Before the Wedding - Epilogue

A non-descript amount of time later (a few months, a year, whatever you feel it should be)…

She had to get out of here.

Elizabeth looked around the massive bedroom, thankful at least that she had woken up alone in bed. Jason was nowhere to be found, thank God, which meant that she at least had a decent chance.

She had no idea where she was. That bastard hadn't told her. At night, she was drinking her champagne in snowy Manhattan, and in the morning she woke up in a strange room with the sun streaming in through the filtered curtains and warming the bed in which she lay.

All Elizabeth knew was that she had to get out of this room, out of this hotel suite or this bungalow or whatever the hell it was and get some answers.

A shower was in order but she was out like a flash. The cold water had jerked her wide awake and she was alert and ready to do what she knew she had to. She grabbed a pair of shorts, threw on a t-shirt, stepped into her comfortable Converse sneakers and crept out of the bedroom, her eyes peeled for Jason and her ears craned to pick up any sound of him.

The other rooms were quiet, but she didn't wait and explore them. Knowing Jason, he had already removed all pertinent information about where she was just so he could have a better chance of keeping her locked up here until he was ready to deal with her questions and demands.

She tiptoed down the long corridor and hoped to God that she could get to the front door before was spotted. She had no idea if he was still in the house or out somewhere; she just prayed that it was the latter and not the former. If he was away, she had a much better chance of getting out and getting some answers.

She couldn't believe he did this to her. Again He knew full well that it was cruel and unreasonable and that she would absolutely hate it, but he did it anyway! Bastard.

There was no one in the house. She was sure of it now. She didn't hear his phone ring, didn't hear his voice, his footsteps, didn't hear the clatter of dishes as he made her breakfast. Absolutely nothing. Just the sun and the birds and the soft breeze and the heat.

Elizabeth grasped the doorknob, turned, and peeked outside, half expecting to see him standing there waiting to thwart her inevitable escape attempt. At the very least, she had expected a hotel hallway, a verandah of some sort, a common courtyard, something of that nature, but what she saw instead was a modest back porch and a curving stone walkway that led out to a vast expanse of white sand. A massive body of water stretched out about as far as she could see, and Elizabeth sucked in her breath.

An island? Was it their island? She had been to their island a couple times and she had to say, she didn't recognize this place. Maybe he had taken her to the opposite side, purposely trying to throw her off track.

There was nothing to be seen, no land markers of any kind. There was no numbered mailbox, no house number, no street sign – hell, as far as she could tell, there wasn't even a street.

Well, this was it. Elizabeth licked her lips and ventured outside, stepping onto the stone walkway. Any minute now, an armed guard or a ferocious dog or, worse, Jason would come bounding out of nowhere and order her back inside.

She growled under her breath and stalked forward. Not this time. She wouldn't be a wilting flower this time around, damn it. She was going to get her answers. And Jason was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

It was clear now that she was at the back of the house. There wasn't much to see around here, except for the gorgeous beach and all that crystal blue water. There weren't even any plants or shrubbery for her to hide behind, so Elizabeth just minced along the hot sand, thankful at least that it wasn't the slushy, icy mess she left last night in Manhattan, and did her best not to get granules into her sneakers.

She cleared the side of the house and the outlook became more promising. The property stretched out before her and she saw a large gate but thankfully, no armed guards. And the gate wasn't even locked: it was wide open. That was either really, really good or really, really bad. It was good for obvious reasons: it meant that she could make her escape and run straight to town and thwart his plans for her. It was bad because it meant that Jason was either still on the property or very close to it and didn't feel the need to lock the gate for such a short trip.

She could see stores in the distance, buildings, signs, and a little town square with a water fountain. There were people there. People! People that could talk to her and help her! Elizabeth broke out into a jog, moving easily over the very gently sloping hill, and began racing toward the gate. She was so close, so freaking close she could almost taste her freedom…

"Elizabeth! Hey!"

She looked over her shoulder and squealed when she saw Jason standing on the front porch, glaring ferociously at her. He tossed down the morning paper and, barefoot and wearing only his pajama bottoms, began to chase her down.

"AAAAAAAA!!"

It seemed like the only appropriate response from a 5'2" woman when being chased down by six feet of muscle and intimidation. She ran harder than she ever had, determined to outrun him for once in her life. It wasn't fair: he always caught her. Wasn't she allowed to get away just once?

He was still a good distance behind her but gaining quickly, and Elizabeth forced herself to breathe economically and really push into her stride. Her gait loosened, her strides became longer and she neared the gate. She actually thought she was going to make it until-

His arms wrapped around her waist and he lifted her up in the air, swinging her forcefully and breathing hard. Clearly, he was not amused by her little stunt.

"NoNoNoNoNoNo!"

"Damn it, Elizabeth!" Jason growled under his breath and maintained his firm hold on her, refusing to set her back on the ground. She was still kicking, her feet swinging back and forth harmlessly between his spread legs.

"No, you can't do this to me!"

"Elizabeth, I-"

"No! You can't do this to me again! I want to know! I want to know where we are!"

She was still thrashing about when he decided – rather unwisely – to set her on the ground, and Elizabeth's leg caught around his and she sent them both crashing down to the long, soft grass. Jason slipped his hand under her head before she touched the ground, not wanting her to hit it, and grunted when he fell half on top of her.

Elizabeth glared fiercely up at him. "I shouldn't have trusted you. I knew this would happen."

Jason's crooked grin seemed almost mocking, but probably only because she was so irritated with him. "You're just mad because I got rid of anything that would tell you where you are."

That only made her scowl. "You know, when you asked me last night if I'd marry you-"

"Which you will," he interrupted with a particularly cocky smirk.

"And if I'd elope so we could do it this afternoon-"

"Which we will."

Her eyes narrowed. "I should have known not to make it so easy for you."

Jason arched a brow. "You think things have been easy for us."

That earned him a roll of her eyes. "You know what I mean. I agreed to everything and anything you said last night-"

"Because you love me and you know I'd never do something I knew you wouldn't like," he helped her along.

She didn't appreciate the suggestion. "I should have put up more of a fight. And not stood for your mysterious 'trust me' initiative. How did you get me here, anyway?"

"You fell asleep last night after we left the Black Pearl," he reminded her gently. They had been celebrating their engagement in a dark, cozy little booth at her favorite Manhattan bar. He asked her to marry him there, and he even pushed for them to forgo the respectable engagement period and get married the next day.

"Did you get me drunk on purpose?"

Jason let out a laugh. "You weren't drunk. Just very, very tired."

"So how'd you do it?"

"You fell asleep, I carried you onto the plane," Jason shrugged. "Simple."

"Jason Morgan…"

"And you were still asleep by the time we got here, so I just put you to bed and made sure I grabbed everything that said where we were."

Her lower lip stuck out in a pout. "But I want to know. Don't I at least have a right to know where I'm getting married?"

His grin widened. "No."

Elizabeth's only response was to smack his chest and thump her heels on the grass. She was being childish and she knew it, but, damn it, today was the day she was going to marry the man she loved for the second time and for all the right reasons, and she just wanted to know where they were and why he was being so secretive about it. If she had been able to get to town, she would have been able to know for sure.

"How could you do all this without even telling me about it?"

"I told you what I was going to do," he reminded her. "I told you that I wanted to marry you today and that if you trusted me, I'd take care of everything."

"But I didn't think you'd go all Mission Impossible on me," Elizabeth burst out. "You didn't let me in on anything. I didn't get to know anything for our first wedding, either – I didn't even know we were getting married until a little before Father Coates arrived. This time was supposed to be different."

Jason smirked. "Nice try."

Her lips thinned; the damn man knew her way to well. "Fine. The least you can do is be a sport about it."

"How?"

"Can I guess? Can I at least guess where we are?"

Jason considered it. "…Fine."

"And you have to tell me if I'm right," she warned.

"Maybe."

It wasn't the answer she wanted, but she could only glare at him in way of reprimand and accept the terms he offered.

"We're on the island."

He snorted. "You think I'd take you to the island to get married? You hate the island."

"I actually really like the island," Elizabeth shrugged. "I just hated being sent there alone and against my will."

Jason rolled his eyes. "More and more like Brenda every day…"

"For your benefit, I'll pretend I didn't hear that," she informed him archly. "So, we're…um…in Mexico?"

"Nope."

"…Florida?"

Again, he snorted. "I would never get married in Florida."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "Almost lost a hand in that state while on assignment. Not going back unless I have to."

She wrinkled her nose at the awful thought and quickly pushed on. "Okay, we're…on the West Coast. California? Hey, yeah, you have interests in Vegas. We're in California, aren't we?"

Jason shook his head, and the corner of his mouth curled up. "Wrong. Want a hint?"

She nodded eagerly.

"Well…" He lowered his face toward hers and just when she thought he was going to kiss her, Jason made a detour to the shell of her ear. "Think farther east."

"We can't be on the East coast," she replied, trying not to arch her neck when he tickled her with his lips. "It's too warm here."

"Farther east," he repeated.

"…You mean, across the ocean?"

He flicked her earlobe with his tongue. "It's a start."

"…England?"

"Too rainy. Too cloudy."

"…France?"

"Nope."

His lips moved down to her neck, and Elizabeth arched her back and turned her head, granting him full access to her throat. "Jason…"

"Haven't guessed it yet," he teased. "Give up?"

She raked her fingers through his sandy hair. "Jason, please."

"More hints?" He toyed with a lock of hair, curling it around his finger as he nipped at her chin and kissed her cheek, her nose, her temple, and everywhere else. "Think warm climate."

She tilted her pelvis up, bringing it solidly to rest against his, and wiggled underneath him. "Well, that's pretty obvious."

"A warm climate that's good for growing grapes and citrus," he murmured, sounding a lot like one of those travel books he loved to read. "And…think lakes and beaches."

"That's a lake?" With her eyes closed, she didn't even glance at the azure waters just behind them. "I thought it was the ocean."

"Lake Bianca," Jason replied. "One of the largest in this region. Think…olives. The language of love. Wine."

"Ooh…"

"…The greatest artists of the world, the birthplace of the Renaissance."

Her eyes shot open and she gripped his shoulders. "Jason – Italy? You brought me to Italy?"

He grumbled when she attempted to sit up and managed to coax her onto her back once more. "We're in Marianni in Tuscany. Some of the best Chianti in the world, and just an hour away from Rome and all the things you've wanted to see your whole life."

She brushed his hair back from his face and gazed up at him. "How did you ever – Michael."

Jason smiled warmly down at her. "Michael."

Elizabeth blushed, feeling the warmth of the Tuscan sun and his adoration seep through her body, and wrapped her arms around her fiancé's neck, pulling him down for a scorching kiss. "Oh, I knew there was a reason I loved him so much. And you're not all that bad, either."

---------------------------

Johnny and Spinelli were teaching Michael how to play jacks, and the boys were sprawled out on the floor by Sonny's desk at Harborview Towers. Brenda entered the room from the kitchen and found her husband on the couch with his paper as mayhem ensued.

"Boys!"

Johnny nearly toppled over her dainty little end table when he went crawling after the ball, and the boys all looked up at their hostess.

Brenda rubbed her temples and managed a smile. "Do you think you guys could take it down a notch or two?"

"Sure thing, Goddess," Spinelli replied, sweeping the little plastic jacks together after they had been scattered by Michael's frenzied grabbing. "Don't worry, jacks is a quiet game."

"Sounds like it," she muttered, walking over to the couch and flopping down next to her husband. She elbowed him in the ribs and gestured to the boys. "And you wanted to have more kids."

"What?" Sonny asked, not seeing the problem. "We can handle raising some more. There's nothing to it."

Brenda would have smacked him right then and there had not her favorite bodyguard opened the door and announced his presence. "Hey, Mister C? Mrs. C?"

"What is it, Max?"

He held an envelope in his hand bearing no address or postage. "This just arrived for you. It came with the files you wanted, so I handed those off to Stan and brought this up."

"Thank you, Max," Sonny replied. "Johnny?"

The boy pushed himself off the floor and took the letter from the guard. "No postage or anything," he noted, ripping it open with his nails as he walked over to where Sonny was sitting. "Look, just a note inside. It's from Jason."

Sonny took it from him before Johnny could do more than recognize his mentor's scrawl. "Let me see here."

"Is it really from Uncle Jason?" Michael wanted to know. He bounded over and stood at his father's knee. "What's he saying?"

Brenda looked over her husband's shoulder as Spinelli and Max gathered close around the couch. "This is really weird – he never sends notes. Huh."

"Sonny and all," Sonny began to read, "I'm not going to be reachable for the next two weeks. Have Ritchie take over my work and put Max on it if you need to. Don't try to call me or get in touch with me any other way."

"Rude," Brenda sniffed, resting her chin on her husband's shoulder. "And intriguing. And tempting!"

"By the time you get this, I'll already be gone."

Johnny snorted. "So dramatic, that one."

"Shush, Interloper," Spinelli cut in sternly. "We do not mock Stone Cold's words. Continue, Mister Corinthos Sir."

"Glad I have your permission," Sonny replied dryly. "By the time you get this, I'll already be gone. Elizabeth and I-"

He choked on the words, and had to make absolutely sure he read that right. Around him, Brenda, Johnny, and Spinelli were similarly stunned.

"The Fair One?"

"What's he doing with her? They broke up again a long ass time ago."

"Language," Brenda warned him, settling a hand on a suspiciously silent Michael's head. "And what do you mean, again? They're divorced."

"No, he wanted to see her again, she turned him down, they broke up again," Johnny explained. "For God's sake, finish reading it."

Sonny was already done, having skimmed ahead while they bickered, and was now shaking his head in bafflement. "I can't – I don't know – how the hell did he-"

"Oh, give me that." Brenda huffed and snatched it from him. "Let's see…Elizabeth and I are…getting married."

Her head snapped up. "What?!"

"Elizabeth and I are getting married," Johnny read over her shoulder, clearly having no patience of her hysterics. "We took my jet and by the time you get this, we'll probably already be married. She sends her love to the family and the boys. See you in a couple of weeks. Jason."

They all sat in stunned silence for a long moment until Brenda exploded again.

"WHAT?! They got married?" Her head snapped back and forth as she looked at first her husband and then the boys. "How didn't we know about this?"

"He never told me," Sonny replied defensively. "He never said anything about seeing Elizabeth. I'd try to bring her up sometimes and he'd just shut down like he always did, so I figured it was done and didn't try after that. How the hell was I supposed to know that he was getting ready to marry her?"

"You're only his best friend," his wife replied witheringly. "And what about you? Goober and Gomer? What do you have to say?"

"I call Gomer," Johnny replied, folding his arms over his chest when Spinelli shot him a pained look. "And trust me, we had no idea he was going to do this."

"I told you idiots to stick to him like glue and help him move on with his life," Brenda accused. "Naturally, that meant that you were to relay all such information of him moving on with his life to me."

Sonny gaped at her. "…What did you do? Are you really that…"

He couldn't find a word to describe her extreme nosiness, and Brenda was tired of waiting for him to figure it out. "Yes," she snipped before turning back to the boys. "You mean to tell me that you lived on the floor above him and that you lived with him, for Christ's sake, and neither of you knew that he and Elizabeth were together?"

Spinelli and Johnny were flabbergasted. "We did exactly what you said, Goddess," Spinelli insisted. "We didn't give him a minute to himself, we always tried to keep him distracted and focused on what we were doing so that he wouldn't be sad or lonely…"

"I swear, we did tons of shit to make him feel like he always had to tail us," Johnny promised. "Hell, we even lied about getting into trouble just so he'd tell us that we weren't going anywhere without him. We did everything, but…When the hell could he have found time to see Elizabeth?"

"Maybe he didn't see her," Spinelli suggested. "Maybe – Maybe they had to get fake-married again because – because-"

"Give it up, Spinelli," Sonny groaned. "If they had to get fake-married, like you call it, the first thing Jason would do is tell us. And he wouldn't take a few weeks off for his honeymoon. My God, they're going on a honeymoon."

"This is so wonderful," Brenda eked out, barely able to keep her tears in check. "Oh, I gave up hope on those two and then they go do this….Elizabeth didn't even tell me anything! Can you believe that? I'm only her best friend! Ooh, I wonder if Kate knows…no, if she knew, she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. Oh, I have so many calls to make!"

"You're not calling anyone yet," Sonny told her. "Not until we figure out what happened."

"They got married, that's what happened!" she burst out. "That stupid, stupid, stupid man got that equally stupid girl to marry him. Eek! I have to make a list of everyone I need to tell…"

"That's the part I'm not looking forward to," her husband admitted as Johnny nodded sagely.

"Why not? It's most splendiferous news, Mister Corinthos Sir."

Sonny broke out in a grin even as he covered his eyes with his hand. "Because now I have to tell the heads of the Five Families that Jason went and remarried the same woman he married under false pretenses just so that they would protect her. I have to tell them that they once again have to welcome into the fold the couple that they all railed against when the news of the divorce first broke."

Brenda's lips curled into a smirk. "Wow. Sucks to be you."

"I can't believe he didn't tell me," her husband muttered. "Would it have been so hard? Sonny, I've been seeing Elizabeth and we're going to get married. Handle the damage with the Families for me. We've been best friends and partners for years – he's Michael's godfather, for crying out loud – and he still doesn't tell me."

"You think you feel shafted?" Spinelli asked incredulously. "With all respect where it is due, Mister Corinthos Sir, the Jackal is Stone Cold's most amiable sidekick and trusted confidante. We have been together through thick and thin. We're like Mozart and Salieri – okay, no, we're like the Lone Ranger and Tonto. And you don't mess with the Lone Ranger, or otherwise Salieri's gonna put you in a world of hurt, or-"

"Why don't you take a minute to regroup?" Johnny suggested. "And you think you've got it bad? I'm his damn protégé. He groomed me to be an upstanding businessman; he groomed me to be a-" He glanced at young Michael. "Uh, a coffee salesman; and he groomed me to be a man. I've been taking all of my advice, personal or otherwise, from him, and he goes and does this? Shit, man. Does this mean I have to propose to Nadine?"

Brenda rolled her eyes. "No, you don't need to go propose to Nadine."

"Are you sure? Because I can't tell anymore."

"Look, we're all mad that he didn't tell us," she reasoned, looking around at the little group. "We're his family, we're his closest friend, I'm the one that worked my butt off trying to get them to behave nicely toward each other when they were married, but still…"

She huffed her bangs out of her eyes. "So did not see this coming."

Michael giggled at that, and all eyes fell on him.

Johnny arched a brow. "Something funny, little man?"

His cheeky grin was answer enough. "I knew it was gonna happen. I knew that Uncle Jason and Lizabeth were gonna get married again."

Spinelli rolled his eyes. "Peanut, the last time you said that you knew they'd fall in love and get married, it was because they had to. We explained this to you, remember?"

Michael lifted a single shoulder in reply. "I still knew."

"Yeah?" Sonny's eyes narrowed as he studied his son, and Brenda was growing suspicious as well. "How?"

His grin widened. "Because they called me and told me before they left."

"WHAT?!"

The End.