Back To Life

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Staring his mother in the eye, Nikolas couldn't believe that this was his reality, that after all they have been through his brother is just going to up and get married just like that. His mother pleads with him to give his brother's fiancee a chance, to open his mind and heart to the possibility that this really is it for Lucky and that they are good for each other. She pleads with him to rethink his standing and attend the wedding at the courthouse, to walk into that room with her and stand by his brother's side like any good brother should do.

"Lucky loved Elizabeth, that's not in question." Laura, his mother voices, her last-ditch effort to get him to see reason. "Just like we all know that Elizabeth loved Lucky. So, I ask you, is this what she would want? Honestly, Nikolas, is this really what she would want for the both of you?"

"I don't know what Elizabeth would want because she's not here to tell me." Nikolas says firmly. "I understand where you're coming from, but I can't do what you're asking. I just can't."

"Everything okay in here?" Emily voices as she walks into the room. "Alfred said it was okay to come in."

"Its fine." Nikolas assures, walking over to kiss her hello. "We've said all that had to be said."

"Lucky's getting married at noon." Laura divulges. "Please, talk some sense into my son and convince him that he needs to be there. I have to go help Lucky get ready."

"Lucky's getting married at noon?" Emily looks at Nikolas in disbelief once Laura leaves. "Is she serious?"

"She is." Nikolas says plainly as he walks over to pour them a glass of water. "She came over with the sole purpose of getting me to attend the wedding."

"Why...how?" Emily tries to wrap her head around it, but she just can't. "How did this happen? I thought the wedding was still a month out."

"It was." Nikolas replies with a shake of his head. "Apparently my new sister-in-law decided that getting married today is what's best for everyone."

"Best for who?"

"Only she knows." he sighs, running one hand down his face. "Any thoughts?"

"I know how tough this is going to be...lord knows I don't want to deal with this today.."

"But..."

"But your mom's right. Its Lucky." Emily says, walking over to stand in front of him. "At the end of the day, he's your brother, there's no getting around that. If this is the path he's chosen for his life, we have to at least show up and tell him that we're here no matter what."

"I'm not sitting through that wedding."

"You don't have to." Emily assures. "But we do have to see him today. We can't let him go into his marriage thinking we won't be there when he needs us."

"You're right, I know you're right." Nikolas shakes his head. "Doesn't make this any easier."

"I'll be with you the whole time." Emily smiles softly. "Promise."

His heart ached for the future that they should have had, the future that included all four of them, but he knows that punishing Lucky for it won't bring her back. Nothing will bring Elizabeth or the future they all should have had together back. So, regardless of his standing, Nikolas takes a deep breath and follows his girlfriend out of the house and down to the docks to wait for the launch. He'll do as Emily suggests, he'll show up and he'll tell his brother that he'll always have his back, but standing by his side during the wedding just isn't an option.

~ . ~

Jason informed the guys of the plans for the day before heading into the kitchen to get started on breakfast. Admittedly, he would have preferred heading back to town now because of all the things that are consistently changing, knowing that the last thing that Elizabeth needs at this point is for more things to change, but she's not ready and he wasn't about to force her hand. If she's not ready to head back then they'll stay there until she is. Sonny has tasked him with Elizabeth's safety and nothing else, something he was thankful for because there's really no telling if the people that took her will find a way to get at her if he were to walk away now.

"Elizabeth?" he voices carefully as he walks back into his room, finding her in front of the mirror. "You okay?"

"No." she whispers, tears frozen in her eyes as she clears her throat before turning to face him. "Breakfast ready?"

"Yeah." he replies, moving to stand in front of her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." she says with a shake of her head. "I want breakfast...if that's okay."

"Sure." he replies as he steps aside. "Everything's set up in the dining area."

Watching her walk past him and out of the bedroom, he lets out a low sigh, knowing that she was doing her best to keep herself together, but her reserve was slowly crumbling down around her. Seeing her stare into the mirror earlier, almost as if she were trying to recognize the person staring back at her, Jason can only hope that she finds a way to face it soon before it ends up consuming her. His every instinct is to push her, to help her break past this established defense she has created for herself, but he's in no position to do so and he fears that it just might do more harm than good at this point if he did.

~ . ~

Nikolas stood beside Emily, gripping her hand firmly in his, as he stands before his brother. Reminding himself that life will always move on, regardless of you moving on with it or not, Nikolas puts his best foot forward in congratulating his brother on his nuptials, but apologizing for not being able to do as he wishes by standing beside him during the ceremony.

He gets that moving on was hard for Lucky, that he has finally chosen to move past her, that's his right. Lucky just has to understand that he's not there yet. He's not ready to move past losing one of his closest friends. Especially when she didn't have to die. Her death wasn't supposed to happen. Shaking the thought from his head he places a slight smile on his face.

"We're here for you no matter what." Nikolas voices firmly. "If you need us we'll be there."

"Yeah." Lucky shakes his head. "Thanks."

"We really hope you can understand why we can't be here." Emily says softly. "Its not because of you..."

"I get it." Lucky says simply. "Really. I get it."

"I love you, Lucky." Emily says as she wraps him in a warm embrace. "I hope this day is everything you could have hoped for."

"Thanks, Em." Lucky replies as he hugs her tightly. "I love you, too."

"We'll see you soon." Nikolas says once Emily's hand is firmly in his again. "I truly hope this is the right thing for you."

"Nikolas?" Laura voices with glee. "You made it. I promise you, this is the right..."

"We're not staying." Nikolas cuts his mother off. "We just came to see Lucky before his wedding."

"What do you mean you're not staying?" Laura looks at him in disbelief. "You're already here, why can't you just stay?"

"Its okay, mom." Lucky voices, moving to stand by his mom. "I told them they could go."

"But Lucky, its your wedding day." Laura says before turning to Nikolas. "He's your brother..."

"Mom, really its fine." Lucky says firmly before Nikolas could respond. "Go on guys, I'll see you later."

Keeping Emily close to his side, Nikolas grants his brother a single nod before walking out of the room and back to their car. He knows his mother can't understand why he isn't attending his brother's wedding and there's really no way to get her to understand, she didn't love Elizabeth the way they did. Elizabeth didn't mean as much to his mother as she did to the four of them, so, of course she can't understand.

Maybe his mother's right and maybe Elizabeth would be okay with Lucky getting married and moving on, but he isn't. Especially not with how quickly this wedding is taking place. Lucky grieved for all of six months before he started dating again. His fiancee not even the first date he has gone on. It wasn't until maybe the sixth girl that he met this girl and that was less than five months ago. For them to get married this quickly, Nikolas just can't comprehend it nor can he support it.

~ . ~

While Jason's clearing the dishes from breakfast, Elizabeth stands in front of the mirror, simply staring at herself. No matter how many times she has told herself that she's free of them, that she has escaped, the reality has yet to sink in. Many, many times, while she was drugged out of her mind, Elizabeth had dreamed of her escape and every time she eased out of her drugged state she found that she was still trapped. Still stuck with those people that did things to her she couldn't even put into words.

"Elizabeth?" Jason voices from the doorway, not wanting to startle her again.

"Yeah?" she voices plainly, still staring at herself in the mirror.

"You sure you're ready to hear about home?"

"I'm sure." she replies before turning away from the mirror and meeting his eyes. "I'm sure."

Bracing herself for what she was about to hear, Elizabeth moves to sit down on the couch, hugging her legs to her chest as he sits down across from her. She's thankful to hear that her grandmother is still alive, having feared the worst while she was still being held captive, knowing that anything could happen in that small town.

Emily and Nikolas being together didn't surprise her in the least, she always knew that they'd get together sooner or later, it was only a matter of when. Then Lucky's reality slipped from Jason's lips and she could literally feel her insides twist and turn, a stabbing pain shooting through her as she stared at Jason. Tears literally frozen in her eyes.

"Elizabeth..."

"I'm fine." she says through tight lips. "Life didn't just stop when I supposedly died. He moved on. I'm fine."

"Elizabeth."

"I mean, what did I honestly expect would happen, hmm?" she questions as she rises to her feet. "Did I honestly expect for him to love me too much to move on? As far as everyone was concerned I was dead. I was dead and they all moved on! I was living through hell and they all moved on!"

He didn't say her name again this time. Instead, Jason walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her snugly against him as the tears finally fell from her eyes, her cries ringing through the air as he held her close to his body, lending her whatever strength he possessed.

As he held her, Jason could feel a stabbing pain shoot through his heart, hearing her break down in his arms forces him to fight off tears of his own. None of what she has had to live through is fair in any way, nothing she has expected of her life back home is wrong, and he just wishes he could fix it for her, all of it.

Knowing there wasn't anything more he could really do for her, Jason holds her close as a year of pent up emotions come barreling out of her, refusing to let her go for anything. He has the men looking into her kidnapping, as well as setting up the guest room in his penthouse for when they get back, leaving his only focus to be on Elizabeth.

Make no mistake, once he gets back to Port Charles, the people that are responsible for doing this to her will have no place on this Earth to hide. No matter where they run, no matter what they do to escape, Jason will find them and he will have them begging to be put out of their misery before he finally takes their lives. That's a promise.

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and PMs. I truly appreciate all of it. Can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter. Till next time, tons of hugs to you all!