Note: This is the final Journey chapter of the story, so don't go asking for more, because as much as I would love to provide it for you… it won't come!

Story-

Morgan Household-

She married him again. Jason couldn't believe it. She hadn't even bothered to tell him that she was making the same huge mistake that she had made before. Why didn't she learn? Elizabeth was smarter than that, or at least Jason thought she was. Maybe he was giving her too much credit. What kind of person would marry Ric Lansing not once, but twice? What kind of person would forgive him for everything that he had done to them… Jason knew the answer. Elizabeth. Elizabeth was that person. She was so pure and goodhearted, trying to find the best in everyone, never once giving up on them even after they did horrible things. It was too late for Jason to save her from her own optimism, but he hoped that things would be different, that she would be more careful. Ric had almost killed her before, and Jason didn't want to worry about that happening again. He and Elizabeth really didn't talk anymore, but that didn't mean that he would just gloss over her untimely death.

Courtney was in the kitchen making some tea when she saw Jason walk in. She was used to seeing the look of great concern on her husband's face, it had become something of a second nature to her. But Courtney's first nature was the unyielding urge to make sure that the people that she loved were all right, and there was nobody that she loved as much as her husband.

"Jason…" Her voice came out smooth and supportive. She didn't want to alarm him.

He looked over his shoulder at his wife. Courtney made Jason happier than anyone else, but there was a time when it would have been Elizabeth who was trying to comfort him. That time had passed.

"Are you all right?" She wondered as she walked closer to Jason, ever mindful of the way that he would look at her, if his eyes would close or if they would look somewhere else. Jason was hard to read, but not impossible. Courtney was getting much better at it. "You look like you're worried about something…"

"Nothing that you need to worry about."

"When it concerns you I do need to worry about it," she reached out and touched his shoulder. "I know that you can't tell me what's going on, but you can tell me what you're feeling and I can do everything in my power to help you get through it." She didn't want to know the specifics. If something was troubling Jason as much as it looked then it probably involved a lot of possible bodies riddling the floor. It wasn't the most pleasant sight in the world, but it was something she had become accustomed to.

"Nothing violent, Courtney… just something personal."

"And you've decided that you can't share something personal with me?" The words came out and they had a bitter sting to them. Courtney accepted that Jason couldn't talk about his business with her, but she wouldn't just let him think that he couldn't talk to her about himself. Courtney fell in love with Jason Morgan, not Jason the hit man.

"Courtney…"

"No, Jason," she shook her head. "I'm not going to give up on this one. If it's something that's bothering you then you need to tell me. I'm your wife, you promised not to hold any secrets like this from me… please, don't break that promise."

"It's Elizabeth…"

"Elizabeth?" Courtney and Elizabeth didn't really get along. Courtney didn't feel jealous about the relationship that she had with Jason, they just really didn't get along with one another. The fact that she had once been married to Ric, a man who had kidnapped both her and her best friend on separate occasions, didn't help very much.

"I saw Damian right now… he was wearing a suit."

"Really? A suit?"

"Courtney…"

"Sorry," she had to keep the grin inward, the thought of her nephew all dressed up was worthy of more than a grin. It was worth a good laugh, but Jason was being serious. Not that he ever wasn't being serious, but she told him to tell her about his problem and if she ignored him now that would show that she didn't care, which wouldn't have been true. Courtney would always care about Jason. Always.

"He was at a wedding… her wedding."

"She got married?"

"Yes…"

"To…" Courtney didn't need to finish the question to answer her own question. "No… not him…"

"She married him again, Courtney. Elizabeth married Ric again."

"How could she?"

"I don't know." Jason looked up at the ceiling, not looking for answers, just looking for something that could pull him away from everything. There were times when people did things that were so stupid that he just wanted to not be involved at all. It happened a lot with Carly, but with Elizabeth? He never expected it.

"Why was he even there?"

"Because Elizabeth and Ric mean something to him," Dillon walked back into the house after talking with Damian. "They asked him to be there and he went, that's the kind of guy that he is."

"But it's Ric…" Courtney mumbled.

"Ric saved his life twice, Courtney," Dillon reminded her. "I know you don't like the guy, I don't really like him either, but Damian does… and it's because he likes Ric as much as he does that he decided to go and watch his uncle get married. No matter what you feel about Ric, either of you, or Sonny, you can't tell him who he can and can't care about."

"Dillon," Jason glared, "could you go somewhere else?"

Dillon felt the icy glare of Jason Morgan chill him to the very bone. "I'm going to go and… edit… or something…"

"Good idea," Jason watched the boy leave them alone. He didn't need Dillon's speech, it didn't help with his situation. It only made things worse.

"You didn't have to be so cold…"

"Courtney, I just wanted him to leave us alone."

"He's right, though," she lowered her eyes. "I don't have the right to tell Damian who he can care about… and Ric did save him after he got hit by that car… I just can't stop hating him."

"You don't have to. Ric's a bastard and he doesn't deserve anybody's love. Eventually they'll both see that."

"She married him… after everything that he's done… after he almost killed her."

"I know, Courtney, I know."

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? How can you ask me what's wrong when I just told you that Elizabeth is once again married to some sick, twisted bastard!"

"Jason…"

"I'm sorry," he apologized immediately following his outburst. "I'm just so angry about it…"

"Do you still…"

Jason quickly grabbed her hand, "I do not love Elizabeth, Courtney, but I'm always going to care about her. She helped me so many times… but not as much as you have. Because I care about her… that's why I'm so upset about what she's doing. She's young and beautiful… she could have found someone who would make her happy, and instead she goes with Ric Lansing…"

"I know how much it hurts…"

"Do you think it was my fault?"

"What?"

"Do you think she went with him because of me? Because I scared her so much that she ran into the arms of someone who was on the right side of the law? Elizabeth hated what I did, Courtney… even more than you do, but she couldn't find a way to accept it."

"Jason… it isn't your fault."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Courtney leaned against his shoulder, "Nothing is ever your fault, Jason… not when it comes to things like that. You loved Elizabeth once, and you still care about her… she's lucky that you do, but you can't help her now. She made a mistake, she's got to realize it herself."

"Damian said she would have wanted me there."

"The present would have been nice, if nothing else."

"Courtney…"

"I'm kidding, Jason," she smiled. She wouldn't have gotten Elizabeth and Ric anything good anyways, probably something for the goodwill store. "Elizabeth would have loved for you to be there, but I'm sure she understands why you didn't go."

"I wasn't invited."

"Do you understand why you weren't invited?"

"Because I would have killed Ric?"

"Something like that."

"This is all getting harder."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything… life. Why can't it get any easier?"

"Because it wouldn't be life if it got less complicated," Courtney said sympathetically. She understood that Jason carried more weight on his shoulders than almost any other human being. Everyone's problems suddenly became Jason's problems, and it wasn't fair. People knew that it wasn't fair, yet they continued to do it. She was one of them.

"Sonny never wanted Ric dead because of their mother… and now, even if Sonny did, I'd have to worry about how Damian would take it."

"I will say this about Ric… he's managed to put on the act that he cares about Damian better than I would have expected."

"He followed the boy into thinking that he does. Have you ever thought that…"

"Of course not," Courtney shook her head. "Ric Lansing isn't capable of loving anyone else but himself… and even that is a questionable statement."

"I just wish I could have stopped it from happening."

"You can't save everyone, Jason, no matter how hard you try. But you show that you're better than most people because you do try. We're always going to love you for that, and nobody loves you more than me."

"Thank you…"

"For what?"

"For not letting me stay quiet about this. Talking to you, it really helped."

She snuggled against his arm, "What good is a wife if she can't help her husband through his troubles? You can always come to me, Jason, I'll always want to help you." Courtney closed her eyes as she rested her head on Jason's chest, feeling him gently brush her hair with his fingers. He was troubled, but she would be his salvation. Elizabeth failed, Courtney wouldn't.