Epilogue

He was dead. He knew it. But death didn't feel like he thought it would. But then he'd never thought much about it until Elizabeth died.

He didn't expect to feel pain.

He didn't expect to hear machines or for the nasty stench of hospital disinfectant to tease his nostrils.

Where ever he was it was too bright, it hurt his eyes, even though they were closed.

Where was Elizabeth? Why wasn't she here to greet him?

He felt restless.

He tried to move, annoyed that death wasn't peaceful. It had to be peaceful. It was only the idea of Elizabeth at peace that had kept him sane all these years. If it wasn't, what was it like for her?

Life without her was bad enough, eternity without her made him want to roar in anger.

Then he felt it, her soft touch. Blessed relief.

Then he heard her soft voice calming him.

He smiled. Well if he could feel her and hear her then the pain was a walk in the park.

"Jason" she soothed "don't fight it. I'm here"

He tried his voice "Elizabeth"

"Yes it's me I'm here"

"Heaven" he sighed again with relief.

He opened his eyes and her beautiful face came in to focus.

"Not babe, it's GH"

"GH is heaven?" he frowned. "I don't care, as long as you are here"

"Jason I'm just going to call the doctor, try to stay calm"

"Doctors?" he mumbled, confused."They have doctors in heaven?" he asked as she stepped away.

"No!" he panicked reaching for her and she took his hand.

"Jason I need to call a doctor you need to be examined"

"Too late! I'm dead and I have you back"

"Jason you aren't dead"

"Elizabeth we had 6 wonderful years together and you got sick and died and then I had to live another 8 years without you. I'm sorry, so sorry you trusted me to be there for the kids and I let you down. I swear I didn't do it on purpose"

"Jason, Jake is fine"

"What about Cam and Lila?"

"Cam is fine too, but your grandmother died years ago"

"No not Grandmother, our daughter Lil Rose. She's beautiful and my best friend"

"Jason how old are you?"

"I'm 52"

"OH Jason! I don't know what's going on in that head of yours but you are not 52. You've been very sick, in a coma for nine weeks."

"Elizabeth?" he asked puzzled, pain gripping his head.

"Jason I'm getting a doctor"

Later

Elizabeth checked Jason's vitals and looked up as the door to the room opened and a concerned Monica entered.

"I was in surgery. He woke up?" Monica gasped haltingly "Finally! I was beginning to think it was permanent"

"He woke up about an hour ago. Did they tell you anything?" Elizabeth spoke quietly.

"Nothing, just that he'd woken up and you were here." Monica sighed sitting on the other side of the bed and taking Jason's hand.

"Monica it was so weird. He woke up convinced he and I were both dead, that he was 52 years old. He said we had been together and had a daughter. He thought this" Elizabeth gestured around her "was heaven. It seems the whole time he's been in a coma he's been dreaming of a life that doesn't exist".

"Jason doesn't dream" Monica offered weakly. Looking up she turned confused eyes to Elizabeth, "he thought you were both dead?" Monica gasped.

"Yeah! It wasn't until Patrick and Robin came in to the room that he believed things weren't the way he thought" she paused "he'll wake up soon and want answers. How do I handle it? Do I tell him the truth first or let him tell me what he thinks is true?"

"Ask Patrick in case it's related to the coma and brain injury" Monica moved to stand only to have Jason's hand tighten around hers.

"Mom" he whispered and opened his eyes.

"I'm here" she responded leaning closer.

"I'm sorry" he looked at her.

"What for?"

"For being a lousy excuse for a son," Jason told her as he saw the tears glistening in his mothers eyes "I'm going to do better."

"We'll both do better" she assured him.

"Tell Edward to come. I want to see him" Jason asked and Monica and Elizabeth's heads both snapped up to stare at Jason.

"The last 16years" he started "it's so confusing. It seems so real. But there is some of it...I don't want it to be real, so I have to do better".

Patrick and Robin came in to the room as Monica left.

"You need some tests Jason, we want a brain scan. You are in for a long road ahead, physical therapy. There is more than likely some muscle wastage even with the exercising Elizabeth did on your legs and arms"

"Whatever it takes," Jason replied. "Will you be here when I get back?" he asked Elizabeth as Patrick and Robin started to move his bed to the door.

"I'm coming with you. No orderly's for Jason Morgan he has two doctors and a nurse to escort him."

After Jason's tests were completed and Patrick and Robin had been able to confer over the results, they were able to report good news to Elizabeth. It seemed the swelling was reduced considerably and that Jason would more than likely have no permanent damage.

They then discussed how best to deal with reality and what Jason believed had happened while in the coma. All agreed that Elizabeth should tell him the truth about how his coma came about and what had happened since. They hoped it would reassure him and help him to open up about what his own "reality" was during the coma. Jason wasn't able to walk more than a few steps so Elizabeth had taken him to the roof of the hospital in a wheelchair so they could talk and not be interrupted. Once on the roof he'd pulled her into his lap and they talked. When Elizabeth related few facts Jason had easily accepted that his version of reality was some coma induced dream. He wanted to tell Elizabeth everything but first he'd insisted she told him what actually happened.

"Well firstly yes Michael and Kristina did run away and you and Sam did go to Mexico looking for them. You did get in to a shoot out with Jerry and the balcony did fall on you. But Sam did not save you. Jerry called Jax and left some cryptic message that had both he and Carly concerned about you. Jax contacted Sonny and he sent Max and Milo down to Mexico to find you. In the mean time Michael and Kristina found you and called Sonny in a panic. Sam was acting weird and didn't want them to call him. Either way, Max and Milo were able to bring all of you home. But when they got to you Jason you were nearly dead. Sam and Jerry have both disappeared. When you got here the brain swelling was massive, and you had a couple of operations. There was an initial operation to relieve some brain swelling and stabilize you, so that they could operate and remove the two bullets you had inside you. Then they found a brain bleed so there was an operation to fix that. Once the bleed was fixed they operated again to relieve pressure that had built up again and then they put you in an induced coma while your brain healed hoping your brain would stop swelling, which it did finally. But then you didn't come out of it when you should have and we all feared the worst." Elizabeth told him.

"That's it? Nothing else has happened?" he asked

"Isn't that enough? Nine weeks of hell for me and the other people who love you Jason." She reminded him. "Why don't you tell me what you need to get straight?"

"Claudia she's not dead? Michael didn't kill her when she tried to take Josselyn?"

"Claudia and Sonny are getting a divorce. Johnny made her go back to Italy. She's under her Uncle Rudy's protection. She was responsible for Michaels shooting"

Jason nodded and Elizabeth continued "Who is Josselyn?"

"Carly and Jax daughter" Jason replied.

"She isn't born yet Jason and the rumor is she is going to name her Jacinta after you" Elizabeth smiled.

"GOD! She is annoying even in a coma. I'll have to tell her I don't want her kid named after me" Jason shuddered.

"Rebecca? she was trying to steal from the Q's. She came to town with Luke's son Ethan" Jason asked.

"They know each other but she isn't the con woman I thought she was. She and Nikolas have grown very close and yes she and Emily were twins" Elizabeth confirmed.

"Are you okay with that?" he asked tentatively.

"Of course! Why?"

"Because in my world you hated her and were jealous of her. You had an affair with Nikolas while engaged to Lucky. There was a baby too, Aiden. You thought at first he was Nikolas's, but he was Lucky's. A man named Franco stole him and gave you another baby. Your son with Lucky died and we had to give the one you were raising with me up to his biological parents'

"Jason that is insane. I'd NEVER sleep with Nikolas and I'm not engaged to Lucky" she shuddered in disgust.

"Thank GOD" mumbled Jason.

"Wait who is Franco?" she asked.

"A crazy man who was obsessed with me and came after me" Jason replied thankful that Franco did not really exist. "So no you and Nik? And no Lucky?" he asked wanting to hear her say no again.

"Nik was my brother in law, my friend for years and Emily, my BEST FRIEND'S soulmate. Just ewwwwwwww Jason I would NEVER go there" Elizabeth reassured him. "Wow in your world I was horrible"

"No you were perfect, until you died and left me for eight years" he pulled her close pulling her face down to kiss her. "Just like you are now. I'm sorry I've been asleep for so long and worried you. I'm surprised Carly let you near me"

"Ahh Jason life has been a roller coaster since you've been in a coma. In fact thanks to you everyone knows about us and that you are Jakes daddy. You claimed him without uttering a word. You were in a coma so your will and a codicil were read out by Diane. You named me, Jake and Cameron your sole beneficiaries. Carly was so pissed."

"I remember that will. Are you angry?" ignoring the topic of Carly.

"No I always wanted you to claim us" she smiled "So tell me what have you been dreaming for nine weeks?"

"After the balcony collapsed on me everything was different for me. Sam was with me. She saved me and I slept with her thinking it was 2005 and I was dying. Then I felt obligated to stay with her. Then it was just convenient and a way not to be tempted to go to you." He explained.

"Do you think subconsciously you really want Sam back? Is that why you dreamed that way?" Elizabeth asked hurt clouding her eyes. He grabbed for her hand.

"NO. NEVER. I was miserable. I was only happy with you" he told her. He frowned.

"Wait so Jake wasn't injured at the carnival? Dante Falconieri is not an undercover cop?"

"Jason I don't know who that is and Jake is fine"

"We can't waste this Elizabeth. The last 8 years of my life as I've known it, I lived with the constant regret that we weren't together sooner. You made me happier than I've ever been in my life. I don't want to go back to the way it was"

"I don't either" she smiled leaning closer.

"Then please will you marry me as soon as possible, let me adopt Cam?"

"Yes Jason if marriage and adopting Cam is what you want, then I say yes."

"As soon as Diane can arrange it? Even if I'm still in hospital?" he asked.

"Tomorrow, in my Scrubs and your hospital gown if we can arrange it" she lent forward and pressed her lips to his. He groaned pulling her closer, deepening the kiss. Finally he lifted his head.

"Actually, I know this is going to sound weird but I want to do a DNA test with Cam, see if he is mine too" he looked her in the eye.

"Jason you know that is not possible" she murmured.

"Look all I know is we don't really know what happened that night after the chapel. We had a few drinks and we woke up together. There had been touching and kissing, we both know it, it's why we were both so weird around Courtney the next day and why neither of us could say exactly where we had been or what we'd been doing" he pointed out.

"I think we'd both known if we'd slept together Jason"

"The night at the Penthouse felt right Elizabeth, it wasn't awkward, it didn't feel like the first time for us. I've always thought more happened that night Emily almost died, but I knew you didn't want to talk about it" he replied "Think about it, can you really say it didn't? Cam could be mine and I wouldn't have to adopt him"

"You know I couldn't bare to think that it had happened, especially when I went looking for you and finally found you at the Penthouse with Courtney. You looked kind of guilty, yet acted like we hadn't even seen each other and I didn't want to think what that meant." She confessed "I want to do that test too. We could ask Monica, she's been great after a very shakey start when that codicil was first read"

"Good we'll ask Monica" he tugged her down towards him and kissed her briefly "You know I did feel guilty that morning. Not because if what I thought we'd done, but because I thought you regretted it."

"I think Jason you and I have always got it wrong where our feelings are concerned. I always thought I was never enough for you" she confessed.

"and I always thought I wasn't good enough for you" he confessed.

"Never thing that again Jason you are everything to me" Elizabeth assured him.

"YOU are the only one for me Elizabeth. It's always been you, will always be you" Jason kissed her again. Then sat back.

"Lila" he started, looking deeply in to her eyes.

"Not your grandmother right? This little girl we had together in your dream?" she asked.

"Yes! She was perfect Elizabeth, our little girl" he told her.

"I'd love that Jason" she smiled her eyes filling with happy tears "and we'll keep trying until we get her"

"Elizabeth in my coma dream for two years I was miserable and just existing without you, then we were together and for six beautiful years we had the perfect family and the best life. A life I never deserved but want so badly to have again. Cam, Jake and Lil Rose" he punctuated each name with a kiss "but the most perfect part was you as my wife"

"I want that too"

"I'm going to build you the same house. Wait until you see it" Jason told her excited.

"Is it the one from your dream?" she asked

"Yes" he smiled.

"Sounds perfect Jason"

And it was.