every store in the town didn’t have a Dillon Panthers poster in the window. “Is high school football really that big here?”
“Honey, it is all that. You think it’s bad now, just wait until the season starts.”
Hopefully they would still be here in the fall. Elizabeth’s eyes followed Jake as he and Gracie ran back and forth across the park. They seemed to take turns with the football which was good. Without Cameron to teach him, Jake was having a hard time learning how to share. She had nobody to blame but herself and Jason. After what happened they hadn’t let the little boy out of their sight, they made over him with everything he did, big or small. It wasn’t his fault that he thought everything should be about him. She knew they were smothering him, holding on way too tight, but Elizabeth couldn’t seem to do anything else. She wasn’t sure how she was ever going to be able to do any different.
She turned to find Tami studying her, a concerned expression on her face. “You okay?”
As she composed herself to answer, Elizabeth heard Jake’s high pitched scream of glee. “Daddy!”
He took off running toward Jason, who’d just parked in the lot and was walking across the expanse of green grass toward where she stood. When he heard Jake, he stopped and turned waiting for the little boy to run to him. Jason knelt as Jake closed the distance between them and when the little boy was close enough Jason scooped him up and swung him around. The sound of Jake’s laughter brought a smile to Elizabeth’s face.
“They do have a thing for their daddies, don’t they?”
Elizabeth could only nod. Her throat was tight and she wondered if seeing the two of them together, without Cameron, was ever going to get easier.
“Hey,” Jason said in between Jake’s sentences as they stopped in front of her.
“Hi.” Elizabeth saw his eyes slide over to assess the woman standing next to her even as he listened to Jake’s animated story about the football and Gracie and playing tackle. She wondered if he’d ever lose that habit. Sizing people up, assessing their threat level. She doubted it. And if she were truly honest with herself, she would admit that it always made her feel safe. It had been a while since anything bad happened in their lives and Elizabeth knew that was because Jason was the way he was.
Gracie came running up, ball in hand and said, “C’mon, Jake. Hurry up.” The little boy squirmed out of Jason’s hold and took off running again.
“That’s my girl. Always buttin’ into the middle of everything, bossin’ everyone around. Sorry about that.” A rueful grin slid across Tami’s face.
“It’s okay,” Jason said as his eyes followed Jake across the park. “He looks like he’s having fun.”
“Tami, this is my husband, Jason. Jason, this is Tami.”
“Nice to meet you, Jason.”
Jason nodded and shook the hand she offered, his eyes shifting immediately back to Jake.
Elizabeth caught Tami’s eye and the other woman rolled her eyes with a smile as if to say, “Men, what are you gonna do with ‘em.” She was glad to see the woman hadn’t taken offense at Jason’s brusque greeting.
+++||+++
Elizabeth set the glass of wine and the bottle of beer down on the dining room table and turned to go back into the kitchen to dish up their plates when Jason caught her hand and drew her back to him. He’d just finished getting Jake to sleep and she knew it hadn’t been easy.
“There’s food,” she said with a soft laugh as his lips brushed down the side of her neck, tickling, sending her blood rushing through her veins, red hot and electric.
“Yeah, I know,” he murmured, his breath soft and warm against her throat.
“It’s going to get cold,” Elizabeth said half-heartedly.
“Don’t really care.” She could feel the smile against her cheek as his lips worked their way to hers. It was a minute before he swung her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, laid her down on the bed and replaced the thoughts of dinner with other things.
+++
They sat on the sofa, arms touching, eating the dinner that had gotten overdone in the oven.
“Tami Taylor invited us over to dinner on Sunday.”
Jason put down his fork, rested his elbows on his knees. He could tell from the way she said it that this was important to Elizabeth. “Do you want to go?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I think it would be good for Jake. He and Gracie seem to get along well. He needs to be around other people, Jason. Other kids. Not just us.”
“I know.” They weren’t doing their son any favors by being so overprotective. Jason realized that. No matter how much he wanted to keep the boy from harm, he had to face the fact that holding on too tight wasn’t always the best thing. Still, after Cameron’s death, it seemed like neither one of them could do anything else.
Jason hoped it would get easier, but he wasn’t sure how that was ever going to happen. He knew Elizabeth still had nightmares. Even though they’d been gone from Port Charles for three years and lived in more places than he could count, he could hear Epiphany’s voice on his cell phone as clear as if it had happened yesterday.
“Jason, it’s Epiphany. You need to get to General Hospital as quickly as you can There’s been a shooting. Elizabeth needs you.”
The whole ride to the hospital his mind had pushed everything away: all the possibilities, every scenario. He couldn’t go there, because if he did he’d never make it back. He’d never be able to do what needed to be done.
When he’d gotten to the hospital Epiphany’s grim face met him. All she said was the number of the trauma room where he found Elizabeth weeping as she held Cameron’s lifeless body tight to her. The light blue scrubs she wore were dark from the little boy’s blood. Too much blood. Max stood next to the bed, more blood on his hands, the front of his light shirt dark crimson with still more blood. Tears tracked down the big man’s cheeks as his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Milo stood next to his brother, a hand on his shoulder, gripping hard. Sonny, his face set in a blank stare, stood next to Michael who was sobbing. Jason knew he would hear Michael’s I didn’t mean to…I didn’t mean to…it was an accident… for the rest of his life.
“Jason, are you okay?” Elizabeth asked as she smoothed her hand down his arm. “We don’t have to go if you think-“
“No, no,” he said, shaking his head to clear the picture of that day out of his mind. He didn’t think about it often, not anymore, but when the memories came, they always came in a big wave. “We should go. You’re right; it would be good for Jake. What do you know about these people?”
“Well, Tami’s husband, Eric, is the football coach at the high school. And Tami works there too. She’s a guidance counselor. They have another daughter, Julie, who’s in college. I’m not sure where, I don’t think Tami said. And they have little Gracie Belle who’s the same age as Jake. She’s quite the little hellion,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “But she’s a sweetheart, too. All yes ma’am and no ma’am. She’s got Jake saying it already.”
Elizabeth relaxed against him, wine glass in hand and tucked her feet up under her. Jason reached an arm around her and settled in. It was good to see her smile again.
+++||+++
“Oh, before I forget, I invited Jason and Elizabeth over for dinner on Sunday. You’re gonna make some of your championship barbeque.”
Eric tore his eyes reluctantly from the game tape he was studying and turned to his wife, a puzzled look on his face. “Who?”
“Jason and Elizabeth Morgan. The couple with the little boy, Jake, that Gracie Belle plays with at the park. You know, I told you about them.”
He shook his head. When had she told him about them? “Great, that’s great. And just what am I supposed to talk to this Jason character about?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. I’m sure you and he can find something you have in common.”
“Well, do you know anything about them?”
“Just that they moved here a couple of months ago. Elizabeth’s hopin’ they can stay here for awhile. Sounds like they move around a lot. Course, I told her I knew how that felt.”
“Of course you did.”
“Yes, I did,” Tami said as she held out the beer she’d gotten for him. With one hand he took the cold bottle and with the other he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto his lap.
“Maybe they’ll be busy.”
“I hope not.”
“Maybe we’ll be busy.” Eric said as swept Tami’s hair aside and skimmed her throat with his lips. “You smell good.”
“Yes, I do. It’s that new shower gel.”
“Well, you can keep on buyin’ that.”
“And you can keep on doin’ that, sugar,” Tami said with a throaty laugh as he slid his hand up her bare thigh.
+++||+++
“I hope they’re okay,” Elizabeth said apprehensively as she looked outside and saw Jason standing with a beer in his hand, not saying anything as Eric stood over the barbeque. “Jason isn’t much of a conversationalist.”
“Well, honey, neither is Eric unless he’s talkin’ about I formations and Cover Three defenses. Then he will talk your ear off.” Tami stood in the kitchen tossing a green salad in a big wooden bowl. When she finished with that, she took down two wine glasses and filled them each with white wine, handing one to Elizabeth before she turned back to check on the brownies in the oven.
“So, Elizabeth do you work outside of takin’ care of your little guy?”
“I did when he was a baby, as a nurse. But not right now. I’d like to, I think, once Jake’s in school.”
“Oh, well, you should talk to Corrina Williams then. Remind me before you go to give you her number. She’s a nurse over at the women’s clinic. I bet she could help you out there. At least she’d know where you could start, who you might talk to.”
“Thank you. That’s really nice.”
“What does Jason do?”
“He was in the coffee business. Importing and exporting.”
“Sounds exciting.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Not especially. He’s glad to be out of it.”
“That why you all moved around so much?”
All Elizabeth could do was nod. She couldn’t tell Tami that they’d moved around so much because they were running away from things they didn’t want to remember. “Jason really loves motorcycles. He’s thinking about opening up a shop.”
“Well, I hope he does,” Tami said with a warm smile. “That way you can stay put for awhile.”
+++||+++
“So, Jason, what do you do?”
“Between jobs right now.”
Jason watched the apprehensive look on Eric Taylor’s face turn into a concerned one as he watched his daughter wrap her arms around Jake and tumble him to the ground. “Gracie, honey, don’t do that.”
“But Daddy, I’m practicin’ my tacklin’. Did ya see? I kept my head up.”
“Yes, you did, but stop it, ya hear? This isn’t a practice field.” Eric turned back to Jason and said, “Sorry. She’s been spendin’ too much time on the field with the team. Thinks she’s as big and tough as those boys are.”
Jason couldn’t help but grin. Elizabeth had been right; the little girl was a hellion. “Jake’s pretty tough. He likes to wrestle, so he should be okay.”
Eric’s assessing eyes followed Jake. “Yeah, he’s quick. Make a good wideout.”
“Don’t know much about football,” Jason admitted as he took another drink of beer. It was beyond him how the guy could look at a 4-year-old and see something like that.
“Well, stick around Dillon for awhile and you’ll learn.”
More often in the last few weeks, Jason thought that was something they might be able to do. Elizabeth was more relaxed than he’d seen her in a long time. Jake was smiling more, talking more. Even Jason had found himself falling into the ease that flowed through the small town.
It had been awhile since he thought about Port Charles and all that they’d left behind. He didn’t miss it much anymore, didn’t miss the danger, or the sick feeling in his stomach every time the phone rang. He’d made his peace with Sonny. Finally got Carly to realize that she didn’t really need him as much as she thought she did. And he’d forgiven Michael what he’d done because Jason had known that if he didn’t the rest of the boy’s life wasn’t going to be worth anything. He wasn’t sure that Elizabeth would ever be able to do the same, but he understood that and he accepted it just as she understood why he’d felt the need to absolve Michael of his guilt.
The sound of Eric’s stern voice broke into Jason’s thoughts.
“Gracie Belle Taylor…what did I tell you?”
“That this wasn’t a practice field.”
“That’s right. Quit knocking Jake down, awright?”
“Yes, sir.”
Eric couldn’t do much but shake his head. “Yeah, your boy, he’s a tough one. Maybe linebacker, instead of wideout.”
+++||+++
Elizabeth lounged in the swing on the front porch of the old farmhouse, enjoying the dusky wide sky and the warm summer night while she waited for Jason to finish tucking Jake in. When he came outside, he shut the screen door quietly and settled down next to her.
“Did he finally go to sleep?”
“Yeah. He was pretty wound up,” Jason said as he stretched his arm around her and pulled her close.
Elizabeth smiled, “It was fun seeing the two of them together. I had to laugh; Tami kept saying she was sorry.”
“So did Eric. They seem to have their hands full.”
“Yes, they do.”
Jason pressed his lips to her forehead. “You smiled a lot today. So, did Jake. It was good. It makes me…it’s good to see you two happy.”
Unable to trust her voice to answer as her throat tightened and tears welled in her eyes, all Elizabeth could do was nod. It had been a long time since she’d felt this carefree and light. In some ways she felt guilty, but mostly she just felt relieved that finally she might be able to go forward instead of always looking back.
And that brought another smile to her face. Jason was right. It was good.
End
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