Ric Lansing's Apartment-

There was the slightest ray of light that pierced through the drapes into his bedroom. Ric knew where to sleep so that he could manage to avoid being awoken by the sunshine, but that knowledge was based entirely on being alone in his bed. Ric wasn't alone, and he hoped he didn't have to be alone ever again.

He hadn't thought about the sun factor while he and Elizabeth were snuggling together in his bed for the first time in what seemed to be ages. For him, every night without her was like an eternity and it was easily one of the most painful things that he had ever endured in his life. People thought that his hurt and his anger came from the rejection that he had received by Sonny and in the beginning that was true, but when he lost Elizabeth that first time he knew that it wasn't Sonny who he needed to focus his life on, it was her.

Ric put his hand in front of his eyes, hoping to shield them from the sun as he turned around, no longer bothered by the radiance and instead enthralled by the sheer beauty of the woman who he truly loved. Her back was turned to him, her hair sweeping down her shoulders. Being with her, just in bed with her, felt complete. Ric slowly and gently ran his hand through her hair, remembering how much time he would spend doing the same activity when they were married. It seemed like it was so tedious and trite, but nothing could be further from the truth for Ric.

Elizabeth had also yearned for the togetherness that she was now getting from her fiancé, and it was when that yearning was fulfilled that she woke from her slumber. Her beautiful blue eyes opened up, showing the drab surroundings. Ric's room was completely devoid of color, with ash hues all around. If they were going to live in the apartment after they got remarried then she would have to do something about that. In that moment the décor didn't matter, all that mattered was Ric. She turned to lay on her other side, facing him. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lansing."

Ric wasn't sure what to call her in those terms. Was she still Mrs. Lansing? Instead, he focused on the future rather than a very marred past. "Merry Christmas, the soon to be once again Mrs. Lansing."

Elizabeth brought the sheet up to her chest. Although they had been together, they did not share any intimacy beyond simple touches and kisses. It was Elizabeth's choice and Ric respected it. She wanted them to bond in that way again when they were truly remarried, doing it before would seem like cheating.

"You look so beautiful," Ric was awestruck, as if Elizabeth had been hiding some of her beauty from him and he was only now just seeing it. Perhaps it was because of the Christmas holiday and her love for it. Maybe that was Ric's little bit of Christmas magic.

"I bet you say that to all the girls who end up in your bed in the morning."

"You're the only girl, no, woman, that I would ever allow to be in my bed with me. You know that."

Elizabeth believed him. She could tell better than anyone else when Ric was lying and when he was telling the truth. Most of the times that she knew he was lying she had tried to fool herself into thinking that he wasn't. It was just as much her fault as it was his that their first attempt at marriage had gone the way it had. Ric wouldn't let her take any of the blame since he didn't want her to feel that way but it didn't stop Elizabeth from seeing the truth in the matter.

She moved her head forward, resting on his shoulder, "I just needed to be reassured of my place in your life."

Ric leaned his own head down atop of hers, "Did you ever truly doubt that place?"

"Can't blame a girl for wanting to feel important in a man's life, can you?"

Ric chuckled, "No, I guess I can't."

A sound of complete comfort escaped from Elizabeth's lips. She loved being in that bed with him. "We could spend the rest of our lives here, Ric, I wouldn't mind."

"Now that's not very logical, is it?" Ric asked. "I'd love to do the same, Elizabeth, but I'm still the district attorney of Port Charles and you… you can't stay cooped up in a house all the time. That's what housewives do, and you're anything but a housewife."

"Damn you and your logic," Elizabeth protested, complete with a mocking pout. "Ruining my fun."

"You know, after we're married again, you don't have to work at Kelly's anymore. I might not be making as much money as I was when I was just a lawyer, but…"

"Ric," Elizabeth interrupted him, "I don't want to stop working at Kelly's, I like it."

"But what about your painting?" Ric asked. "Elizabeth, I know what your dreams are, and they don't involve wearing an apron and asking people how they want their hamburger to be cooked."

"You like yours done medium-rare."

"That's beside the point. I just want you to be happy. I'm going to be your husband again. My first priority is to make you happy. This time I won't forget just how important that vow really is." His second chance at marriage, he was going to be damned if it ended up like the first.

Elizabeth brought herself away from the warmth of his shoulder. She appreciated the offer, she truly did, but she wasn't going to allow herself to turn into one of those people who worked their lives around their husbands. "Ric, you know how much I love to paint and how important it is to me… but, I don't know, there's something about Kelly's that makes it special to me. The way that I can help people with their problems, even the people that I don't know. I can't do that if I'm in a room painting by myself. You said you knew what my dream was, but dreams can change, and they do."

Ric listened to her mini-speech. She had such untouchable virtues. If they had a child, if they had many children, Ric would be sure to make it so that his children, sons, daughters, whatever they may have been, ended up with their mothers sense of right and wrong. It would have been horrible for them to get his value system, especially since it was dubious as to the fact of him having one to begin with.

"All right," Ric conceded victory to Elizabeth. "I just threw the suggestion out in the open. If you don't want to take it then that is your right. But if you ever feel like you want to stop working don't hesitate, I can support us both."

"I'll keep that in mind," Elizabeth knew that she could depend on Ric for monetary support, and that was a good thing. He was also leaps and bounds safer than Jason. Would she even tell Jason that she was getting married to Ric again?

"Well," Ric changed the subject, "you're going to have to help me out on this one, Elizabeth… because I was never very good at the whole Christmas thing. This is our first Christmas together, maybe not married, yet, but still together. What do we do?"

"Normally we would be opening presents right now," Elizabeth loved the holiday ever so much. "But… I don't have your present here."

"Yes, you do…"

"No, Ric, I don't, I swear."

Ric wrapped an arm around Elizabeth and gave her a tender kiss on the lips before pulling away. "You're the only present that I need, Elizabeth. Regardless of the holiday, you are the only present that I will ever need."

"Gift wrapping will be a pain…"

"But think of the fun that would be had while I was unwrapping… especially if the wrapping was all that you had on…"

Elizabeth giggled mischievously. "Ric… we promised each other…"

"I know what we promised each other," Ric wouldn't break a vow so quickly. "Let's just call this highly extended foreplay. Besides, I don't think we said that kissing one another was off limits, did we?"

"No, we didn't…"

"Good, because I'd hate to be a cheater."

As Ric lowered his head for another kiss the motion was cut off by the sound of knocking at his door. He stopped and looked out his bedroom door, the house door not being in clear site. "Maybe they'll go away…" the knocking continued, "or not…"

Elizabeth didn't mind the interruption. They could continue their fun later. "Why don't you go and answer it?"

"Hold that pose."

Ric got out of bed and walked out of the room, the knocking was continuous. Whoever was trying to break up his moment with Elizabeth was anything if not persistent. Ric went for the knob, twisting it and pulling, "This had better be good."

"I… just wanted to see how things went last night," Damian saw that Ric was in pajamas again, not surprising, since it was still morning, but his mind recollected how Ric looked the day before.

"And you couldn't have called?"

Damian didn't take the comment very well. "I can just come back later…"

"No," Ric shook his head, his tone of voice showing that he had felt sorry for the harshness in his voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. Come on in."

Damian walked inside, looking at how the decorations that he set up turned out. They looked decent enough. It wasn't like he was the most talented decorator on the planet, and even if he tried to call Carly asking for advice he could never say what the reason was. She wouldn't help him help Ric Lansing if she was aware of it.

"So," the boy started, "the party… did it go well? I saw you and Elizabeth talking, but…"

"No, everything worked out just perfectly."

Damian smiled, "I'm glad." The smile was quick to fade.

Ric noticed the quick and drastic change in temperament. Damian tried to be as upbeat as possible, which was hard given the fact that he was a Corinthos living in Port Charles, but when something was wrong it usually meant that something was very wrong. "Are you okay?"

"Yes and no. I'll be fine… just questioning my motives right now."

"What do you mean? What motives?"

"In general. The way that when I do something I tend to do it my way and that's the only way that I will do it. Like with you last night… I probably wouldn't have let you not go to that party."

"And I'm thankful that you wouldn't have…"

"But that's not my right. It isn't my place to tell you or anyone else how to live their life."

"I had promised Elizabeth that I would go, I told you that. It was a promise that I made, I was bound to keep it. You being there would have just been like insurance to make sure that I didn't fall back on my plan." He saw Elizabeth standing in the doorway. She had come out when she realized it was Damian. He motioned for her to come closer. "Besides, I'm really glad that you were there, that you came here when I called. You helped a lot."

"I did? How?"

"I don't think I should be the one to tell you that," Ric grinned. "Why don't you ask her?" He pointed over to Elizabeth.

Damian followed his uncle's finger. He didn't expect Elizabeth to be at the house. But he also knew that because she was things were working out between the two of them, and for that he was very thankful. "Elizabeth…"

Elizabeth hugged Damian, "Thank you for putting the decorations up. They mean so much to me, just like you. I don't think I could have done a better job."

"Uncle Ric wanted me to help him…"

Elizabeth looked over Damian's shoulder at Ric, "Maybe you should just tell him."

The boy cocked an eyebrow. "Tell me? Tell me what?"

"I guess it's only right that you're the first person to know," Ric agreed. "I mean, you're a big part of the reason why I even had the courage to do anything last night. I proposed to Elizabeth last night, Damian… and she accepted."

It took a moment for the wheels in his head to process the information, maybe because he was still stunned in seeing Elizabeth there to begin with. But eventually he did realize what it meant. "That's great! I'm so happy for both of you."

"We don't have a date or anything picked out yet," Elizabeth pulled away from Damian, "but we're probably not going to have a big church wedding. We like private ceremonies…"

"If you want me there, just tell me when and where and I will be there. Looks like I'll have to start calling you 'Aunt Elizabeth,' won't I?" Even though saying it then and there felt foreign, he knew he could get used to it. Elizabeth was already like a member of his family, marrying Ric only made it official.