Nikolas entered the Harborview Towers with two suitcases in tow

Nikolas entered the Harborview Towers with two suitcases in tow. He expected for the night guard to stop and hound him, but he didn't. That only meant that he was being expected. Even if everything in him was telling him that he was being disloyal to his brother, he still stepped onto the elevator. He pushed the button for the penthouse floor and waited. He knew this was his last chance. As the doors rolled closed, he saw that last chance of freedom slip away.

When he stepped off the elevator, he expected to see the guard standing there, but he wasn't. He looked to the left and looked to the right. He could always go visit Alexis and she would help him decide what to do. But it was nearly three a.m., there was no way she was still awake. Heaving a sigh, he turned to his right and approached Penthouse Four. He raised his hand to knock, but dropped it almost immediately. Why am I doing this? But he knew.

This was for Elizabeth.

After his second knock Jason opened the door. The young prince looked into the living room of the penthouse and saw Sonny and Elizabeth lounging around. He let his eyes study her for a minute. She looked haggard and tired, but relieved. He silently wondered if she even regretted breaking his brother's heart.

"Morgan," was the only acknowledgement he gave Jason.

Jason stepped back and let him enter the penthouse. The two suitcases Nikolas carried were left beside the door.

Nikolas approached Elizabeth and tried to keep an open mind about the situation. She had just hours before dumped his brother and now she was sitting in a mobster's penthouse like there was nothing in the world wrong. "Elizabeth," he spoke to her.

Elizabeth stood and tried to give the young man a smile. "Thank you for coming Nikolas."

"I would do anything for you, you know that." Which, apparently, includes helping you break my brother's heart.

"I wasn't sure," she said softly. She looked up at his face and saw the pain and confusion that she had caused. She looked to Sonny and Jason and then back to Nikolas. "Can you stay a few minutes? I'd like to talk."

"If you want to talk, I can talk." His glance went from the mobster to his right hand man and then back to his best friend. "Can we talk alone?"

Elizabeth saw Jason start to protest, but she had to do this. "Yes, I'd like that." She turned to Sonny and then to Jason, "Could you give us a few minutes?"

Sonny stood and went to her. His hand raised and cupped the side of her face before he let it fall. "We'll be in the kitchen."

"If you need something, let me know." As much as Jason wanted to stay there and hold her, he had to let her do this on her own.

"Thank you, Jason."

She watched as the two men disappeared into what she assumed was the kitchen before she turned her attention back to Nikolas. "Would you like to sit down?"

They settled onto the couch and she turned to face him. "So I guess I owe you an explanation."

"That's the understatement of the year, Elizabeth." He took her hand in his. "You owe a lot of people an explanation."

"Would it make a difference if I told you that I didn't love him? And that I don't think he loves me?" she asked.

"Of course my brother loves you," he defended. "He loves you more than he loves his own life."

"No," she said quietly. "He loves the sixteen year old girl that I was. He doesn't want anything to do with the person that I am now. If he loved me, he wouldn't try to change me."

Nikolas wanted to defend Lucky, but he knew that he couldn't. There was no defense. He had sat back and watched as Elizabeth did everything for Lucky and never anything for herself.

"You know I'm right," she said. "I don't want to be right, but you know I am. I wish that I could have married him." Elizabeth took in the shock in his face and knew that her words hadn't come out right. She continued to explain, "Breaking his heart hurts, a lot. But he'll eventually see that I'm not the person that he needs anymore. I grew up, Nikolas. He died, and I grew up."

He linked their fingers and gave her a firm squeeze. "I know. I was there, I just hate that he wasn't."

Tears glistened in her eyes and she remembered the pain of losing him. "I do too, Nikolas, but I'm not in love with him anymore," she whispered. "It's seems like such a bad thing, but it's not. I haven't been in love with him in so long and I'm just now admitting it to myself."

"Why'd you ask me to bring the suitcases?" he asked. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I am. I don't know for sure when I'll be back."

"Where?"

"Nikolas, if you really want to know, I'll tell you. But I don't want you to be in the position that you'll have to lie to Lucky anymore." Elizabeth knew that if Lucky found out that she was in Italy, he'd come after her. She didn't want that.

"Are you going with Morgan?" he questioned. Even if she is, it's her choice. You have to remember that.

"Do you really wanna know?" She wasn't up for another of Nikolas Cassadine's specialty: 101 Reasons why Jason is bad.

"Elizabeth..." he started, his voice laced with concern.

"Don't." She held up her hand to silence him. "Nikolas, I love you and you're one of my best friends, but I'm not up for it. Yes, I know what Jason does and I know who he works for. I know everything about him. But I also know that I could get hit by a car tomorrow and die. There are no guarantees from one moment to the next. I'm not going to live my life in a cardboard box. Jason would die before he let anything happen to me."

"I know and that's the scary part." He pulled her into a fierce hug and turned his face into her hair. When he pulled away, he tried to remember exactly how she looked at this moment. "You'll be in touch?"

A smile lit up her face. "Thank you!" she squealed. "Thank you, thank you." She kissed his cheek, "I'll be in touch."

Nikolas stood and turned towards the door. "Be safe, Elizabeth."

"I will," she promised. She felt the loss tug at her heart as she watched the penthouse door close behind him. "It's safe to come out now!"

Sonny followed Jason out of the kitchen and noticed that she looked better. She looked free, he thought.

"When can we leave?" she asked Jason. Getting out of Port Charles was now at the top of her 'to do' list.

Jason turned to look at Sonny and when the older man nodded, he looked back at Elizabeth. "The plane is waiting for us. As soon as you're ready."

"I'm ready." She went towards her suitcases and then stopped. "Wait, the letter that I wrote Lucky. I meant to give it to Nikolas."

"Don't worry," Sonny said. "I'll take care of it. It'll be in the mail tomorrow morning."

"Thank you Sonny." She went and gave him a hug. "I guess this is goodbye?"

"Not goodbye. I'll see ya later."

Elizabeth smiled as the words that she'd said to Jason so many times were given back to her. "Maybe you can come and visit us in Italy. The Palio's in August, that's only a few
months away."

Sonny looked at Jason and then back to Elizabeth. "We'll see."

She hugged him again and when she pulled away, she didn't take her arms from his. "Remember what I said Sonny."

"I won't," he promised.

Jason had been watching quietly as his partner said goodbye to the love of his life. "Sonny, thank you."

Sonny turned to look at his friend and smiled. "It's nothing that you haven't done for me. I'm only beginning to repay you for everything you've done."

Jason looked and Elizabeth and smiled. "Not that you owed me anything, but it's been wiped clean."

Sonny extended his hand to the younger man and pulled him into a hug when he shook it.

"If anything happens," Jason said. "Call me. I'll come."

"I know and I will." He looked away for a minute, trying to not let the emotion get the best of him. Saying goodbye to Jason was always hard. "I'll see you."

Jason nodded and turned away from his friend. He crossed to where Elizabeth's bags were and waited for her to join them.

Sonny watched the young couple as they left. Jason finally found the one and he silently wondered if he would ever find the same thing.