IRREVOCABLE
Handing off the payment with a stern look upon his face, Jason waits long enough for the low-life landlord to waddle his way down the hallway before he lets himself into the studio, making a mental note to buy out the building before the year's out. To think that Elizabeth had to deal with that man on any level had him wishing he would have looked into the state of her studio building a long time ago.
Shutting the door behind him, he finds the painting she had told him about sitting propped up on the easel, where she had left it to dry. Per her request, he'll pack it up safely in one of her carrying cases before he drops it off at the estate for his grandmother. He always knew that she and his grandmother had a special bond between them, the nature of the painting revealing just how much. It didn't take her to explain it to him.
Like her painting of Lucky, he could see right away what was portrayed on the canvas, a collage of the Quartermaine family with Lila at the center. He never saw himself in painting form before, but he decides that he doesn't quite mind being painted as long as Elizabeth is the artist that does the painting. Carefully sliding the now dry painting into the carrying case, Jason's eyes are drawn to another painting sitting on a nearby easel, a sticky note attached to it.
Took longer than I thought, but its finally finished.
I expect you to bring it with you when you get the chance to visit.
Till then, I trust you'll take great care of it.
- Soon-to-be Mrs. Morgan
With a slight smile gracing his lips, Jason slides the note into his pocket before picking up the painting of the wind into his hands, recalling the day she had first shown it to him. It was in that moment, as she explained the painting to him, that he realized how different she truly was compared to anyone else in his life. The way she spoke to him, trying to gain an understanding of him before proceeding with showing him the painting in a whole new way, had him wanting her in his life that much more.
Glancing around the room, he searches out another carrying case before carefully sliding his painting into it, not wanting anything to happen to it while its strapped down to his bike. Certain that there was nothing else that needed his immediate attention, Jason locks up the studio and heads downstairs to strap down the paintings before he heads off to the Quartermaine estate.
A part of him knew that he probably should have left well enough alone and allowed the studio to be rented out by another tenant, but he couldn't. It had meant a lot to Elizabeth and to him, as well, these last few months. It'll take a lot of upgrades to get it to where he wants it to be safety wise, but its her studio and he'll do whatever it takes to make sure that it was there for her when she returned. He just might expand it with the studio next door if the tenant is willing to give it up.
Shaking the thought from his head, he decides that it'll all be dealt with it due time, for now he has a painting to drop off to his grandmother and another that needs a place to be hung. He initially thought he'd hang it in the living room above the mantel, but that seems a little too public for his taste. Leaving two other places that could serve as a new home for the painting, but he'll have to get home to make the final decision.
Pulling into the driveway, he parks his bike out front before taking the family painting and making his way inside to his grandmother. Admittedly, he'd rather not be the one to deliver the painting, but it wouldn't be fair to either Elizabeth or his grandmother for him to let someone else do it. That and it gives him a break from Sonny and Carly. The closer they get to their impending wedding, the more unbearable the two have become. He can only hope that once all is said and done, the two will go back to their usual ways, that of which is bearable to him.
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The entire flight from Port Charles to Italy had been filled with apt anticipation. She couldn't believe that she was really going to be living in her dream country for the foreseeable future. Thankfully for her, she had been studying Italian from the moment she decided that she would visit it one day.
Like any good dream, she had imagined what it would be like to be in the country and feared arriving there without any knowledge of the language or people. It wasn't until she met Jason that she took up reading the travel books, but she has been studying the country in other ways long before she met Jason.
Every so often throughout the flight, she would do her best to get to know Johnny, finding that it would be easier for her to have a guard if she knew him on a friend level. To her surprise, it didn't take much to get him talking as long as it didn't pertain to his job for Sonny, something he had in common with Jason. Though she suspects that all people in his line of work share the same sentiment in regard to speaking of their jobs.
The moment they step off the plane, she finds herself in stunned silence, swearing that none of the pictures or her imagination, for that matter, had done the country any justice. They are currently in the lovely city of Rome, but Johnny has informed her that they wouldn't be there for that long. They'll be in Rome for a good week, at which time they'll be moving on to Florence and Milan, for an equal amount of time at each place, before making their way to their final destination in Venice.
Glancing down at her set of rings that rest upon the ring finger of her left hand, Elizabeth smiles softly, knowing that life truly would never be the same. Silently thanking Jason, yet again, for the chance to be in the this beautiful country, Elizabeth lets her hand fall back to her side before following Johnny to the waiting SUV before relaxing into the backseat as he drives them to the hotel. Staring out the window the entire time, Elizabeth allows herself to get lost in the beauty passing by her window, anxious to start exploring as soon as possible.
"Okay, so, we'll be staying in hotels for the next few weeks until we get to Venice." Johnny informs her as he gets her situated in her hotel room. "Jason took the liberty of purchasing a villa since we'll be there indefinitely. The place is under your name, so, you can feel free to do with it as you please."
"I understand." she voices, not knowing what else she could say, her husband's generosity seeming a little overwhelming at the moment. "Can we go sightseeing? I'd really love to sketch as many sights as I can before we leave."
"As soon as we have something to eat." Johnny assures. "Gotta keep your energy up if we're going to experience all of Rome in a week."
"Right." she smiles brightly. "Food does sound great right about now."
Together they place their orders for room service, enjoying a simple lunch together in the hotel room, before heading off into the town to explore. It had been no contest as to where their first stop would be, Elizabeth anxious to see the Trevi Fountain in real life, it having been her most favorite tourist attraction of them all. Coin in the palm of her hand, she turns her back to the fountain, gently shutting her eyes, before she makes a wish and tosses the coin over her head and into the fountain. This may just be the beginning, but it was a beautiful beginning and she couldn't wait to see what Italy has in store for her next.
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Taking a moment to admire the painting of the wind as it hung on the wall of his bedroom, Jason is finally content in the spot he chose to hang it up, her words playing in her head as he decided from place to place. She had requested, when she first showed it to him, that he hang it somewhere he could see it often. What better place than his bedroom? He'd see it when he woke up and before he went to bed. It really was the only place in the house that he spent the most time in.
"Morgan." he states, answering his cellphone as he snatches a fresh t-shirt from his dresser drawer.
"We're ready to start." Sonny replies plainly. "You coming?"
"On my way." Jason assures. "Alexis there?"
"Why do you think I'm calling?" Sonny counters, glancing over at the two women pretending the other wasn't there, the two just don't seem to be able to get along. "Just get here."
Shoving the phone back into his pocket once he ends the call, Jason tosses his used t-shirt into the laundry basket before throwing on the clean one and heading out of his penthouse, making a mental note to do some washing this weekend. It always amazes him how many clothes he can get through in the week. With a chuckle, he shakes that thought from his head, needing to focus on Sonny's wedding.
"Ritchie." Jason voices. "How is it in there?"
"Tense." Ritchie admits. "Francis told me you tied the knot. Congrats."
"Thanks." Jason accepts, knowing that it was bound to get around through the upper level of guards, Johnny having a big mouth that way. "Anyone else know?"
"Just the usual." Ritchie assures. "You telling the boss?"
"After the wedding." Jason says simply. "Can't risk it beforehand."
"Of course." Ritchie opens the door for him. "Too bad you didn't give enough time for a bachelor party."
"Didn't need one."
Making his way into the penthouse, he noticed right away what Ritchie had meant about the tenseness of the room, which is due in large part to Carly and Alexis. Apparently Alexis hasn't gotten over the fact that Carly had been the reason why Sonny was arrested to begin with. Though she doesn't think too highly of either he or Sonny, Alexis knows that neither man would dabble in the world of drugs on any level. Especially not after everything that happened with Emily.
Fortunately for him, Carly didn't have enough time to complain to him because once he was in place, the justice of the peace commenced the wedding ceremony. As his two friends stand in front of each other, Jason's brought back to his own wedding, finding that it had strangely been a little more intimate between he and Elizabeth than with these two. Watching as they exchange vows, he wonders if there was any future for these two or if he had only seen something there because he wanted there to be a reason behind them betraying him the way they did.
Deciding that it didn't matter either way, he hands off the wedding rings to the priest for standing silently by Sonny's side as the wedding continues on, hoping that it does end up being a good thing for both of them. Over these last few days, he had seen a softer side of Sonny towards Carly and he can only hope that it meant that the two would find a way to make this work.
"What is that?" Carly questions accusingly as Alexis closes the door behind the justice of peace after having shown him out. "Jason! What is that?"
"Carly..." Sonny tries to stop whatever was about to start, but then he saw it too. "Jason?"
"Its a ring." Jason says simply. "I would think you'd know what one would look like."
"Oh, don't you dare play smart with me." Carly snatches his left hand into hers. "Tell me this isn't what I think it is, Jason. Tell you didn't get married behind my back!"
"Can't." Jason replies. "Because I did."
"You're married?" Sonny questions while his wife can do nothing more than glare at him as she tries to process this latest development. "To who?"
"Elizabeth." Jason admits. "We got married a few days ago."
"You have got to be kidding me! You married that little muffin face?! Are you serious!" Carly shouts, turning a glaring eye at Alexis. "Wipe that stupid smirk off your lips, Alexis! Nothing about this is amusing!"
"Maybe not to you." Alexis says simply, shrugging when Sonny looks at her almost pleadingly. "Well, if you don't need me for anything else, I'll be leaving now."
"Thank you for coming." Sonny says as he moves to show her out the door, not needing anything else to set Carly off. "I'll be in touch soon."
"Of course." Alexis says before turning to Jason. "Congratulations on the nuptials, Jason."
"Thanks." Jason says before turning his focus back to Carly, knowing this was going to be a long battle, but prepared to take it to the end.
"Tell me this is some kind of joke." Carly says through gritted teeth, practically steaming at the ears by this point. "Tell me you didn't really go behind my back to marry that little muffin face."
"I already said I can't." Jason states. "I married her. If you don't believe me, you can call Lila or Justice. They were both there."
"How could you do this?!" Carly starts to tear up, realizing that this was now her reality. "How could you turn me away and then go behind my back and marry her?! Answer me, dammit!"
"What makes you think that it wasn't the sole reason why I returned to town." Jason counters. "Did you ever think about that?"
"You can't mean that..." Carly starts to say, but something in his eyes stops her short.
"Elizabeth has always meant something to me." Jason says simply, trying his best to be honest while not shining any doubt on his marriage. "My time away gave me enough time to realize just how much she meant to me. I'm sorry if you don't agree with my choice, but there's no one else I'd rather be married to than Elizabeth."
"You're lying!" Carly snaps, heading for the door.
"If you're thinking about looking for her, you can forget it." Jason raises his voice, stopping her in her tracks. "She's not in town anymore. I sent her on an overdue vacation."
"UGH!" Carly groans before whipping around and glaring daggers at him. "You just think of everything, don't you?! You get married behind my back and then you send the little princess out of town to keep her out of my reach! Why, Jason, why would you do this?! How could you do this?!"
"I did it because I wanted to." Jason states. "It had nothing to do with you, Carly. It was all about me and what I wanted. For once in my life, I chose to be selfish. Deal with it."
Watching Carly storm up the stairs, he lets out a deep sigh, knowing that this was just the beginning of the storm, but knowing there was no going back now. It wouldn't take long for word to get around town about his marriage now that Carly was on a rampage, but it will still take a little while longer before word gets around in his world.
He has already placed a courtesy call to the head of the Giambetti family. For now, that's enough notification on the business side. As long as he has made that call, the rest can wait until its formally announced at the next meeting where he'll be congratulated on his nuptials.
"Anything you want to add?" Jason turns his gaze to Sonny, seeing that his friend was unsure of what to say.
"Not really." Sonny shakes his head. "Just realizing that our friendship has come to a place where you don't even tell me you had been planning to get married."
"I'm not exactly the type to tell people things." Jason points out. "It really wasn't personal, Sonny. I just didn't want it to be interrupted."
"I get that." Sonny assures, his wife's reaction reason enough to keep it on the down low. "Still wish I could have been there."
"Me, too." Jason admits. "Tell you what...if I ever get married again, you can go to that one."
"Funny." Sonny counters, knowing there was no way that Jason was getting married again, his friend swearing it was something he'd only ever do once. "Congrats, man. I really am happy for you."
"Thanks, Sonny."
"You should head out." Sonny says after a moment. "She's bound to come back down soon."
"Yeah, maybe I should." Jason agrees. "You gonna be okay?"
"Sure." Sonny shakes his head. "I'll be fine."
Accepting his friend's answer, Jason makes his way out of the penthouse, taking the elevator down to the garage level, before straddling his bike and taking off through town. Carly's reaction had been one of the many reasons why paying Elizabeth's way to Italy was a good idea. Hopefully given some time and a lot of Sonny's attention, Carly will mellow out enough for Elizabeth to return, whenever Elizabeth decides she's ready to do so. The last thing he wants is to have to be placed between the two, knowing that it wasn't even a choice on who he'd be defending and who he'd most likely be ending things with. Leaving thoughts of making that choice aside, knowing it was a long way away, Jason focuses on nothing more than the ride and chasing the wind.
A/N: Oh my gosh, I can't even begin to tell you how good it is to hear from all of you! The welcome back from all of you beautiful readers and reviewers is overwhelmingly beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better welcome back to writing than what you have all given me. Thank you so much! Really, its so amazing to read all your reviews. Your ideas for the story are quite entertaining. I just might have to add a few of them into the next chapter. Thank you again, it means so much to hear from all of you. Till the next chapter, I'll leave this with a big hug and much love to all of you.