Jason Morgan looked up from the newspaper article to the sign in front of the church

Jason Morgan looked up from the newspaper article to the sign in front of the church. Mt. Hebron. Same as what the newspaper announcement said.

"This is the place, Morgan."

His weekly check-in with Sonny was what brought him there. Sonny had accidentally mentioned that Elizabeth was getting married today.

Accident my foot, Jason thought. He hadn't asked about her in over a year, he didn't know how she was doing or what was going on with her. He had hoped that pretending he didn't care would eventually turn into not caring. The only time that she got to him was in his dreams at night.

He had never dreamed until he met Elizabeth Webber. And now, the only thing that he ever dreamed of was Elizabeth Webber. Life was a funny, funny thing. He'd finally found the one woman that he could share his life with, that he would give up everything for, but she wasn't willing to set herself free.

I don't want to be free, I want to be with Lucky. Her last words echoed through his soul. He knew that she was lying. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He was etched into her heart just as she was his. That was the only thing that gave him any satisfaction at all.

She was as miserable as he was. He didn't need Sonny to tell him that. Every time he took a breath, he could feel that she was dying inside. He could feel that Lucky was slowly killing everything that was Elizabeth Webber.

Lucky. The little punk.

Elizabeth had stayed with Lucky because of some obligation. Some damn promise that she had made to him when she was sixteen years old. When she was just a child. Elizabeth stayed with him because of her loyalty. The loyalty that Jason adored so much in her. The fierce loyalty that had kept her by his side when everyone in town whispered in her ear that he would get her killed. The same loyalty that had fought him when he tried to cut all ties. The loyalty that let him hide in her studio, when she knew that it could be a life or death matter.

Or worse.

If Lucky had found him there, it would have been much worse than life or death. It would have been Lucky or Jason. To keep one, she would have to lose the other. He hadn't wanted it to come to that.

It did anyway.

Jason offered her the world, but she turned him down. For a moment, he'd seen a flicker of the woman he knew that afternoon in the park. As quickly as it came, she killed it.
She had closed her eyes and taken a deep breath. Then she looked at him and said the words that tortured his soul to this day. I don't want to be free...

How could she not want to be free? Freedom didn't mean that she would have to be with Jason. If she hadn't wanted to stay with him, that would have been okay. But she would
have been free, she would have been away from Lucky. She would have been safe. Instead, she choose a childhood love. No, she choose love. She hadn't known how deep Jason's feelings ran for her. Perhaps if he had told her, if he had said the words. Then maybe she would have realized that by choosing freedom, she was also choosing love. She was choosing his love.

"Why're you here, Morgan?" he asked himself. When he'd left Ontario, he told himself that he was just going to check and see if she was okay. He was going to see her in her wedding dress, and just for a moment, wish that it was him she was marrying. That it was him she was promising to love, honor, and cherish until death did they part. If he had just one glimpse of that vision in white and she looked happy, then maybe he could let her go. Maybe he could move on with his life. Maybe he would stop seeing her every place he went. Every waitress would not be her, every painting he would see wouldn't remind him of 'The Wind.' He wouldn't hear her laugh around every corner. And, hopefully, after some time, she would leave his dreams at night. He wouldn't dream of motorcycle rides along the cliff roads or staring out at the stars from the bridge. Her big blue eyes wouldn't plead for him to come to her, to rescue her. Maybe if he saw her happy, he wouldn't want her anymore.

"Quit fooling yourself," he demanded, laughing bitterly. "Not want her? The only woman you'll ever want is her." When he'd left Ontario, he'd made a promise to himself: he was only going to see if she was okay, make sure she was happy. He was not going to ride his motorcycle through the doors of the Mt. Hebron church. He was going to stay out of it. As soon as that thought entered his head, he knew it was a lie.

Every instinct in him was screaming for him to barge into the church, sling open every door until he found her. He would kiss her until her mouth blossomed under his, until she moaned his name in that sweet, sweet voice. Her eyes would be glazed over in desire and she would want him.

He laughed again. "Nice fantasy, Morgan."

He looked back down at the newspaper in his hand, let his eyes linger on the picture of her. She'd grown her hair out again, it fell past her shoulders. He had hated it short. She'd still been beautiful, but it just wasn't Elizabeth. He moved his hand to trace the curve of her cheek in the photograph. She stared straight ahead at the photographer, but Lucky's head was slightly cocked looking at her. Jason wanted to believe that she wasn't looking at Lucky because she didn't want to remember that she was marrying him. That maybe the smile on her face was because she was thinking of one of their rides, or the time that he'd taught her how to box. Maybe she was thinking of him when she smiled.

"Get a grip, she made her decision," he growled at himself. "She doesn't want you. She wants Lucky."

Jason reached up and ran a hand over his ragged face. He hadn't shaved since he'd left Canada and the stubble that was beginning to grow felt like razors on his skin. He imagined that he looked like hell. He felt like shit, that was for sure. The other half of his soul was marrying another man today and there was not a damn thing he could do about it. Well, he could. Except that it wasn't him. Jason Morgan always had control, he knew that people thought he was a robot. He'd never cared before, because people who knew him saw that he wasn't. So even though everything inside of him screamed to go and kick the church door in, he dropped the paper to the ground, turned on his heel and walked back to the bike.

"Goodbye, Elizabeth." he whispered. A stab of pain radiated through his soul and he felt like he was walking away from himself.

As he mounted the bike, he took one last look at the white doors on the church. He could do it. He could ride the bike through the doors, grab her by the waist and whisk her away.
Or, he could propose. If she said yes, he could call Sonny and get a suit. They could get married today. The thought was ridiculous. But deep inside, he knew that if she would
just say yes, he would do just about anything. He went to turn his head away when the doors of the church flew open and Nikolas flew out.

"Elizabeth?" he bellowed into the silent street. "Elizabeth?" His eyes scanned the still street and landed on the one living thing there. Jason Morgan.

He closed the church doors behind him before he turned to face his longtime nemesis. He should have known that Jason would have something to do with this. Elizabeth wasn't herself when Morgan was in town, of that he was sure.

"Where is she?" he asked, through clenched teeth.

Shock ran through Jason as the question sounded in his mind. "Where is who?"

"You know who, Morgan. Don't play dumb with me." His lips curved into a half smile and he turned to look at him. "Oh, I forgot. You're not playing."

"I assume you're talking about the bride," Jason said.

"I assume you're talking about the bride," Nikolas repeated in a mocking tone. "No, I'm talking about my grandmother. Of course I'm talking about the damn bride! Where is Elizabeth?"

"I don't answer to you."

"So help me, if you don't tell me, I'll–"

In one quick movement, Jason was off his bike and standing in front of the Cassadine Prince. "You'll what Nikky? Are you going to hurt me? I'd like to see you try." Jason's tone was low and menacing. He left the threat hanging in the air.

"Look," Nikolas tried a different approach. He raised his hands in surrender. "I don't want trouble, I just want to know where Elizabeth is."

"You mean she's not in there getting married?" he questioned. His love for her made his heart swell, and he had to fight to keep the smile off his face.

Nikolas studied Jason's stone stature, trying to find out if he really was telling the truth. Was it possible that Morgan didn't know where Elizabeth was? If that was the case, then
she had left on her own. Something flickered in Morgan's eyes, but he doused it as soon as quickly as it appeared. He didn't know anything. "Lucky went into her dressing room about half an hour ago," he admitted. "She wasn't there. She left the water running in the bathroom sink and she crawled out the window."

A small smile played on Jason's lips, which was all that he would allow himself. More than anything he wanted to jump and sing. She had finally chosen herself.

"Do you really not know where she is?" Nikolas pressed.

"I haven't seen Elizabeth in over a year," he admitted to the younger man. "I have no idea where she could be."

"Well I can tell you where she's not," Nikolas said angrily. "She's not in that church!" His hand pointed back towards the white building. "And she's not marrying my brother!"

At the admission of the younger man, Jason's heart sang. She wasn't marrying Lucky. Maybe it isn't too late to show her the light in Italy...