"What?"
"Avery, I love you…I quite possibly have since the first moment I laid eyes on you sitting there at the Metro Court. Nothing would make me happier than us spending a lifetime together…You change me, and not who I am…you change my outlook on life. I smile more when I am with you, and you make me the happiest and most content I have ever been, so Avery will you be my wife?"
"Yes, yes, yes, YES!" she said tears spilling out onto her cheeks.
He slid the ring on her finger and kissed the palm of her hand, up her arm, to her neck, as his lips crashed down upon hers.
They made love again; this time less deliberate and with more of an animalistic intensity each looking deep into each others eyes knowing that this was truly the beginning of the rest of their lives.
She woke up the next morning with a sweet smell wafting to her nose. She opened one eye and saw Jason sitting on the bed with a tray of French toast.
"Morning" she said.
"Good morning sleepy head" he said eyes twinkling.
"Carly sent over French toast this morning; well actually she brought it, wanted to see the ring, and I sent her away…but promised dinner tonight" he told her.
She smiled, "OH MY GOSH! I HAVE TO TELL MY MOM!" she blurted out.
"Here's the phone" he said as she quickly started dialing.
"Davis-Corinthos Residence" she heard her mom answer the phone.
"Mom, this is Ave" she said biting her lip.
"Did you say yes?" her mom blurted out.
"You knew?"
"Jason and I had a little talk last night" she told her.
"Mom, I'm getting married!" she said excitedly.
"Ave, sweetie I am so happy for you…no Sonny…fine…honey, Sonny wants to talk to you. Ave, I love you" her mom said handing over the phone.
"Ave, sweetie, so glad to hear the news…finally…lemme talk to that fiancé of yours" he said.
"Alright Sonny, hold on, Jase it's for you" she said handing the phone to him.
"Yeah…hey man…uh huh…yes Sonny…alright dinner…yeah take care of our girl for us" he told him before clicking off the phone.
"Hey, I wasn't done with that" Avery said reaching for the phone before Jason pinned her arms above her head.
"Jase!"
"Uh-uh, no phone calls for right now, I want to make love to my fiancé" he said suckling on her neck.
"Ummm, fiancé, I like that word" she said before succumbing to her own desire.
After she went to jump in the shower leaving Jason to call certain people and announce the big news.
"Quartermaine residence" he heard Big Alice say.
"Alice, this is Jason, ummm is my mom there?" he asked.
"No, I'm sorry Mrs. Q is at the hospital; Miss Emily is here" she said.
"Thanks Alice, can I speak to her?" he asked and heard Alice calling his younger sister.
"Hey Jase, what's up?" he heard Emily say into the receiver.
"Em, hey…listen we are having a little celebration dinner tonight, and Ave and I wanted the Quartermaine's to come" he said.
"Celebration?" she asked befuddled.
"Ave and I….we're getting married" he said.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Oh my gosh Jason that is such good news! Have you told mom; oh wait she's not here…Jase I am so happy for you!" she said excitedly.
"Thanks Em, I gotta call mom at the hospital, so can you spread the room around the mansion…dinner at the Metro Court tonight at 7:00" he told her before hanging up.
"General Hospital" he heard Robin Scorpio answer the phone.
"Uh, hey Robin, its Jason, is umm my mom there?" he asked.
"Your mom?" she questioned smiling at the sentiment.
"Uh…yeah…I figured that Sydney would be confused by me calling her Monica" he said with a light chuckle.
"That's good Jase, I am glad to hear, let me transfer you over" she told him before transferring the call.
"Monica Quartermaine" he heard his mom answer.
"Mom, its Jason" he said.
"Hello Jason, how are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm good, well actually great. Um Ave and I would like if you would join us for dinner tonight at the Metro Court…to celebrate our engagement" he told her smiling.
"Of course, oh Jason I am so happy for you, have you talked to Emily" she asked him.
"Yeah, I told her to tell everyone; I know Ave would want you all there…yeah mom…I love you too" he said hanging up the phone.
"Hey there my gorgeous fiancé" he heard coming from the bathroom.
He turned to see Avery with wet hair wrapped in a towel. He walked over to her and kissed her deeply, "I love you" he said pulling back into her eyes.
"Me too" she murmured into his chest.
They made a couple more calls to spread the good news, but neither wanted to leave the other's arms for very long.
They spent the afternoon in bed before getting ready to go to their impromptu engagement party.
"Someone looks awfully handsome this evening" she said seeing Jason in his black sports coat and a blue shirt that matched his eyes.
"Were you looking in the mirror" he asked looking at her in her little midnight blue dress that seemed to billow over her lower body and hug her torso. He had a new admiration for her body now that he had held her, touched her and loved her in the most intimate of ways. Her chestnut hair cascaded in waves around her partially naked shoulders, and he knew if they didn't leave right at this moment than they probably wouldn't.
During the ride in the limo Jason decided to ask a specific question…"so when do you want to get married?" he asked not knowing exactly what time frame she needed. He knew that it took time to plan, but he didn't want to wait long for her to become Mrs. Morgan.
"May" she said.
"Like five months May?" he asked stunned.
"I don't want to wait a long time for this Jase, I want it now, and if it wasn't for me wanting a big wedding; we would be in Vegas right now" she said smiling and intertwining her ringed hand through his, "plus, no fair…I want to put a ring on your hand" she said smiling to kiss him.
"Then May it is" he stated.
They arrived at the Metro Court at 7:15, and the banquet room was packed with quite an array of people. Jason knew that only someone like Avery could bring all these people together. There were Quartermaine's, Spencer's, Cassadine's, Jacks, and Corinthos all in attendance and no one had started a brawl…yet.
"Let me see that rock" they heard Carly exclaim as soon as the couple walked into the room.
The men seemed to congregate to Jason while the women fawned over the perfect 2 carat Princess cut engagement ring that lay on Avery's hand. After that dinner went on without much fanfare. Before they left they decided they had to talk to some people.
"Carly, can Jase and I talk to you and Jax for a second" she called the woman over to the side of the restaurant.
When the couple walked up Jason talked first, "okay, Ave and I are trying to decide on a date, but we know that you guys are getting married; so we wanted to know what time frame you guys are looking at."
After the question they could tell something was wrong by the way Carly and Jax looked at each other.
"Hey listen if you need us to postpone; that's cool, and I respect that" Avery told them.
"No, it's not that…it's actually kind of like…" Carly started but let Jax finish.
"Well you see…Carly and I got married right before the baby" Jax said kind of sheepishly.
"Shut up, oh my God, congratulations" Avery said giving Carly a big hug.
"We just didn't want us not to be married before he came; so on impulse we flew down to the Dominican Republic and did it…so what date are you thinking" Carly said smiling brightly.
"May" Avery said looking to Jason with a huge smile.
"May, how are we going to plan this…well…let's see" Carly started wandering off in a direction.
They knew it was time to collect their little girl and take her home with her mommy and daddy.
"Mom, Sonny, we are going to go get Sydney…but I want us to do lunch tomorrow" she told the couple.
"Okay sweetie" her mom said pulling her into a huge hug before Sonny joined in.
"We are really happy for you" Sonny said talking to Avery while her mom walked to Jason.
"Jason" he heard the familiar voice say behind him. He turned and saw Alexis; he knew that they had always had a strenuous relationship, and was a little apprehensive.
"Yeah" he said turning to her.
"Jason, I know we haven't had the picture perfect relationship…but we both are crazy about the same girl…so take care of her, okay" she said before pulling him in for a hug.
"Alexis………I promise" he said before she walked away, and they both stood there all the past left behind.
The next morning she woke up with a smile on her face. She heard the shower and the murmuring of her girl on the baby monitor…She couldn't believe how lucky she was living this life. She knew that before lunch with her mom and Sonny she had to go somewhere else.
Snow still littered the ground when she walked through the gate with the lilies in her grip. She gently wiped the snow off the stone marker.
"Hey Sam…its Ave…I don't know what to say right now. I'm really happy…happier than I have ever been, and it's Jase who makes me happy. But there is a problem; you see I want my best friend to be happy for me, and I feel selfish asking you that because you loved him first. I love him…him and Sydney, and I never meant for it to be this way…I never meant to fall in love with Jason; I hope you know that. Your girl is getting so big; I love her too…she calls me mommy, but she knows you too…I promise she will never forget her mother, okay Sam. I miss you…we all do…" she said before walking towards the car tears in her eyes.
When she arrived at the Metro Court she noticed that Sonny was sitting alone at the table, and figured this might work to her advantage.
"Hmmm…someone missing?" she said approaching the table where Sonny was sitting alone.
"Hey gorgeous, how are you doing this morning" Sonny asked pulling out her chair.
"I'm great" she said beaming one of those patented dimpled smiles.
"Your mom is running late…as usual…she said to start without her" he said before ordering a drink from the waiter.
"Actually I think this works out a little better" she said before placing her own order.
He just looked at her a little confused and she spoke again, "Sonny, I need to ask you something, and you can so no, and oh I am just going to ask…will you walk me down the aisle?" she asked.
Sonny sat silent for a long time looking down before he picked his head back up, his eyes glistened, "Ave, it would be my honor to walk you down the aisle" he said moving over to hug her.
They embraced for a long while before they heard Alexis come up, "hey, what's this family hug without me" she said before laughing.
"Actually, there is something I asked Sonny, and I need to ask you something too" Avery said sitting back down.
"Sweetie is everything okay?" she asked concerned.
"Yeah, wonderful actually…Jason and I are getting married in May. I have asked Sonny to walk me down the aisle…and he said yes" she said smiling to Sonny before turning back to her mom, "but I wanted to know if you would be my maid of honor" she said tears in her eyes looking at her mom.
"Are you sure, you don't want Courtney or" her mom started cut off by Avery speaking again.
"Nope, I want my mom and my best friend" she said smiling at her.
They talked during lunch about wedding plans.
"I don't know but Jase and I have so much to talk about" she exclaimed excitedly.
On her way out of the Metro Court she quite literally ran into someone.
"Well it's not everyday a beautiful girl falls into my arms" she heard Lorenzo Alcazar state.
"Lorenzo!" she exclaimed giving the man she hadn't seen in a long while a quick hug.
"I guess my congratulations are in order?" he said taking note of the ring.
"Yeah" she said smiling brightly.
"I am happy for you and Jason" he said with his sly smile.
"Was it that obvious" she said.
"Only to some of us that wished you two would look at us the way you did each other" he told her.
"I'm so-" she started to say before she was cut off.
"No apologies…you never deceived me and I enjoyed every moment we shared. Tell Jason he is a lucky man; take care Avery" he said before kissing her cheek and leaving.
"Jason sweetie, I am home" she called out only to hear her own echo. She saw a note lying by the phone stating that he had to go out and Carly had Sydney. She then decided a mid afternoon siesta was in order.
He heard the crunch of the snow underneath his boots as he walked towards the place he knew by memory. He saw that the snow was cleaned off the stone and a bouquet of lilies lay there. He was comforted by the fact that she had already been there…it seemed like they were always so in sync with each other. He laid down the bunch of roses on the opposite side of the lilies.
"Hey Sam…its Jason…I suppose you know that, and you know why I am here. I love her; I never meant to Sam…it just always was. I didn't mean to hurt you or betray our vows…I loved you, and I hope you always knew that. It's different with her; maybe you knew and that's why you asked her to take care of us. Man, you should see our girl…she is getting so big and talking and walking. She calls Ave mom…I hope you are okay with that. Know that no one will ever take your place in our hearts Sam…heck Avery won't let it happen. She tells Syd about you all the time…Sydney knows that she has two mommies…but one is in heaven with the angels and her big sister. That's what you are Sam-our angel. I hope you are watching over us, and I hope you give us your blessing. I love her so much; I hope you understand…We miss you…I love you Sam" he said before wiping the sole tear from his cheek and walking back home.
He walked in and saw her napping on the couch with the afghan half pulled over her legs. She looked so beautiful when she was sleeping; so peaceful. He walked over and put a gentle kiss on her forehead and just knelt down watching her sleep.
She could feel him close to her, but not close enough. She smelled the soap on his skin as she opened on eye.
"Hey" he stated with a small smile.
"Hey yourself" she said pushing her face closer to his.
"I love you Miss Casas" he said.
"I love you Mr. Morgan" she said kissing his nose.
The next couple of months they passed through in a haze; everyone so focused on the wedding.
"JASON! Seriously babe, I need to know who you want on your side so we can balance" she said to him in the midst of his groaning.
"I know you hate this, but please" she pleaded with him.
"Okay, well Sonny is my best man, and I want Michael up there with me, and Morgan" he said tiring daily of wedding plans.
"Umm…okay well how about one more…because I have my mom, Courtney and Carly. Kristina is going to be like a junior bridesmaid. Krissy can walk down with Morgan, and my mom will walk down alone, Courtney could go with Michael, but we need one more for Carly to walk down with" she told him.
He groaned loudly, and she rolled her eyes, "fine Jason, I will pick for you…hmmm how about Ned Ashton" she said knowing it would get a rise out of him.
To that he grabbed her and tackled her on the couch, "oh someone thinks they are so funny" he said pulling her close.
"How about Justus?" he asked.
"Justus is nice, and you get along with him, and he does bail you out all the time" she said trying to make a mad dash on the stairs. They laughed as he grabbed her and pulled her back down with him.
"Ah, someone has to pay for that statement he said pining her down.
"Oh yeah" she said "fighting" her way out of his hold.
He held her still for a long while and just looked deeply in her eyes about to bring his lips to crash upon hers before they heard a knock on the door.
"Okay, seriously we need to move with no forwarding address" she said while he got up to answer the door. He opened it to see an exuberant Carly holding a dress bag.
"Oh Jase close your eyes you can't see this. AVE IT FINALLY CAME IN" she said excitedly.
"SHUT UP, OH MY LORD, Jase you gotta go somewhere for a couple hours…this is MY DRESS" she exclaimed meeting up with Carly.
Jason just smiled before walking out the door to get away from the women folk. About a block away he noticed he was being followed. He led the tail on a bit of a run around until he could get them semi-trapped by the docks. He tried to trap them but the person obviously saw what he was doing…but was smart enough to detect Jason's foiled trap; there was something fishy going on, and Jason had to find out what.
Three months went buy in a whirlwind of excitement. It seemed as if there Penthouse had become Grand Central Station, but he could see the excitement in Avery's eyes, and that made it worth it.
So here he was the morning of his wedding sitting in the house that was no longer just his. After today he would be starting the rest of his life…with his wife…and that thought made him the happiest he had ever been.
A/N…Okay the whole Jason being followed will so be explored in further chapters, but that was just a tease. Next chapter: the wedding! I am so excited-so hopefully I will get you all a chapter sooner rather than later, but thanks everyone for all your wonderful reviews. You guys ROCK-and I am glad you love Ave and Jase as much as I do!