Elizabeth watched from the second story window as Sonny walked Isabelle around the yard. Both he and Johnny had stayed overnight and the movers had arrived the next morning to begin packing the house up. Things had been a whirlwind since before the sun came up. The previous night before they went to bed, she, Sonny, and Johnny went around the house collecting the valuable things that she didn't want broken. They'd taken the extra care to pack and store them in Sonny's car so that they wouldn't be mixed in with everything else. The only thing she held back was the picture from the wedding.
This window was the only thing in the house that reminded her of Jason. She remembered the way he would stand in front of the window at their old house and just watch the night. Or he would hold Abby and tell her stories about all the places he'd been. Abby would always gurgle and laugh when he told her about his adventures. Elizabeth could also tell from the way he stood in front of the window when there was something wrong. Jason would take on the stony composure and just shut his emotions down. The reason that she'd chosen this house was because of the window. As soon as Elizabeth had seen it, she knew that Jason would love the window. Sonny hadn't asked questions, he'd just signed the check.
Elizabeth glanced down at the silver picture frame in her hands. Jason had looked so handsome in that tuxedo. It was one of the few times she'd seen him dressed up. Their wedding had been small, with Lila, Audrey, and Sonny as witnesses. At first Jason had been concerned that she wanted a big, traditional wedding, but when it came down to it, she had only wanted to be Mrs. Jason Morgan.
"Marry me?" he said from his position on one knee.
Elizabeth watched in amazement as he pulled a black, velvet box from his pocket. Tears sprung to her eyes. She'd only felt like this once before in her life. The night that she and Lucky had been snowed in on Valentine's Day. Elizabeth quickly dismissed the thought of her former love as Jason opened the box. The beauty of the ring made her gasp.
Jason smiled at her reaction. He'd been carrying the box around for weeks waiting for the perfect opportunity to ask. An Italian jeweler had custom made it for Elizabeth. But the sparkle from the ring still didn't match the sparkle in her eyes.
"Jason," she whispered. "Are you serious?"
He nodded his head and gave her a reassuring smile. "I love you, Elizabeth. I think I started to fall in love with you the moment you laid into me at Jake's." Jason paused and searched her eyes, looking for any indication of what her answer might be. "I don't know when, but you became more important to me than breathing. I could probably live my life without you and I know that I should probably walk away. But I don't want to. I've never loved like this and I've never had someone love me back the way that you do. I want to wake up beside you every morning and go to sleep listening to your heart beat. I want to watch as our child grows inside of you. You're my everything, Elizabeth. I'll never have the words to tell you how much I feel for you. I'll never be able to say it right. But I'll always, always love you. Be my wife, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth stared down at him. Never in a million years had she expected that he'd ask her to marry him. She reached for his hand and brought it to cover her heart. Her fingers fell over his pulse point and she was relieved that she wasn't the only one who was nervous. Jason's face showed some emotion, but not nearly what his racing heart told her.
"Do you feel that?" she asked. Her other hand reached up to cup his face and smiled. "That's my heart. I'll only ever love you with that heart. You're my forever, Jason."
The tears glistened his eyes when he looked up at her. His eyes were dark with the emotion he was feeling. Jason moved his hand and he could feel her heart racing. When he looked up at her face, he saw her beautiful eyes smiling back at him. "Is that a yes?"
"Yes!" She moved quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's definitely a yes!"
Jason's arms wrapped around her small frame and the relief washed over him. She said yes.
A tear slipped down her cheek and splashed onto the glass covering the picture. Elizabeth moved her thumb to wipe the tear away, the single drop was followed by a procession. She knew that Sonny or Johnny could show up any second and catch her. Or worse, Isabelle could be with them and she'd have to try to explain to her daughter why she was crying. Jason had always told her that children knew how adults felt, that they would pick up on the feelings. Elizabeth had hopefully long ago mastered the ability to hide things from the little girl. Or at least she hoped that by the time Isa was old enough to remember her mommy being sad, she wouldn't be sad anymore.
Elizabeth stood at the back of the church and wondered if they were really going to go through with this. Jason wanted to get married. Today. Now. It was obvious that he'd had a little more time to prepare because, according to him, Sonny, Lila, and Audrey were on their way to Paris. When she'd mentioned that she would need a dress, he informed her that Chloe Morgan was in Paris doing a show and that Lila had already called her cousin. Elizabeth glanced down at her watch. She'd be meeting with the designer in exactly forty-three minutes. Presently, they were at the church because Jason wanted to see if he could convince the priest to marry them later that day.
As he walked up the aisle, he kept his eyes trained on Elizabeth. Months ago, when she agreed to marry him, he imagined giving her the wedding of her dreams. A wedding that a woman like Elizabeth deserved. But when he saw her standing on the balcony the previous night, the curtains whipping in the window behind her, he knew that he didn't want to wait another day to make her his wife. Immediately, he'd called Sonny, then his grandmother and Audrey Hardy. It'd taken some convincing, but they had all three agreed to come. Jason realized that he was being a little presumptuous, but he simply could not wait another day.
He still couldn't believe that she said yes. That she chose him. A woman like Elizabeth could have any man in the world. Elizabeth had something about her that could bring the strongest man to his knees, of that Jason was sure. But she still chose him.
"So?" he asked, as he approached her.
"So?" she mimicked.
Jason reached up and trailed his finger down her cheek. "Are we getting married?"
The question sounded through the silent church and she watched him for a moment. The emotion was written all over her face and she thought he looked exactly like a kid on Christmas morning. His eyes held all the love in his heart and he put it on display for her. That's when she knew. For as long as she lived, there would never be another man who would love her that much.
Her smile was slow, but eventually took over her entire face. She nodded her head and stepped towards him. Jason's arms came up to wrap around her waist and he heard her whisper, "Let's get married."
The priest approached from behind them, watching the happy couple. In all of his years in service, he'd done a lot of weddings. But he'd never quite seen a couple as in love as these two Americans. "Well?" he asked, his thick French accent breaking into their reverie.
Jason turned to face the priest, smiling from ear to ear. "We're getting married."
"Then let me be the first to congratulate you." The father extended his hand and Jason took it, giving the man of God a firm handshake. Next he moved towards Elizabeth and extended his congratulations. Elizabeth accepted them graciously, all the while keeping one arm wrapped around Jason's waist.
The priest checked his pocket watch and then spoke again, "Can you be back here in four hours?"
Jason mentally calculated when Sonny's plane would be arriving and then nodded his head.
"Good then. I'll see you at three this afternoon."
Jason extended his hand again, smiling. "Thank you again, Father."
The priest offered his first smile. "It's rare that I find a couple as in love as you are. I see a great amount of faith and love here. Since you explained to me that neither of you are of a certain religion, I see a lot of faith in each other. Always hold onto that. That faith will take you a long way."
"I still believe in you, Jason," she whispered. In all the years that they'd been together, even when Jason was only her friend whom she talked about Lucky with, she had always believed in him. Would always believe in him. Elizabeth knew that if she ever gave up, if she ever stopped believing in him, then their marriage would be over. But even as the thought entered her head, she knew that would never happen.
Elizabeth couldn't look back on her friendship with Jason and pinpoint the exact moment that he started to mean something more to her. Had it been the night at Jake's when he gave her the first motorcycle ride? Or maybe when she tried to paint the wind for him? Was it the morning that she went for a walk to the boxcar and he was lying in the snow, bleeding? Maybe it was way back when she met him for the first time–the day he came by the boxcar to give Lucky some money and Elizabeth had been so protective. Perhaps it was the moment that Jason Morgan was born. Did his brother wrapping him around a tree change something inside of her? The day that she was born? Elizabeth didn't know. But she knew that she was born to love him. That she would love him always. When she finally left this world, Jason Morgan would be her last thought.
Elizabeth looked down at her white wedding gown and smiled. She was about to marry Jason Morgan. The man that she loved more than anything. The man who loved her more than anything. They were going to be a family. She felt something inside of her squeeze and she knew that she'd been living for this moment all of her life.
Glancing down the aisle at him, her breath caught. Sonny must have brought him a tuxedo and he looked more handsome that she'd ever seen him. As the organ music began to play, she had to silently remind herself to put one foot in front of the other. How embarrassing it would have been to fall on her wedding day. As she walked past Lila, she smiled. The tears were streaming down the Quartermaine matriarchs' face. Her eyes glowed with love for her grandson as she watched him marry the woman he told her that he'd love forever.
Elizabeth next saw her own grandmother standing there. The woman that had raised her. The woman that had helped shape her into who she was today. Audrey was her family and would always give her anything she needed.
Elizabeth noticed how the woman's eyes had softened at the sight of her granddaughter in the white dress. The last time Elizabeth had seen her, she was explaining that she was leaving town with Jason. She'd hesitated in doing it because she knew that her gram would never believe that Jason was good enough for her. That as long as she would associate herself with him, she would be in danger. But for her to be here, for her to watch Elizabeth marry Jason, said more than she could ever say with words.
Standing slightly behind Jason was Sonny, taking his best man duties very seriously. Sonny knew there would never be another woman for Jason. That he'd never love anyone like that. Elizabeth was Jason's forever. His soul. His heart. His reason for being alive. The head of the Corinthos organization wiped a tear from his eye as he watched Jason lift the veil away from his bride's face.
"You're so beautiful," Jason murmured. He immediately reached up and wiped the tear that was racing down her cheek, even though he felt his eyes threaten the same action.
Elizabeth reached up and held his hand to her face for a moment. Her thumb absently stroked the underside of his wrist and before her very eyes she saw as he made known to her, and the whole world, his love.
The priest smiled at the couple before he cleared his throat. It broke the spell that was being woven between the two and they turned their attention to him. "May we begin?" Once he received a nod from all parties present he began the marriage ritual.
"We're gathered here today in the sight of God and your family to join you, Jason, and you, Elizabeth, in the union of marriage. The vows that you will exchange today will be binding until one of you leaves this world. In making them, you promise to honor each other, and by doing that you will honor God. Do you understand this?"
"Yes," Jason said. His eyes were still trained on Elizabeth's profile.
"I do," she nodded.
"Good." The priest looked up at the two elderly women in the first rows of the sanctuary. "Who presents this woman for marriage?"
Audrey Hardy stood and spoke quietly, "I do." She smiled when Elizabeth turned around and mouthed 'thank you' at her. With a simple nod of her head, she seated herself again.
The priest smiled at the woman and then turned back to the couple. "Jason and Elizabeth, today you stand in front of your friends and family, promising to love each other. This promise should not be entered into lightly, but I have spoken with you both, and from a brief observation I know that you do not enter into this lightly. If more people could discover the kind of love you two have, the world would be a much happier place. Would you please join hands?" He watched as Jason silently took Elizabeth's hand and curled his fingers around hers. "Now we will proceed."
"Jason, do you take this woman as your wife? To love and respect from this day forward. To honor and cherish. Do you take Elizabeth to be your wife in title, in your heart, and in the marriage bed? If you do, please say so."
Jason's eyes were glowing. "I do."
"Elizabeth, do you take this man as your husband? To love and respect from this day forward. To honor and cherish. Do you take Jason to be your husband in title, in your heart, and in the marriage bed? If you do, please say so."
Silently she reached up and wiped the tears that were streaming down her face. "I do."
"Now, it's time for the exchange of vows and of wedding rings. I've been told that you would like to say your own vows." He noticed a slight gasp escape from Elizabeth and saw as she looked up at Jason in puzzlement.
"Just say what's in here," he responded as he lifted his hand to cover her heart.
Elizabeth nodded.
The priest continued, "Who has the rings?"
Sonny stepped forward from behind Jason and held the smaller platinum band to his best friend and then he placed the larger platinum band in Elizabeth's palm, curled her fingers around it. "Make him happy. Love him always," he instructed and Elizabeth nodded her head, unable to speak.
The priest looked towards Jason and smiled. "Would you like to go first Mr. Morgan?"
Jason responded by turning and facing Elizabeth. He took her left hand in his and fingered the engagement ring that he'd put there. He slipped the wedding band on, past her knuckle, so that both rings rested against each other. Jason watched as another tear slipped down her cheek and he caught it with his thumb.
Still holding her left hand, he began his vows. "I don't know how it happened, Elizabeth Webber, but I fell completely in love with you. It still amazes me sometimes that you love me back because I know that you could have anyone you wanted, yet you still chose me. You agreed to marry me. I believe I've loved you since the moment I met you. How could I not? But I didn't know then that you would consume me, invade every part of me. And that I would welcome the invasion."
Jason stopped and lifted the hand with the wedding ring to his heart covered it with his larger one. "You're my heart. My soul. I'll never love anyone the way that I love you. So I promise you, Elizabeth, from this day forward, I'll be the best husband that I know how to be. I'll love, I'll honor, and I'll cherish. I make this promise in front of God and our family. They'll be there to make sure I carry it out. I love you, Elizabeth."
When he was finished, it was her turn to reach up and wipe his tears away. Elizabeth let her hand linger on his cheek, gently caressing it. Finally she took his strong left hand in hers and smiled. "It always amazes me how much bigger you are than I am." She lifted her head to look at him, the love shining in her eyes. "Even the size of your hand. When I'm with you, I feel protected. I feel safe and I feel loved. It's been like that since the very beginning." She laughed quietly and then smiled again.
"You had no idea what you were getting into that night, Jason. You were walking into the hurricane known as Elizabeth Webber with your eyes closed. But you did it anyway. From that moment, a seed of love began to grow in my heart for you. Maybe I knew it was there and I would nurture it, water it, encourage it. I liked being in love with you, I decided."
Elizabeth paused as she slipped the large band onto the fourth finger of his left hand. She let her hand linger with his. "I still like being in love with you. At some point, that small seed grew into an adult flower and took over my heart. My mind. The only thing that mattered to me was you. I knew that I would do anything for you. As sure as I stand in front of you today, I can promise that I'll love you with my last breath. There will never be another you for me Jason. I promise that I'll be the best wife that I know how to be. I'll love, I'll honor, and I'll cherish. I promise you this in front of God and our family."
Both the bride and groom were crying when she finished. Audrey and Lila were sitting together, holding hands. Sonny watched on, knowing that he'd never seen two people more in love than this. The priest listened to the vows they made and knew they'd keep every one. He smiled at them as they turned to face him again, hands curled tightly around each other.
"By the power given to me by God and the country of France, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jason Morgan." He turned to Jason and spoke. "You may kiss your bride."
As they kissed, the three guests clapped at the newly married couple. All four people knew that nothing would ever tear the marriage apart. That there wasn't a force strong enough on Earth to make them not love each other again.
When they broke apart and turned to face their family, the priest said, "What God has brought together, let no man tear asunder."
"What God has brought together, let no man tear asunder," she whispered. She looked down at the wedding portrait again and swept her thumb over Jason's face. Elizabeth still loved him to this day.
"Are you okay?" Johnny asked from behind her.
Elizabeth jumped and whirled around. She immediately reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Johnny sighed and removed his pocket handkerchief, gave it to her.
"Thanks," she said. Silently she finished wiping her tears away. "I'm sorry. No one was supposed to catch me."
Johnny tipped his head to the side and reached out to touch Elizabeth's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I will be. I was just taking a walk down memory lane." She held the picture up for him to see and Johnny nodded.
"Sometimes," she continued, "I just need to remember. I need to remember that there was a time that he loved me."
"Shhh," he whispered as he pulled her close to him.
Elizabeth's hands curled into his suit jacket and she clung to him as she cried some more.
"Listen to me," Johnny said in a low tone. "Jason loves you. And he'll come home to you."
"How do you know that?" she asked. She pulled away from him and wrapped her arms around her waist, the picture still in her hand.
"I know that because Mr. Morgan is one of the most honorable people I've ever had the pleasure to know. He isn't my boss and I'm not his employee. Well, I am, and he is, but that's not the way he treats me. Jason is my friend, Elizabeth. Because of that, I know that you're my friend too. I consider you to be my friend. So can I offer you some friendly advice?"
She nodded her head.
"Don't give up on him. Hold onto the love that you share with him with every part of you. Give that love to your daughter and it'll be that same love that will bring him back to you. I've been in this business for a long time, Elizabeth. Of all the people I've ever worked for, I've never seen a man love a woman as much as Mr. Morgan loves you. Hold onto that. Keep it close to you. He'll come home to you."
"He's right you know," Sonny said from behind them.
Johnny turned and Elizabeth peeked around to find her friend holding Isabelle. Immediately she went to take her daughter. Johnny stopped her, took the silver picture frame from her hand. "I'll go put this in the car," he said before leaving.
"Come to Mama, baby," Elizabeth smiled. Isabelle all but leapt from Sonny's arms into those of her mother.
"You wanna talk about it?" Sonny offered.
Elizabeth shook her head and gave him a small smile. "Maybe later, Sonny."
"All right," he nodded. Sonny knew that when she was ready, Elizabeth would come to him.
Sonny silently put his arm around her waist, turned her towards the stairs. He guided the three of them to the bottom and stopped when Elizabeth stopped.
"Yes?"
Elizabeth turned to look at the place she'd called home for a long time now. A place that Jason had never been. As her eyes scanned the rooms, she felt the memories wash over her. Isabelle's first steps. Her first words. Going into labor on the sofa in the living room. Sonny cooking never ending pasta in the kitchen. Good memories. But memories without Jason. Elizabeth realized that she was ready to go home, that she was ready to find her husband and bring him home to their daughter.
She turned to face her friend again and then walked past him. Elizabeth hugged Isabelle closer to her and then glanced back at him, smiling.
"Let's go home, Sonny."