Ours
"Preparations"

Fresh baked platter of brownies in hand, Elizabeth sits comfortably in the back seat of Cody's sedan as he drives her to Sonny's estate. Having a guard again has brought back memories from the past, reminding her of Sonny's kindness and generosity, before life took hold of him and turned him into the man he is today. She can still see glimpses of the man she used to know and that gave her hope for their friendship. Sure, it barely exists nowadays, but she still holds out that hope.

"Elizabeth?" Sonny voices in confusion when he opens his door to find her standing on the other side. "This is a surprise."

"Brownies." she replies, holding out the plate to him. "To thank you for giving Jason time off for our date."

"You don't have to thank me, Elizabeth." Sonny assures. "Its not that often I get to do something for Jason."

"So you don't want the brownies?"

"I didn't say that." Sonny practically snatches them out of her hands causing her to laugh softly. "Only a crazy man would turn down your brownies. Please, come in."

Following Sonny inside, Elizabeth glances back at Cody, who assures her he'll be right by the door, before she allows the door to shut behind her. As they make their way into Sonny's kitchen, she can't help but compare this place to Sonny's old penthouse. The overall design reminds her a great deal of the old penthouse, but there are subtle differences, as well. It wasn't a strong presence, but there's a small taste of Carly within those walls. Regardless of what both have claimed over these last few years, Elizabeth could see that they would soon be back in the thick of it, something she's certain neither would mind all that much.

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liason
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Taking notes on the final touches that need to be made to the No Name before he starts planning the grand reopening. Elizabeth has offered to help him plan it and, to be honest, he was thankful for that. If he was supposed to plan it by himself, he might have done something crazy like hire Carly to do it and that wouldn't bode well for him at all.

His desire to keep the feel of the No Name the same as it has always been known to be will quickly fly out the door once she gets her hands on it. No. For all their sake, its definitely a good thing Elizabeth offered to help. Between the two of them, he's confident that the grand opening will go the way he wants it to. With Elizabeth's flare woven in, of course, he'll see to that. This will be their place, after all, and he wants her to have a hand in it.

"Jason?" Johnny's voices from the entrance area, successfully pulling him out of his thoughts. "Hey, man. The place looks great."

"That's an understatement." Francis counters as they make their way over to him. "You really outdone yourself."

"Lets get started." Jason says as he directs them to follow him. "I've gone over the security for the place, but I want you both to take a stab at it and let me know if I've overlooked anything."

"You never overlook anything." Johnny comments, knowing this would be pointless, but knowing they're about to do it anyway.

"I'll be bringing my family here on a regular basis. I won't leave anything to chance." Jason states. "Have your reports in by the end of the day."

"Understood." Francis assures before making his way to the exit closest to them and getting started.

"Jason?" Johnny voices once they're alone.

"Yeah?"

"Don't kill me for asking." Johnny says before taking a deep breath. "How's Emily been?"

"Sorry, kid." Jason shakes his head. "That's one answer you'll have to get the hard way."

"Come on..."

"Her number's still the same." Jason says simply. "Use it."

Leaving Johnny to handle things on his own, Jason makes his way out of the No Name, feeling the sudden urge to spend some quality time with Cameron. They've already begun the adoption process, a process that Diane is confident she can have completed it as little as two months, and he can't wait.

With Cameron's dad deceased, there's no one to contest the adoption, giving them the ability to make it official as soon as possible. By the end of the process, Cameron will go from Cameron Webber to Cameron Morgan. Something he was thankful that Elizabeth agreed upon. He wants Cameron to always know that he loves him. Regardless of what anyone else may say or think. Cameron is his son as much as he's Elizabeth, blood wouldn't make it anymore true.

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liason
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Elizabeth could practically see Sonny's gears turning once she laid it all out there for him. She had been completely nervous about asking for his help, but now realizes just how silly she had been to be so worried. Once Sonny heard what she required of him, it was like a bright light switched on inside of him and he started planning right away. As they start to hash out all the details, it seemed to her that the Sonny she once knew was starting to show his face again, making her believe that he was always there, just not for her to see until now.

"Are you sure I can trust you to keep this from Jason?" Elizabeth dares to ask once they got the plans finalized. "Its just that he has surprised me so much since we got together and I really want to do this for him."

"I know we've been on shattered ground, but I fully intend to fix what we broke." Sonny assures. "Jason won't know what hit him."

"Great." she smiles brightly. "Now all I need to do is convince Jason to show up."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." he chuckles before shaking his head. "Before you leave, I got something for your baby."

"Its not really wise to buy things for the baby before its born..."

"No, not the miracle in the making." Sonny shakes his head before picking up a gift bag from underneath the desk. "Its for Cameron. From what I've heard, he really likes Chugging Charlie."

"He does." Elizabeth confirms as she takes the bag into her hands. "You really didn't have to..."

"I wanted to." Sonny says sincerely. "My way of making it up to the little guy."

"Thank you, Sonny."

Granting him a soft smile, she accepts his hug before making her way back outside to Cody, instructing him to take her to the No Name. Jason had sent her a text about heading home to be with Cameron, giving her enough time to scope out the private room of the No Name and create a rough sketch of how she wants it to look. Of course, she hadn't expected to find Johnny and Francis arguing.

"One can only wonder how you two survived living together all these years." Elizabeth voices, causing them to become aware of her presence. "What are you two fighting about?"

"Nothing we won't settle." Francis assures before wrapping his arms around her. "How're you doing?"

"I'm fine." she assures. "Just came to handle that thing we discussed. Are you guys done securing the private room?"

"All done." Francis confirms. "Need help?"

"Not at the moment, but I'll let you know." Elizabeth replies before making her way to the private room. "Try not to get physical, okay? Jason'll kill you if you damage anything in this place."

Stepping into the private room, she has to take a moment to reminisce about her date with Jason before she continues on to her purpose for being there. Setting herself up in the corner with the best view of the entire room, wanting to plan out the entire setup before she gets the others involved in helping her decorate. Taking a deep breath, she flips open her sketch pad and gets started, hoping that she'll be able to bring to life the image she has floating around her head.

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liason
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Shutting off the stove, Jason sets Cameron's food in front of him, surprised to find that he was actually hungry. Normally at this time of the day, he's itching to be in the living room, playing with his toys. Pulling up a chair to sit beside him, he does his best to help Cameron when he needs it. He has gotten a lot better with feeding himself, but they still need to monitor him to make sure he doesn't stuff too much into his mouth.

"Hey." Jason says when he answers the phone. "Are you on your way home?"

"Not just yet." Elizabeth replies, shutting her sketch pad. "How are my two favorite men doing?"

"We're having a late lunch." he admits. "I was thinking about taking him to the park later."

"I know he'll love that." Elizabeth agrees. "Do you want me to get started on planning the grand opening?"

"I've actually gotten started." Jason replies. "I'll leave my list on the coffee table. Let me know what you think?"

"You know I will." Elizabeth says simply. "Make sure you take him to the swings. They're his favorite."

"I remember." he replies with a smile. "Don't worry about dinner. We'll pick some up on our way back."

"Sounds good." she replies. "See you soon."

Ending the call, knowing that he'd be seeing her soon enough, Jason finishes feeding Cameron his lunch before packing up the things they'd need for their time in the park. Normally Elizabeth would be the one to pack up the things that Cameron would need, seeing as he wasn't exactly experienced in that department, but today is a day for new things and that meant packing the bag himself for once.

Once he was certain he has packed a bag Elizabeth would approve of, he gets Cameron dressed and out the door they go. Keeping a mental note to stop by the swings like instructed to do so, Jason parks the SUV in the parking lot near the entrance of the park before making sure the guards were in place before entering.

As much as he wishes that his enemies played by the same rules he and Sonny play by, there are still those that will not hesitate at the sight of a child. For that reason alone, he has ordered a group of six men to watch out for them while he placed his focus on Cameron, where it belongs.

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liason
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With a general idea of how everything would go together, Elizabeth makes her way back into the main part of the No Name, thoroughly surprised to find that Johnny was nowhere in sight. From the moment they landed in Port Charles, there has been a tenseness between the two, something observed by both she and Jason. As much as she would love to leave them to their issues, she just got them back and she'd rather not have one or both leave because of their problems with each other.

"Where's Johnny?" she decides to open with that, gaining Francis's attention.

"Out back double checking the layout we made." Francis shrugs. "Why? Did you need something?"

"Only for you to tell me what's going on." Elizabeth counters. "From what Jason has told me and what I've seen, you two are fighting more than I have ever seen you fight before. What's that all about?"

"I'd rather not pull you..."

"You're not pulling, I'm joining of my own free will." Elizabeth cuts him off swiftly. "I love you both, Francis, which means I'm already in this. Tell me what's going on."

"Johnny's just been feeling a little on the outside since we got back." Francis admits carefully. "He thinks that I'm purposely trying to one-up him and I'm trying to get it into his thick skull that I'm not."

"You kind of put that vibe out there though."

"You too?" Francis looks at her in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"I'm not taking sides, I'm just telling you how it looks." Elizabeth puts her hands up in defense. "I know its hard to do, but sometimes you just gotta let him bring the better gift, you know?"

"It was his dumb idea to bring wine."

"Its Johnny." Elizabeth reminds him. "Sometimes he does need a guiding hand."

"So, in other words, I should apologize."

"I think you should." Elizabeth says simply. "And remind him that he's just as important to everyone as you are."

"Will do."

"Great." Elizabeth says with a smile. "I have to get going. I still have to get started on planning the grand opening on top of Jason's surprise."

"If anyone can handle it, its you."

"You're too sweet." Elizabeth replies before kissing his cheek. "Just remember that he's your best friend. Whatever you two fight about isn't worth losing that."

"I know." Francis assures. "And be careful, okay. Don't work too hard."

"Dully noted."

Meeting up with Cody at the sedan, she tells him its time to head home, thankful that she'll have some time alone to put the final touches on her surprise for Jason before delving into the grand opening. Assuring Cody that she will keep the doors locked and the security system on while she works, Elizabeth makes her way to the couch before picking up Jason's list from the coffee table where he left it. Looking it over, she couldn't help but put the pieces together in her mind. With a little tweak here and there, the grand opening will be nothing short of a success.

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liason
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Taking a deep breath, Jason sternly told Carly to shut her mouth before handing Cameron over to Marco, instructing him to take his son to the car with the men and wait for him to join them. Normally he'd send him home to his mother, but Elizabeth would pretty much castrate him for doing so when the only threat at the moment is Carly.

Sending Cameron away from a situation was only to be done when absolutely necessary in order to avoid frightening him by not having Jason there. Cameron's still getting used to the guards and it wouldn't do anyone any good to leave Cameron to their care without Jason or Elizabeth present for a long period of time.

"If you ever do something like that again with Cameron present, you and I are through." Jason snaps, furious with the way she chose to handle her outburst, all but scaring Cameron to tears. "Do you hear me?!"

"Don't turn this around on me!" Carly snaps back, visibly shaken by the threat. "You have been avoiding me ever since you dropped your relationship bomb and I'm sick of it! You don't get to make a life changing decision like that and then just avoid me."

"This right here should give you the understanding of why I've kept my distance." Jason states. "I'm trying to start a life with Elizabeth and the last thing I need is for you to come in and derail it."

"She's not the one for you, Jason!" Carly exclaims. "After everything she has put you through, I would have thought you'd see that by now."

"Our past is what makes the life we're building together that much more worth it." Jason counters. "I'm only going to say this once, so, you better hear me when I say it. Elizabeth is my family now. You can either accept that or accept no longer having a place in my personal life. The choice is on you."

Once again, he walks away from her without waiting for a response, wanting more than anything to get back to Cameron and assure him that everything was fine. Because of Carly's outburst, he had been shaken up a little and that was something he wouldn't condone. Not ever.

Getting to the car, he picks Cameron up into his arms and does his best to explain what just happened without overloading him with too much information. Once he gets him calm and back to his little cheery self, Jason instructs the guards that he'll be taking Cameron home where Marco will remain while the others head back to their usual duties. He wasn't looking forward to telling Elizabeth any of this, but he knows he has to. As long as its not business, he has no reason to keep it from her.

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liason
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Elizabeth called for takeout as soon as Jason got home without dinner. Once they ate and put Cameron to bed, she could see that he was preparing to have a serious talk with her and she wasn't all to certain she was ready to have it. Mostly because she wasn't sure what they would be talking about or what they had to discuss that would have him looking the way he does. A little voice in her head wondered if he knew about the surprise, but she doubts that to be true. It wasn't until Jason started telling her what happened at the park that she all but lost it.

"I'll handle Carly." Jason assures her as he pulls her down onto his lap. "Will you trust me to do that?"

"Yes." she replies before taking a deep breath. "If that ever happens again..."

"It won't." he assures her. "I've instructed the guards to keep her away when I'm alone with Cameron."

"Okay." she couldn't help but be thankful for that. "Do you think she'll ever accept us?"

"Its Carly." he shrugs. "No way to know."

"I trust you to handle your best friend." she says before kissing him softly. "Enough about that...do you want to see what I came up with for the Grand Opening?"

"Did you like my ideas?"

"I loved them." she assures. "I simply took your concept and tweaked it a bit. I hope you'll like what I came up with."

"I'm sure I will."

Leaving talk of Carly and her tantrums aside, they sit together at the coffee table going over everything she had planned for the grand opening of the No Name. Of course invitations would be extended to the five families and others in the organization, but there will also be invitations going out to the general population as well. The No Name will still be by reservations only, once the place is up and running, so, the grand opening will be by invitation only. Something Jason approved of. Especially with the heads of the five families in attendance.

Watching her as she tells him everything she has planned, Jason can't help the soft smile that touches his lips as he holds her in his arms. No matter what comes their way, he's certain they will weather through it this time, that includes Carly. He hadn't been one to be too confident in his relationship with Elizabeth in the past, but its different this time around. He can feel it. This time is different. This time he will fight for their future and he won't stop until its theirs.