Adventures in Marriage

Finale

Emily and Liz were in a whirlwind of wedding preparation. Emily had suitably cowed Jason into submission, not that he was really objecting. Em and Liz were packing six months of planning into two weeks, and though Emily was tired, she kept pace with Liz, traipsing from the fittings for the dresses, to the florists, caterers, wedding cake 'designer'. Jason's job was the rings and the tuxedoes for the men. And heaven help him if he failed in Emily's eyes.

She was a master at arms, yelling orders, cajoling, bickering, fussing. But in the end… It was beautiful. The Quartermaine gardens looked like Eden when Emily and the florists got done. Liz's dress fit like a dream, despite the protruding bump, and flowed around her like it was moved by an invisible breeze. The food was perfect and the cake was a delicious work of art.

Emily as her matron of honor lead the way, followed by Liz's friends from college, Myshia and Joanna. Nikolas stood with Jason as his best man, Max and Milo Giambetti rounded out Jason's groomsmen. Liz walked down the aisle with her father, trying not to cry her make up off.

They stood before the minister and said their vows with all the love in their hearts. Emily might have been the impetus to hurry the wedding along, but they knew this day would come. They finally stopped dancing around it and surrendered. It helped that Emily brooked no opposition, especially when Liz balked, her feet occasionally cold.

Liz and Jason looked into each other's eyes.

"I, Elizabeth Imogene Webber, take thee Jason Morgan as my lawfully wedded husband. I promise to love and care for you for the rest of my life. I promise to make the most of every day we have together. I swear my life to you, my love, my husband, forever."

Jason's eyes shone and he blinked back tears.

"I, Jason Morgan, take thee Elizabeth Imogene Webber, to be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise to love, care for and protect you for the rest of my life. I promise not to take one day for granted. I swear my life to you, my love, my wife, forever."

They kissed and doves were released, a string quartet played softly as they were presented as Mr. Jason Morgan and Mrs. Elizabeth Webber-Morgan.

There was dancing and drinking and general revelry abounding at the reception. The only sadness was noted when Emily cried off early, tired and weak. Liz kissed her friend good night and joined her husband at the table, laying her head on his shoulder, blinking back tears.

One hour until Jake's wedding…

"You've never really talked about Aunt Emily."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and then looked directly at her daughter.

"It was too much for a very long time. Emily wasn't just my friend, she was like my sister."

Jake could see the pain in her mother's eyes.

"If it's too much, Mom…"

Liz took a deep breath.

"Yes, it's hard, but… It's part of our story.

"Emily got worse and by the time she was at 26 weeks, she was so sick she couldn't leave the bed. Nikolas was a mess, he alternated from staying by her side, to railing at her for not getting treatment. It was horrible to watch. He would be cooing to her belly, stroking it, then dissolving into tears and then yelling. He was in a lot of pain.

"But, Emily took it all in stride. It helped that Jason had a long talk with Nikolas, reminding him of his role. After that, Nikolas started the depression and anxiety meds and just took care of Em.

"I was at work when Jason called. Emily was at 32 weeks and had been taking drugs to stimulate the baby's growth, but her condition had gotten worse and she was on the brink of losing the baby. They had to do an emergency C-section, which saved Spencer…

Liz's eyes filled with tears.

"We knew how sick she was, but it didn't sink in, truly, until they delivered Spencer. She looked at her son, and the light just went out of her. She held him, kissed him, pulled Nikolas close, kissed him and closed her eyes.

"Nikolas sat there with his son in his arms, dumbstruck. I took Spencer and held him… Nikolas just broke down. The man… He didn't have words, he just sobbed. Eventually he calmed down and while they took Spencer to be checked over and took Emily…" Here Liz broke down. Jake put her arms around her mother, then leaned back and took her hand.

"There was more. That was when he told us… He'd been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Inoperable, he said. He also said, Emily knew, but he'd sworn her to silence, that he'd find a way to beat it. When it became obvious that he was not going to survive, he and Emily made plans.

"They wanted us to adopt Spencer, make him a Morgan. And of course we did. Jason had his lawyer draw up the paper work that day. Nikolas fell into a terrible decline, and he didn't want us there. He'd suffered Emily's death, he didn't want anyone to watch him suffer his own.

"So, as soon as he was old enough to understand, we told Spencer everything we could about his parents, but you were there for most of that. Then we had Dexter shortly after we were married. And we named our next Nikolas, mostly because Emily would have liked it, but also because Nikolas Cassadine had become part of our family, and we wanted the name to be part of our legacy as well.

"I'd like to say that your father and I lived happily ever after, but that of course would be a lie. We argued, we had our own emotional hurdles to overcome. But we did, because we love each other."

"Actually, we overcame the obstacles due to dogged determination on your mother's part and my unyielding belief that whatever your mother says is right."

Jason walked into the room and took his wife's hand, pulling her from her seat.

"Yes, that's absolutely true," Liz said, wiping a tear and kissing her husband.

"No time for sadness today, Elizabeth. We have to go give our daughter to the Jax boy and then find a nice coat closet to sully."

"Daddy!" Jake said, exasperated.

"Try not to embarrass our daughter too much today you randy old goat," Liz smiled and then reached out to Jake. "Come on, sweetie, I'm sure the planner is having a stroke, as you only have twenty minutes to get your veil on before you walk down the aisle."

The Morgan-Jax wedding went off with nary a hitch. Mrs. Jax made only a two passes at Jason before being pulled away by her husband and ordered to be seated.

Jake walked down the aisle with her father, and Liz cried from the pew. Jake's brothers and cousin acquitted themselves well as John Jax's groomsmen, with very little embarrassment.

Jake danced with her father under the spotlight and then was handed to her groom. Jake and John swirled around the dance floor as Liz and Jason held each other, watching their baby girl, all grown up.

"I'm fairly sure I found a secluded coat room at the end of the entrance hall," Jason whispered in Liz's ear.

"What time is it?"

He looked surprised, "Why?"

"The kids have a bet and I want Jake to win."

He gave her the time.

"Ten more minutes, my love, and then we can leave with my panties in your pocket."