This is dedicated to Chrissyfan. Thank you for all your reviews on Priorities, I always look forward to reading them each day. We have proved that Liz and Sam fans can get along really well! While I lean more towards Liason than any Jason pairing and have watched some of their old clips, I don't know all their history. So, I hope I've captured them okay in this. I hope you enjoy this, but most of all I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!
So, this is alternate reality. When Jason returned, he and Sam ended things mutually. But when he returned, he returned for Elizabeth and Jake. He probably has a relationship with Danny, but that is not addressed in this, so I'll leave that up to the reader's imagination, same with any backstory for Liason since then. Maybe we can imagine that Jason killed Franco after he punched him out when he first saw with Liz in the hospital lol. I'm half-joking, but if you like it, picture that :D So, they are a couple, and Jason has a good relationship with Jake and his brothers now. Enjoy!
The Christmas to Nowhere… or to Somewhere?
"This is amazing. You painted this?" Jason held the edges of a canvas with the painting of a motorcycle on it.
"Yeah," Jake said, shifting a little on the couch. "I worked on it all afternoon."
"Wow. Your attention to detail is impressive. And you made this for your mom?"
He nodded. "Do you think she'll like it?"
He smiled at him. "She'll love it."
Jason whipped his head around when he heard feet pattering down the stairs.
"Will you help me bake Mom's favourite cookies?" Aiden asked Cam as they walked down.
"Listen, I don't think you need my help. You have proved your baking skills are top notch. But…" Cam smiled and winked at him. "I'd be happy to join you."
Aiden smiled widely. "What are you giving Mom for Christmas?"
"Oh, I have ideas," Cam said.
"What about you, Dad?" Jake looked up at Jason. "What are you getting for Mom?"
Jason smiled awkwardly. He still hadn't come up with the perfect gift for her. "I'm not quite sure. But I'm working on it. Do you boys have any ideas?"
"Something she really wants!" Aiden grinned and leaned the upper half of his body on top of the couch.
"Yeah, something she's always wanted." Jake scrunched his face. "What is something she's always wanted?"
Cam shrugged. "She's always so focused on us. She never talks about what she wants."
Jason scratched his chin.
GHGHGH
Elizabeth smiled at the boys building a snow fort on the front lawn. It always warmed her heart watching them play together. A set of arms slipped around her waisted and she jolted, but then eased when she felt Jason's chin on her shoulder. She twisted around in his arms and placed her hands on his cheeks.
"You look beautiful," Jason said.
She smiled at him, then slipped out of his arms. "There is work to be done."
He squinted his eyes. "There is?"
"Christmas is only a few days away and we're behind!" She slipped into the kitchen and returned with a tiny Charlie Brown tree and set it on the coffee table. "I got this earlier.
Jason stared at it for a moment, then shook his head and laughed a little.
"This… was sitting next to two large evergreen trees and looked so sad."
He pointed at her. "But now it's happy."
She grinned. "That's right! Because it got finally got picked."
Elizabeth hustled back to the kitchen and returned with a box and set it next to the tree.
Jason reached inside and pulled out a paper cut-out of an angel.
"Aiden made that in first grade. It can be the tree-topper."
Elizabeth pulled out a streamer made of strips of red and green construction paper looped together. "The boys and I made this three years ago."
Jason laughed. "And it's lasted three years?"
"It sure has." She linked it along the branches. "We keep all of our homemade decorations in good condition." She smiled at it. "Doesn't it look great?"
He smiled at her, not even looking at the tree. "Beautiful."
"Now the angel," Elizabeth said. "Would you like to do the honours?"
Jason placed the paper angel on top of the tree and Elizabeth slipped her arms around his waist. He kissed the top of her head as they stared at the tree.
GHGHGH
Cam packed some snow on the wall of the fort then stepped back with his hands on his hips. He squinted his eyes and said, "Okay, I think it's finished now."
"Now we need a snowman!" Aiden said.
Cam scrunched his face. "Don't you think we're a little old for snowmen now?"
"No," Aiden said. "The fort needs an occupant."
"I thought we were the occupants," Cam said.
"I like snowmen," Jake cut in. "I wouldn't mind making one."
"Oh okay," Cam said. "I guess I'm outnumbered. I'll make the bottom ball." He knelt down and started making a snowball in his hands.
"I call the head!" Aiden said, dropping to his knees.
"And I'll take the middle," Jake said. "Say, Cam? What did you decide to get Mom for Christmas?"
Cameron grinned. "It's for me to know and you to find out."
"But you know what we're giving Mom," Aiden said.
"Because you both chose to tell me. My gift is a surprise."
"What do you think Dad is giving her?" Jake asked.
Cam shrugged. "That's a good question. Your dad can be hard to read sometimes."
"I bet it's something Mom will really like," Aiden said.
"Yeah, maybe something she wanted a long time ago when they were together before," Jake said.
"Hmm…" Cam rubbed his chin with his glove. "I wonder what that could be."
GHGHGH
"Mom?" Aiden called from the living room. "Can we open presents now?"
Elizabeth finished making the hot chocolates and handed three of them to Jason and she carried the other two mugs into the living room. "Don't you want your cocoa first?"
Aiden pouted. "But Mom… we've been waiting all year for this."
"I'm with Aiden on this," Cam said.
"Me too," Jake agreed.
Elizabeth smiled at him. "Okay, how about one gift each?"
Aiden smiled. "Yay!" He crouched in front of the coffee table and lifted a present from under the Charlie Brown tree. He ripped it open. "A new mixer! Thanks Mom!"
Elizabeth smiled and stroked his hair. "You're welcome, buddy."
Cameron opened the next present and his face lit up. "Wow, a new football! This is a nice one."
Jason lifted a long, fairly large gift and handed it to Jake. "Would you like to open this one, Jake?"
He nodded and took it from him. "Sure. Wow, it's heavy…" He sat down with it on his lap. He ripped it open and it was a long box with the picture of a black motorcycle on it. His mouth dropped slightly.
"It's a motorcycle figurine," Jason said. "You can put it up on your shelf in your room or anywhere you'd like it."
Jake set it down gently on the coffee table and jumped up and hugged Jason. "Thanks, Dad."
"Here, Mom," Cam said, handing her an envelope. "This one's from me."
Elizabeth smiled and opened it.
"I didn't know what to get you, so I thought you'd like this."
Elizabeth flipped through the strips of paper. "Coupons? One hour of helping Mom in the kitchen… One Saturday to clean my room… One mother and son day… Cameron, this is great. Thank you." She kissed his cheek.
"What did you get Mom, Jason?" Aiden asked.
"Well," he slipped his hand in his jacket. "Mine's in an envelope too." He handed it to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth carefully ripped open the envelope, wondering what it could possibly be. Her mouth dropped slightly, and she placed a hand over her heart as tears sprang to her eyes. "Oh, Jason…"
"What is it? What is it?" Aiden tried to sneak a peek.
"I wanna know too!" Cam said.
"Well, you boys are going to spend a couple of weeks at Grandma Monica's house," Jason said. "I spoke to her about it a few days ago."
Jake grinned. "Then we'll get to see Annabelle the second!"
"I wanna know what Mom got!" Aiden said.
Elizabeth wrapped an arm around him and looked up at Jason, who smiled at her with tears in his own eyes. "Jason got me two plane tickets to Italy."