I just wanted to say that I'm sorry it took me so long to update this. This past semester has been the hardest semester I have had and it was very time consuming. Again, I'm sorry and hope you enjoy!

Chapter Six

Well, Elizabeth thought as she looked around her new apartment living room filled with boxes, this was it.

This was her new home… and she loved it.

Not only would she and William both have their own bedrooms, but the kitchen—which she would hardly ever use—was spacious, her living room was twice the size of her old one and she was already mentally picturing everything that she could do with the new place.

The ceilings were high enough to place very tall book cases or shelves to place her one-of-a-kind art pieces, some she bought over time, some of her own.

This place would do just fine.

"This is the last of it." Johnny announced as he walked through Elizabeth's door with a box on each shoulder.

"Why thank you, Johnny." Elizabeth smiled at him warmly then turned to the rest of the men in her living room. "I honestly don't know what I would have done without all of you, so thank you."

Max ducked his head blushing while Francis stood a little taller. Johnny, on the other hand, strutted toward her; coming very close and smiled down at her with a smile Elizabeth had no doubt helped many a woman into his bed. "Now, let's get to talking about how you're going to thank me. I believe you said you'd do anything." He finished with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a knowing look.

Elizabeth, prepared to give as good as she got, never had the chance to reply for Jason spoke before she could and though she wasn't looking at him she could hear the scowl in his voice.

"She's already said thank you and that's all you're going to get. Why don't you go see if Sonny needs anything before I'm the one who thanks you?"

Johnny's smirk never left his face as he turned and walked out of the room calling over his shoulder. "I'll see you around Miss Webber." There was laughter in his voice.

Max quickly followed Johnny, almost tripping over his own feet and Francis pulled up the rear, giving Elizabeth another friendly smile while patting Max on the back.

While watching the men leave, Elizabeth heard thumping coming from William's new room followed by childish laughter and smiled. He was already making it home.

"So," Elizabeth started, giving Jason a tentative smile. "Again, thank you so much for today. You'll never know how grateful I am that you and the guys helped me out."

Jason smiled, tugged at his ear. "Are you going to unpack today?"

Unlike that morning, energy was surging through Elizabeth making her want to keep on moving. She already knew where everything was going to go and it was still early in the day. Why not make a dent on the apartment now?

"Yeah, I think I will."

"I'll help." Jason lifted his hands from his sides, indicating that all he needed was some instructions and he was all hers.

A protest immediately surfaced from her throat. "Oh, no you don't have to. You've already helped me so much today. I'm just going to unpack everything and it'll be really boring, trust me."

The corner of Jason's mouth twitched to smile, but he held it back. "I've got nothing to do. Besides, it'll get done quicker if you have some help."

Knowing she was not going to be able to talk him out of it, Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and rubbed her hands together. "Alright, just, dig in… I guess."

After twenty minutes of Jason opening a box, asking where she wanted certain pieces of art or knick knacks, only to have her come behind him and rearrange what she had instructed him to do, Jason decided to open the box for her and hand her each item, letting her decide exactly how she wanted it.

He couldn't understand how placing a statue of a naked couple embracing on a shelf could take so much work, but it did. At least when it came to Elizabeth.

When she finally had the piece angling just right, she smiled and walked away, messing with something else. Jason stared at the piece for a couple of more minutes, still trying to figure out what the big fuss was about and why would Elizabeth want to display something like that. His forehead was creased in confusion and just when he was about to turn away from the piece, Elizabeth stood next to him, smiling proudly.

"I didn't take you for a man who appreciated art." She said with some amazement.

He stumbled over his words, trying to find a way to tell her he had no idea about art and let her down easily without disappointing her when she continued on in her chatty way. "I created this piece my junior year. Sculpting is not really my specialty, I'm a painter, but I had this huge crush on the professor so I took his class." She laughed at some memory. "I think he had a thing for me, too. But he never acted on it." A pretty brush spread across her alabaster cheeks when she looked up at him. She lifted a dismissive hand and took in a gulp of air. "Anyway, whether it was because he had a thing for me or he really thought I was good, he told me that this piece was the best in the class and I've displayed it ever since. It's stupid really."

"I think it's kind of nice." He assured her. "I'm…I'm not much of an art—guy. But I can tell this is good."

A burst of laughter erupted from her tiny form startling him at first but then causing a grin to spread across his face. "You're something else, Jason Morgan." She laughed, patting him on the chest.

Just then, William and Anna came storming out of his room, chasing each other around the couch. William ran right into one of the boxes, tipping it over and both adults cringed when something shattered inside.

Elizabeth was about to explode when Jason stepped in. "Hey you two. There's a lot of stuff in this room that can hurt you or brake. It's not a good idea to be running around yet."

"Sorry." Both children said in unison.

"Looks like I came at the right time."

Both Jason and Elizabeth turned around to see Sonny standing in her doorway, a broad smile crossing his handsome face. "It seems that these two rug rats need to get out of here while you finish unpacking."

"Uncle Sonny!" Anna beamed, running to him and laughing when he picked her up and tossed her in the air.

"Elizabeth," Jason gestured to the man, "You remember Sonny?"

"Yeah," she answered. "It's nice to see you again. I want to thank you so much for letting me and William live here."

Sonny's dimples shined as he smiled at her. "We could use more families in this building." He reassured her when the truth was far from that. It was safer to have fewer innocents in the building as possible but since the building had never been a place for attack for Sonny and Jason's business, both men felt it safe for her and her nephew to live there. The less Elizabeth knew, Sonny thought, the better for her.

"So what do you say?" Sonny asked. "Do you two want me to take the little ones for a while, give the two of you some room to finish unpacking?"

"Yeah!" Anna shouted, still propped against Sonny's shoulder. But when Elizabeth looked down at William, she could see her nephew was a little shy. Apparently Anna could tell as well because she jumped down from her uncle's arms and stood in front of William. In a whisper, so the adults couldn't hear even though they could, the little girl spoke to William. "Uncle Sonny is so much fun. He always takes me to the playground and then we get ice cream even when Daddy tells him I can't have any. Oh, and he'll buy you something."

Elizabeth was doing her best to keep from laughing. She wanted to pull Anna into her arms and give the child a huge hug when William looked up at her with a huge grin. "Can I go? Pawease!"

At Sonny's encouraging nod, Elizabeth knelt in front of William. "Sure. But don't bug him to buy you anything." She added sternly. She was just reaching for her wallet when she heard the door close and noticed that the three of them were gone, leaving her alone with Jason.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth sighed while she stared at the many boxes still left. "This is your chance to escape." She teased, hoping he wouldn't leave.

"No way."

For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, smiles on their faces and neither one of them wanting to look away. It was in the moment that Elizabeth thought he might kiss her, felt a weird sense of wanting him to kiss her. He was a gorgeous man, tall enough that she had to lift her chin to look up into his eyes, eyes that made her go weak in the knees whenever they locked with hers. Though he was muscular and could probably lift her with one hand, he seemed intelligent, too, not like the muscle men Brenda always brought around.

Elizabeth wanted some eye candy as well as an interesting conversation.

And great sex.

There was always a need for great sex and she had no doubt that Jason Morgan was a man who could deliver.

Snapping back into the present, Elizabeth's cheeks heated red at her thoughts. If she had let her thoughts go any further she had no doubt that Jason would be on the floor right that minute with her lips attached to his.

Clearing her throat, Elizabeth turned away, praying to God that Jason wasn't some type of mind reader. "I have a feeling that I am never going to be able to finish this."

"You do have a lot of stuff."

"Hey," she said with mock defense, "are you trying to say something."

"No." He shrugged his shoulders, looking left, right, then back at her. "You just have a lot of stuff."

Seeing that he was serious, Elizabeth laughed and started back to unpacking her endless piles of boxes.

They had gotten back into their routine of him opening boxes and handing her things when his gaze snapped to hers after opening another box, a slight blush to his cheeks.

"These are ah… I don't think this box is for this…uh room."

It was when she looked at his hands that she saw one of her little red negligees dangling from one strong finger. Embarrassed and a little turned on at seeing the delicate garment in his hand, Elizabeth snatched it away and placed it back in the miss-marked box.

Trying to ease the embarrassment in the room, she gave Jason a saucy smile and placed the box aside. "Oh, come on Jason. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm sure you've seen those plenty of times." Though she was trying to make the moment easier, it left a bitter taste in her mouth to think of Jason with other woman.

Well where the hell did that come from?

He gave a short laugh, more like a huff of air. "No, not really."

Change the subject, she chanted, change it before it becomes too deep of a conversation. "What happened to Anna's mother?" She heard herself ask before she could think. Here she was trying to get into a lighter subject and she went and put her foot in her mouth. What the hell was wrong with her? "Forget I even asked. I have no place to—"

"No, it's ok." His voice was rough. "She uh—"

But before he could tell all that she didn't want to hear, but yet did, there was a knock at her door. Giving Jason an apologetic look, Elizabeth sprang to her feet and made it through her maze of boxes to the front door.

Patrick Drake stood there, dressed in one of his best suits with a bouquet of roses in one hand and an irritated expression on his handsome face. "I should have figured you wouldn't be ready." He said instead of a greeting. "I have been trying to call your cell all day and you haven't picked up or returned my calls. I had to hunt down Brenda and Lucky to find out that you were moving today—something you neglected to tell me. Then I had to threaten Lucky with bodily harm before I find out exactly where you moved to. And now I come here and you aren't even ready."

When he was finished, he glared down at her, waiting for her response. The only thing she could give him was: "Ready for what?"

"You forgot?" It wasn't a question but more of a demand. "We have had plans for weeks to go to the Cassidine black tie affair and you just forgot? You know how important this is for me and I needed—"

"Oh my God, Patrick, I am so sorry. With everything that's happened recently it completely slipped my mind. Just… just give me a couple of minutes and I'll be ready and we can go."

She had just turned around and was heading to her room when she saw Jason standing there, his expression unreadable—and stopped dead where she was, everything coming back to her. Turning back around, she gave Patrick an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry Patrick, but I can't go with you."

"What?"

She flinched at his tone but stood her ground. "I can't just leave William to go away for half the night. I have responsibilities now and I—"

"I'll watch him for you." Jason said from behind her.

"Who the hell is he?"

Narrowing her eyes at Patrick, Elizabeth turned to Jason. "This is my new neighbor, Jason. Jason this is…Patrick."

Neither man said anything.

Clearing her throat, Elizabeth broke the uncomfortable silence. "Thank you, Jason, but I couldn't do that to you."

"It's no big deal."

"For the love of God, Elizabeth. If the man wants to play babysitter, let him do it. We have a party to be at."

"Patrick!"

"Hey," he said, giving Elizabeth an impatient look. "You promised me that you'd go to this with me. I'm counting on you, just like your counting on me next month."

Elizabeth closed her eyes at the mention of her big showcase next month. It was going to be the biggest event her gallery hosted since its opening the year before and it would be totally humiliating if the owner showed up without a date. Turning back to Jason, she bit her lower lip. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Letting out a breath, she smiled and mouthed "Thank you" before rushing to her room and praying she could find something to wear not even thinking about the men she left alone in her living room.

Patrick looked Jason up and down, stepped into the apartment. "Elizabeth's a beautiful woman," he said with a knowing smile. "I don't know if you know about everything but she's not some cookie baking mom. She's a professional woman and if you think you're going to get an in with her by babysitting for the kid, you're wrong."

Jason didn't respond. Instead, he looked Patrick straight in the eyes and tilted his head to the side, his expression never changing.

Unnerved a bit by the silent treatment, Patrick took a step back but kept his head high. "You're wasting your time."

"I'm almost ready!" They both heard Elizabeth yell from her bedroom. Patrick smiled at that. Though it took some woman hours to get ready, Elizabeth could put herself together in minutes and still look like she spent hours on herself. "I'll just put my makeup on in the car!"

Patrick smirked at Jason. "That's my Elizabeth, always eager to please me."

The smirk slipped from his face when Jason took a step towards Patrick. But still, the bigger man didn't say anything.

Jason was seriously contemplating breaking in Elizabeth's new living room by splattering a bit of blood on her carpet by breaking the mans nose but decided against it. He was about to say something when he heard Elizabeth's door open behind him and turned to see her. It seemed that all the air was knocked out of him when she walked out of her room wearing a strapless black dress that hugged to her every curve, leaving little to the imagination. The dress flowed at her knees, then gave way to soft, silky legs the he itched to run his hands along.

Blinking, Jason forced himself to look at her face, not the swell of her breasts. He cleared his throat. "You…you look nice."

Elizabeth beamed up at him while Patrick gave a snooty chuckle. "You look beautiful." He cut in. Elizabeth gave the other man a smile as well before turning back to Jason.

"You have been my hero more than once today." When he thought she was going to move past him and out the door, she laid her hand on his cheek and placed a lingering kiss on his other cheek.

Not knowing what to do, Jason stood there and was just about to put his hand on her waist when a throat cleared behind them. "It's time to go."

Elizabeth pulled away from him but came to a stop when two more people rushed into her front door. "Oh, good, we made it on time. Here we thought we were going to have to take a cab to the party and I would rather die then let that happen. There is nothing tackier than a gay man dressed his best showing up in a yellow car."

Jason assumed, after the man spoke, that this was Brenda and Lucky.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Patrick growled at the two new comers.

"We're here to hitch a ride. You wouldn't think about letting Elizabeth's two best friends arrive to the party in a cab now, would you?" The woman, Brenda, smiled sweetly.

"After the hell you two put me through this afternoon—"

"Ugh." Came a disgusted reply out of Lucky while he pointed at Patrick. "You'll never believe what this…this bitch threatened to do to me, Elizabeth."

"If you would have just told me where she lived then I wouldn't—"

"Enough!" Elizabeth shouted over the uproar of the three of them shouting at each other. "I am so sick and tired of the three of you bickering all the time. Let's just go before we're late. And, yes, the two of you can ride with us."

"But," Patrick tried to protest but quickly shut his mouth at the look Elizabeth gave him.

Jason could see the longing look Elizabeth gave her apartment, knowing she wanted nothing more than to stay and finish it. Her gaze locked with his and he gave her a sympathetic smile. "Thank you," she said again. "Are you sure this is no trouble?"

"Not at all. It's Saturday and I usually take Anna to rent a movie and we just hang out. William will be fine."

A man who stayed home with his daughter on a Saturday night, before that would have turned her off, now if softened her heart a little.

She was just about to close the door when Sonny came back with the kids. Elizabeth tapped William on the nose and ruffled his hair a bit. "I have to go to a party tonight. Jason is going to watch you for a while. Are you ok with that?"

"Mmm-hmm" he replied eagerly. "I really like him."

She did, too. "You be good for him, ok?"

"Otay!" William agreed reaching up to give her a kiss which she gave to him without pause.

She looked up to see Sonny and Brenda assessing each other, knowing the other was doing their fair share of looking, and not having a care about it. Sonny smiled, inclined his head as he looked at Brenda. "Nice hat." He said then walked into the apartment with the kids and shut the door.

Elizabeth shook her head at her friend and smiled. "Why do you insist on wearing those huge hats?"

"Because I like them and I'm going to bring them back. And look what just happened. A hot, beautiful man just complimented me on it. Do you know if—?"

"No I don't know if he is seeing anyone and yes I'll ask."