It is Christmas Eve and everyone is home. Elizabeth, Jake and Jason were home in the gate house. Elizabeth knew that she didn't need a thing under the Christmas tree because she had everything that she had ever wanted. In a week her best friend was marrying her other best friend. Then they would be moving to Italy. She found her family after finding out the family she grew up with was not her real family. Her grandparents and her brother, Steven were all the family she really only had because her parents and sister, Sarah acted like she was nothing but a nuisance. Her father tried but her mother made it impossible for the two of them to get close. She knew now that her real family had lost her when she was a baby and she was truly missed.
Steven and his girlfriend went up to Port Charles to see his nephew and sister. His girlfriend, Missy was a sweetheart. She loved Steven and Elizabeth prayed that her brother realized that she was the one and married her. That way she would know that he was happy too. Max and Milo were her brothers and she loved them way before she realized that they were family. Max always had a soft spot for Lizzie and know they knew why they had such a quick bond.
"Lizzie, I want to ask you a question. Do you think that Sonny realized our connection way before we did? It just seems that he wanted to keep us as far apart as possible. Milo and I loved helping Jason with watching over you but Sonny would always get so upset. It seemed at times that he knew that you were my missing sister. I had asked him at one time to try to find you for my family. He said that he would have our guys look into it and so afterwards he sent our tech guy to the island and had Spinelli in his place. I was thinking about calling him and asking him if he found that out and if Sonny knew."
"I do agree with you that Sonny seemed strange towards me when Jason and I started to hang out more. He kept sending Jason away and kept you and Milo away from me. I was lucky to have Francis and Johnny looking out for me because they have saved me several times while Jason was sent away."
"I will get in touch with Stan and find out about what he told Sonny about my sister. I am so proud of everything that you have done. You are a fighter and you are exactly what our family needs. I love you Lizzie."
Jake slept most of the time that company was over but he loved to stay up late at night. Elizabeth was sure that Jake was trying to find Santa. Jason and Elizabeth let Jake look out the window and it seemed like there was a light coming from far away. It was if Jake knew that it was Santa and he needed to be asleep before Santa got there. Jason laid him in the cradle and rocked him for a few minutes. Then Elizabeth and Jason got into bed and fell fast asleep.
The next morning there was a fresh coat of snow on the ground. The sun was shining through the window and Elizabeth smelt the most amazing smell ever. Jason had put on a fresh pot of coffee for his wife and the family that was sure to show up any minute. He had already had pastries out, fresh fruit and other goodies to eat for breakfast.
Jake was changed and put into his Christmas outfit. He looked so cute dressed as a mini Santa Claus. There were plenty of presents under the tree for when the family showed up. Elizabeth was in her pajamas and bathrobe. She had fixed her hair and then came downstairs to have a cup of coffee. Once she finished giving Jake his breakfast and he was burped, the family started knocking. It was supposed to be at the main house but everyone wanted Elizabeth to rest except for Jake. He loved waking his mother up and it had only just begun. They had only been home two days.
The grandparents were the first to arrive with Lila and Edward. They stayed for a short time and watched Jason open up present for Jake. Next year it would be more fun for them because hopefully he would want to tear into his presents then.
Everyone ate breakfast and Alan pulled Jason aside while they were eating. "I will be bringing you and Elizabeth some dinner down for you when cook has it finished. I know that Elizabeth needs a few more days but we are hoping that you can come up in a day or so. The staff also wants to see the little prince."
"Thank you dad for that. I want you to know that means a lot to us and tell the staff that we can't wait to show him off." The rest of the morning, family and friends were in and out. Emily showed Elizabeth and Jason the ring that Johnny had bought for her. It was beautiful and the family loved the idea of them getting married New Year's Eve at the main house. Everything could be down there and then when we all move to Italy, everyone would be married. It just made things easier.
Elizabeth and Jake had taken a nap while Jason went up to the main house to speak to Maximus. He wanted to see if the timetables for the winery and villa were still on target. The winter might make it a bit tougher but the outside work was done and so it was mainly inside work that had to be done now.
"Maximus, I am so glad that I caught you before the main dinner. Elizabeth and Jake are taking their nap so I thought I would come by and see how everything is going on in Italy."
"Jason, relax. Everything is going according to plan. Our men are very good at what they do and they know that Elizabeth is my daughter. They will not mess anything up because it will come back to me and they do not want to upset me."
Jason released his breath and sat down. He didn't realize how tired he was until he fell asleep in the study. Everyone knew to leave him alone but they couldn't help themselves. They started taking his picture and posting about how cute he looks when he is asleep. They showed pictures of Jake and him side by side showing that his son sleeps just like him.
Elizabeth had gotten up when the posts started to go off. She looked at the pictures and told her brothers to take them off before Jason saw them. She then asked them to wake him up and send him home. Milo went over to Jason and woke him up. He told Jason that Elizabeth was up from her nap and wanted to see him. Jason, Max and Milo got the meals together and brought them down to the gate house. There was enough food for the next couple of days.
Elizabeth was very happy with all the love and support that she had been getting from her family. Steven had gone up to see her, Jake and Jason the night before and they left early that morning to go to see Missy's family. He was glad that he got to see his nephew and spend some time with Lizzie before she went off to Italy.
Max and Milo gave their sister a hug and checked on their nephew. Then they left and went back to their apartments. Elizabeth cleaned up from all the presents and packed some of them away. There were a few things that she could use now but for the most part it was going to be shipped to her parents' villa.
The next two days were getting ready for Emily's wedding. Jason finally gave his blessing and was happy that his sister was going to be married before moving out to Italy with them. They had their things shipped to the cottage and only were keeping the things they needed for the wedding. They were honeymooning in the Bahamas for a couple of weeks before settling down in Italy. Johnny had called his mother and she said that she would love to meet the family once they were settled in at their new place in Italy.
Emily and Elizabeth went shopping for her gown. They also had to shop for Elizabeth's matron of honor gown. The colors for the wedding were silver and gold. It was going to be beautiful. Emily had a lot of help from Lila, Monica, Margaretta and Elizabeth.
It was the day before the wedding and everyone was excited. The minister was going to be over that afternoon for the run-through of the wedding. The only attendants were Jason and Elizabeth. It was a lot easier that way and Francis, Milo and Max helped with the ushering. It was going to be a small intimate wedding and the reception was going to be great.
Johnny and Emily were having a co-ed shower after the rehearsal and there was no rehearsal dinner because of the shower. Elizabeth and Jason gathered all of their friends and family for the party. They had a dj play music. There was dancing, drinking and of course gifts. The gifts were for Emily but they also were to help out Johnny. All the lingerie that Emily received would be a great thing for her to wear for their honeymoon. Elizabeth and Emily also went a found Emily a couple of cute tiny bikinis for her to wear for her husband. They were already packed.
Emily had spent the night at her place and Elizabeth stayed there too. Jake was going to be spoiled by both grandmothers and Lila while Elizabeth helped Emily get ready for her big day.
They had a nice breakfast and then went for a swim in her parents' heated pool. They loved the feeling of swimming in the warm water while it was frigid cold outside. Everyone was either at the main house or nearby. Johnny was staying with Francis and hanging out till it was time for him to show up. He did get his hair cut and a nice smooth shave at his favorite barbershop.
He and the guys went to Jakes and shot some pool while waiting to go to the estate. Emily and Elizabeth were having a spa day at the house. All the women were having a spa day. They got massages, facials, manicures and pedicures. They also did the sauna and took a shower before getting their hair and makeup done.
The gowns were ready in Emily's room and she had a little to eat to keep up her strength. Once their hair and makeup was done; Emily and Elizabeth went upstairs to put on their gowns. Elizabeth put hers on first and Emily helped Elizabeth with her zipper. Then Elizabeth helped Emily get into her gown. It was breath taking and in the dress if you looked closely enough, you could see gold and silver that was in the lace. She looked like royalty and felt a peace come over her knowing that she was going in the direction that she needed to be going in.
Alan walked upstairs and went to check on his daughter and daughter-in-law. The first thing he thought about was that he was so lucky to have such a beautiful daughter but sad because this was going to be the last day that he sees his daughter for a while. When she got back from her honeymoon, she was going straight to Italy. Everything was already at the cottage waiting for them. His son, daughter-in-law and grandson were leaving in a few days for their new future, also in Italy.
"Hey beautiful! I am very proud to be giving you away. I wish that you were staying here in the states but I realize that your life is in Italy like your brother's life. I am thinking that your mother and I are going to have to think about getting a place in Italy too. It seems like my family is moving back to their roots and living us old-timers behind."
"Dad, you are something else. I do hope that you and mom get a place close to us. I am sure that Jason will let you put a place on their property. They only have about five to six thousand acres there, although most are for the grapes. I think that only Elizabeth's family has more acreage than they do in that area of the country. I am so happy that everything is coming along the way that it is. I also suspect that you will be in Italy when Johnny and I get there. I heard you and mom talking about going there for a couple of months to make sure that everything is going good for your children."
"Well, you are right. Your mother and I have already put in for our retirement at General Hospital. We are thinking about moving there and maybe setting up a clinic in town for the townspeople. It will be a great thing to do and we can still practice. I do worry about my parents and that is the only thing that is bothering me."
"Well, I need to check on a few things and see if Johnny and Jason are in their places and then I will come back and tell you. I love you both." Elizabeth then went downstairs and went to check on Johnny and Jason. She also went to see her son. She wanted to see if the grandmothers were behaving or fighting over who gets to hold little Jacob.
Lila was holding a sleeping Jacob and she just smiled because she beat both of the grandmothers for little Jake. "Mom, can I talk to you? I need to ask you something about the safety there at the villa."
Elizabeth and her mother went into the study for a few minutes of peace and quiet. "I know you feel uneasy because of what happened to you. I am not sure why the nanny did that to you but I think that she must have been threatened somehow. You will be safe and of course you will have a big coming out there. The families around the area have been wanting to meet you since we discovered that our Isabella is truly home. I know that you go by Elizabeth but Isabella is the name that you were born with. You are a true beauty. I have someone on staff that will help you with learning the language. I know that you will be taking some classes including Italian but it is important to be able to speak with the staff in their native tongue. Each area has its own dialect and you need to learn that. It is like people in the north talk a little different from those in the south. "
"Okay, mother. I will learn but I want you to know that even though I did not grow up in Italy, I will learn everything about the area and the culture. I will also be your Isabella to you and Papa. I want you to know that. I love that name and maybe if I am lucky enough to have a little girl, she will be an Isabella. I do want Lila in her name too. I am just not sure if her name will be Isabella Lila or Lila Isabella. Sorry, lack of sleep makes me ramble."
Elizabeth then went over to see Jason and Johnny. They were waiting for the wedding to begin and it was so sweet how anxious Johnny was about the wedding. "I wanted to see if you two were ready. Now, that I know I will go up and tell the bride. Love you two. It will be alright. Wait to you see how beautiful she looks." The snow started to fall and it was starting to get dark out.
Elizabeth went back upstairs to see if the bride and her father were ready. When she saw how beautiful Emily looked on the arm of her father, it made Elizabeth happy. "I will be waiting for you at the altar. Love you sweet sister."
The music started playing and Elizabeth walked into the room. There were beautiful flowers all over the room and candles softly lit. Elizabeth walked down the room to where the minister, her best friend and husband stood. Their eyes went to the top of the stairs and then watched Emily and Alan walk down them. Emily looked so beautiful in her gown. Alan was the proud father and made sure that they made it safely to the altar.
Alan and Monica gave Emily away to her future husband, Johnny. The minister started the prayer and asked everyone to watch over this couple. Jason and Elizabeth had said passages about love and marriage. Soon it was time for the vows.
"Johnny, from the first time that I met you, I knew you were special. You have a way about you that makes me feel safe and you have helped me understand how I fit into a life that I never thought that I would want to be in. You helped me thrive when everyone was tearing me into too many pieces. You were there for me when I thought I lost my brother and best friend. You helped me become the person that I am today and I will never forget that. When my brother and Elizabeth came back, you help understand where I fitted in again. You love me for who I am and I love you for who you are. You make me laugh, make me feel safe and most of all feel loved."
"Emily, you are the first person that I think about when I wake up and the last person I think about when I go to sleep at night. You have had my heart since the first week that I helped you take over your brother's world. You make me laugh and you make smile. I feel lighter when you are with me. I love that you make me feel that I can accomplish anything that I have to do. You are my light and my life. I love you now and I will love you more every day."
The minister finished with another prayers and the exchanging of the rings. "I would like to introduce you to our newest couple Mr. and Mrs. Johnny O'Brien."
The rest of the night was spent eating, drinking and dancing the rest of the night. Everyone was in high spirits and the year was over and another was about to begin.