(Author's Notes- Well I hope you liked the last chapter. Here's the next one :-) Sorry L&L2 Lovers :) They're not in this specific chapter. Please Read and Review!! Thanks!! --Am)

Chapter #3- Uncertain Fear and Freedom

When we last left you...

"This is my son, Nikolas Cassadine. Nikolas, I want you to meet your new wife, Jasmine." Said her captor – Stavros Cassadine.

"Jasmine, how old are you?" Nikolas asked, with a tinge of dominance in his voice.

Jasmine was too full of fear to answer.

"Answer me, Jasmine." Nikolas said.

"Jasmine!! You will soon find out that my son is exactly like me. In. Every. Way. Trust me, you mouth off to him and his punishments will be far worse than what I give you on a normal day. So as you're told and ANSWER him, now!" Stavros warned.

"Nineteen years old." Jasmine whispered, tears streaming down her face.

"And as proof of his loyalty to me, Nikolas..." Stavros leans over to Nikolas and whispers something in his ear.

"I will...but not in front of you." Nikolas replied coldly to his father.

"Why not!?" Stavros asked incredulously.

"Because. The only one allowed to see my wife naked, as you put it, is me. NO one else!" Nikolas said from a low fierce tone to an angry roar.

"Niko—"Stavros started

"Get out NOW!! GO!! GET OUT!" Nik said as he pushed Stavros out of the room, and slammed the door.

Nikolas then slowly walked toward the bed where a fearful and crying Jasmine lay chained down.

'Nikolas no! Oh no...this isn't the Nikolas Cassadine I've heard of...Please don't let it be true...please...Nik no...please...anything else but this...' Jasmine thought silently, tears streaming down her face, eyes squeezed shut, and face toward the side.

As Nikolas gently takes her arm in his hand, Jasmine is physically shaking. Nikolas sits on the bed and gently rubs his hand over hers and with his other hand...

...reaches into his pocket...for a key.

"Jasmine...you're free." Nikolas said as he unlocks the chains binding Jasmine's wrists.

"Please, Jasmine. Look at me." Nikolas asked.

Jasmine slowly opened her blue eyes to see now Nikolas leaning on the wall she was facing. All she saw in Nikolas' eyes was deep concern for her, posing no threat to her at all.

"You're free." Nikolas repeated.

"Thank...thank you...but why?"

"Because. I will never, ever hurt a woman like that. Ever. No female deserves that kind of treatment. Women deserve better." Nikolas said.

"But, I don't get it..."

Nikolas slowly walks over to her and whispers into her ear:

"Shh...don't let on, but it's all an act. I'm only pretending to do what he wants. I'm trying to go home, and now that I know I have you and from what Stavros tells me, your twin boys to save, you're coming with me." Nikolas says.

"But you can only fake him out for so long before he figures it out..." Jasmine said.

"I know...I...I just hope you're a good actress...because I can easily do the yelling, demanding, and ordering around, but I'm afraid you'll really have to act the rest of this out, with the crying, and fear." Nik said sadly, not wanting for any of this to happen.

"No offense to you, this probably more applies to Stavros – but the fear factor in this whole charade is covered. That's easy...I don't have to pretend to be scared." Jasmine replied.

"Ok...I'm really, really sorry. We'll work as fast as we can to get back to the States...Here, I snuck this in." Nik said as he pulled a stage-makeup kit out from his jacket pocket.

Jasmine looked at him quizzically.

"My friend back home is a painter, and she was quite good at makeup too, so while I was here in town, something inside of me told me to buy this." Nik said.

The stage-makeup was the correct coloring for bruising, and a little fake blood for fake cuts, etc.

"Ok, I'll go into the bathroom and start applying it on...hopefully we'll be able to hide this." Jasmine said.

"Leave that one to me." Nik said.

"Are you ready?" Nik said quietly.

"As I'll ever be." Jasmine replied just as quiet.

"Let's get this over with..." Nik said feeling extremely guilty, even wanting to cry – as if he were to actually go through with what his father told him to.

(Author's Notes- Short Chapter's huh? Sorry :-) Again this story isn't that thought out/planned. I just type as I go. lol Well I hope you liked that chapter. Next chapter coming soon. Please Read and Review!! Thanks!! --Am)