"I can't believe I'm here."

Jason shifted his shoulders and looked over at Milo, the fresh-faced new hire that he'd been instructed to bring along with him and sighed. "We're here on business. Try to remember that."

The young guard looked at him, "Business? Jason, come on. We're in the Lady Luck Club, look around you. You want me to focus on business?"

"Yes," Jason said tersely. "This is why Sonny sent you with me. If you're going to be a guard, you have to be focused on the job at all times. You can't get distracted, you can't put your personal wants and wishes ahead of the job, you have to be focused. If you're not focused, enemies can get close, if they get close, someone could die. And they're not going to be gunning for you; they're going to be after Sonny. And if he dies, you might as well throw yourself in the harbor, because after I'm done going after the men who killed Sonny, I'll come after you and put you on the bottom of the harbor myself."

Milo's eyes went wide and he swallowed roughly.

"If you're vigilant and something happens to Sonny, then I won't kill you. But if you're not paying attention, if you're not doing your job, because you're too busy drooling over some woman, or falling for a ploy, then I will take you out, Milo," he stated in complete seriousness. "Nothing is more important than the safety of the people you're guarding. And that's why you're here. To learn that. Max put himself on the line vouching for you; none of us felt you were old enough for the job. This is how you're going to pay your brother back, by proving us right and making him look like a fool?"

The young guard now shook his head soberly. "No, Mr. Morgan."

"Good," Jason said, inwardly relieved that maybe this lesson had been taught. He hated having to break in new recruits.

Looking around, he could understand Milo's initial excitement. The Lady Luck Club was a Long Island social club run by the O'Brian family. They were loosely associated with Sonny's organization and so on occasion someone would have to travel down here for a meeting.

The waitresses in the club were legendary among the community, and plenty of men in Sonny's organization had been talking about them. Milo had probably never seen this much flesh since he'd run across his father's stash of nudie magazines.

"Look," Jason said softly. "I know you want to spend some time here. After the meeting, I suppose..."

The fresh-face look was back as Milo's neck whipped around so fast to look at him the poor boy probably gave himself whiplash. "Do you mean it?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Yeah."

"We can stay?"

Now, Jason shook his head. "No, you can stay. I'll head out, go do something. But we're heading back tonight, Milo."

"You're not going to stay?" the guard asked in disbelief. "Why not? I mean...look at them."

That was the problem, Jason didn't want to. He didn't like sitting around like a dirty old man gawking at strippers who were more plastic than human and who danced with all the enthusiasm of someone having root canal. He liked women, in fact he liked women a lot. But he didn't understand the fascination of watching a stripper.

He was saved from reply, however, by the arrival of Johnny, the oldest son of Patrick O'Brian. The patriarch was starting to get older, and was clearly grooming his son to take over the business. Patrick had been cultivating a deeper relationship with Sonny's organization, proposing more joint ventures, building a level of respect and partnership previously not had with the Long Island Family. It was why Jason and Milo were here today, Sonny having agreed to a meeting on short notice that Johnny seemed anxious to set up. Sonny would have come himself, but Michael had a school play and Carly would have killed him if he missed it to hang out a strip club.

"Jason," Johnny said, extending his hand respectfully. "I'm glad that you could come. I apologize again, for the short notice."

"It's alright," Jason assured him. "You said it was important, Sonny wanted to be here but had a previous obligation. This is my associate Milo Giambetti."

"Nice to meet you," Johnny nodded at the guard, then turned and motioned for Jason to head down the side hallway. "How is Mr. Corinthos' son?"

"He's fine," the enforcer replied.

"That's good," O'Brian smiled when they stopped at a room. He snagged a passing waitress and instructed her, "Send Beth in."

Then he opened the door and let the three of them into a small room. It was where illegal poker games were played, or more intimate encounters were conducted between the dancers and the patrons. Jason ignored the couch in the corner and instead took a seat at the table in the center of the room. He conveyed with a look that Milo was to stand along the wall facing the door to be ready for anything.

"Our hostess will be in with our drinks in a moment," Johnny said, unbutton his suit coat and tossing it over a chair. "In the meantime, I was hoping that we could talk."

"Is your father joining us?" Jason asked neutrally.

"No," the other man shook his head. "My father doesn't know about this meeting."

He didn't respond outwardly, but inside, Jason wasn't really happy to hear about that. He hoped that Johnny wasn't planning a take over attempt and hoping to enlist Sonny and his help. While they liked the son more than the father, it was simply bad business to get actively involved in the internal affairs of other families. If they didn't, then hopefully others wouldn't get involved in their business. It was a matter of respect.

"It's not what you're thinking," the brown-haired man said. "I'm not trying to get a promotion prematurely. I hope that my father lives many more years. When I say he doesn't know about this meeting, he doesn't know that it's happening today. I am acting on my father's orders, it's just that my father wants a certain amount of deniability."

"Johnny," Jason said, leaning forward. "Sonny respects you. I respect you. But I don't have patience for people who talk in circles. Don't pull my chain, spell it out clearly, ask what you want, and I'll pass it along to Sonny. If we can help you, we will."

The O'Brian family second in command leaned back in his chair and wearily passed a hand over his eyes. "It has to do with my sister."

"Your sister?" Jason asked. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"No," Johnny shook his head. "Not a lot of people do. See, she's not my mother's daughter. My father's had a long time mistress, and she's the result of that affair. When my mother died last year...my father got a little careless. Wanted to see his daughter more; someone followed him. Found out about her existence."

"Is she being threatened?" Jason asked.

"In a manner of speaking," the other man replied. "The Ruiz family wants to use her to create a merger with our family."

"Ah," he said, nodding. "A marriage of convenience."

"Exactly," Johnny stated. "They're putting pressure on my father, threatening our shipping routes, you know the drill. They say that if they're family, they'll ease up. We can all work together and everyone's happy."

When Jason raised his eyebrow, the other man let out a sardonic laugh. "Yeah, you don't believe that anymore than we do. The Ruiz family are sick, twisted, misogynistic bastards. The oldest one's married, which means that my sister's only option is Manny."

"Manny Ruiz?" Milo blurted out, then seemed to remember himself and looked down sheepishly when Jason leveled him with a lethal glare.

"Exactly," Johnny said, not at all bothered by the breach in protocol. "My sister would be abused, she'd be miserable, and my father and I aren't about to let that happen."

Before Jason could point out that Sonny himself was married, the door opened and a waitress stepped in with a tray of drinks in her hand. She was dressed like many of the other women in the club, a short, revealing outfit that showed off her assets to their best advantage. But she didn't have the hardened, beat down look that other women had. The thing that struck Jason was that she looked too good to be in a place like this and he wondered what had forced her into this situation. With a glance out of the corner of his eye Jason saw that Milo was appreciating the waitress' arrival.

"Here's your Irish whiskey," the woman said, setting a drink down in front of Johnny. She turned to Jason, "Here's your beer, chilled in its bottle."

Then she crossed the room and handed Milo a drink, "And here's your club soda."

"So, Mr. Morgan," Johnny said, obviously planning to continue their conversation despite the presence of the waitress. "My father and I are asking for your help."

Jason gave the woman a glance, but she was studiously looking down at her tray as she started towards the door. Johnny looked over at her and then at Jason. "You can talk," he said. "The women here don't repeat anything they hear. Beth won't talk."

"I'll talk with Sonny," Jason said, "and see if we can offer you some help against the Ruiz family. But I don't know how much more than that we can give you."

"We need to find my sister a husband," Johnny said and the waitress let out a huff of breath. "Someone to prevent her from marrying Manny Ruiz."

"Forgive me for pointing this out, because I'm sure you've already thought about it," Jason hedged, "but anybody that marries her will become a target for the Ruiz family, and that doesn't necessarily safeguard your family's business."

"I know," Johnny nodded. "That's why I have somebody specific in mind. She needs to marry someone in an organization that has its own weight and power, an organization that the Ruiz family would be fools to go up against. Sonny's organization is just what we're looking for."

"Sonny already has a wife," he pointed out. "I highly doubt he's going to divorce her just to marry your sister."

"I'm not asking him to," the O'Brian son shook his head. "I want you to marry my sister."

Jason blinked as the brick he should have seen coming hit him over the head. "Me?"

"Yes," Johnny nodded. "You're Sonny's second in command, the next in line to take over. You've stepped up when Sonny's been gone and you've run the organization before. Many would even say that you and Sonny run your territory together; he relies on you, that makes you invaluable. If you marry, your wife would be afforded the protection and respect that Sonny's wife garners. Sonny's territory and my father's would merge and your support and power would help shore us up against the Ruiz family. My sister would be protected, our supply lines would be secure, but it's not just our family that benefits. Sonny's territory would be expanded; he would be connected to most of the organized families in the New York area."

He leaned forward, clearly desperate, but trying to make a sales pitch that profited both sides and not just his. "It's a win-win situation."

"Except that I get bartered off in the bargain," the waitress seethed and Jason looked over in surprise.

"She's your sister?" Jason asked, turning back to Johnny. "And she's working here?"

"Hey," she demanded, now brandishing her tray like a weapon, eyeing him up to see if she could throw it at his head, maybe decapitating him in the process. "You think I like any of this? Being forced to put on this ridiculous outfit, coming here knowing what Johnny was going to be talking to you about, or sitting here listening to the two of you talk about me like I'm some sort of...prized animal you're selling to the highest bidder? Thanks but, no."

Johnny stood, walking towards the petite woman, "Beth, I know you don't like this. I don't like this. But trust me when I tell you that Jason Morgan is certainly a more honorable man than Manny Ruiz. If you marry him, we can all protect you."

"Yeah, well, pardon me but I don't particularly feel like marrying a perfect stranger," she retorted. "And he doesn't look like he's too thrilled with the idea either."

She had that right, but Jason wasn't going to say that. She seemed upset enough as it was. Jason could understand how she felt; he didn't especially like being ambushed by Johnny with this idea. Yet, he understood the brother's desperation. He wouldn't want any woman sentenced to a marriage with Manny Ruiz, let alone his sister.

"Look," Johnny pleaded with them both. "Let's talk about this, please. Beth, you need to be reasonable. Manny Ruiz is not someone you can say no to and hope he goes away. He's pressuring Father for an answer and our father running out of ways to stall the issue. I know you don't like this, but it's the best option. It's the only option we've got."

"Then you haven't tried thinking hard enough," she told him. "I am not going to get married to some stranger for the rest of my life just because you're too lazy to come up with another solution."

"It wouldn't have to be for the rest of your life, Beth," her brother tried to calm her down. "Just until the Ruiz family backs off."

She turned to Jason and said, "How long do you think that would take? Truthfully."

"Truthfully?" Jason tugged on his ear and wouldn't meet Johnny's look that was telling him to clearly lie to the woman who had become the object of Manny Ruiz's obsession. "When Manny Ruiz is dead."

"Yeah, and since you can't kill him without starting a war," she said, with a shrug of her shoulders. "I just have to hope for the best; just accept that I have to marry you if I want to stay alive?"

"Well," he said with a resigned sigh. "It's me or Manny Ruiz."

As Jason stepped off the elevator at the penthouse level, he remembered there was a reason he was single. And that he liked it that way. Women were more of a hassle than they were worth. Sure, they were pretty to look at, their company - at least one particular aspect of it - was enjoyable, but Jason liked the no strings association limits he imposed on his encounters. He went solo to most social functions; it was simply easier that way for him and safer that way for anyone else. Any interactions were usually done while he was away from Port Charles so that the women didn't get the wrong impression, and his enemies didn't think they'd found a target to come after.

Now he was going to throw it all out the window and get married. He really hated Johnny O'Brian right now. The man had blindsided him with this request and knew that by playing on his honor, sense of family duty and the simple fact that the Ruiz family was a threat, Jason would agree. Now he was stuck with a deranged lunatic who was apt to take his head off - either one - in the middle of the night simply because she was upset.

"Is he in?" Jason asked Max as he stopped outside Sonny's door.

"Yeah," the guard nodded. He opened his mouth, then closed it, even though he looked ready to burst.

"What?" Jason sighed.

"How...how did Milo do?" the older brother asked hesitantly.

Closing his eyes and giving a shake of his head, he said, "Fine. He's still a little green, but I think he'll be fine. He...he actually did good today."

The guard relaxed, clearly relieved and then straightened up immediately. "I'm glad. He heard the other guys talking about the Lady Luck and I was afraid he was going to do something stupid like ogle the women or ask to stay."

"He did," Jason said, and Max cringed. "But I explained to him the importance of being a guard and he shaped up. So I let him have a little time at the end."

Max hung his head. "I'm sorry, Jason. I told him to keep his nose clean and not act like an idiot."

Jason shook his head and held up his hand, "He didn't, Max. He's still learning, but he's a good kid. Now, I need to talk to Sonny."

"Of course," the guard immediately nodded and knocked on the door. As he leaned forward to open it, he caught a whiff of Jason and wrinkled his nose, but didn't say anything.

When Jason stepped inside the penthouse, it was quiet and only a few lamps were on. Sonny was sitting on the couch going over some files and as soon as he saw Jason they were set aside as his friend stood and headed for the wet bar. "Thank you, Max," he said as the guard stepped back outside. Sonny splashed some liquid into a tumbler and held it out to Jason. "You want a drink?"

With a grimace he shook his head. "No."

"Have a seat," Sonny invited.

Jason looked at the Italian leather sofa Carly had specially made for Sonny and shook his head. "I probably shouldn't."

The older man looked at him inquisitively. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to ruin the sofa." He contemplated things for a moment and then said, "I should probably go take a shower. We can talk afterwards."

"Jason?"

The one word stopped him and he rooted himself to the floor, folding his arms across his chest and internally wincing at the way his jacket creaked and his still damp shirt instantly stuck to his skin. Sonny observed him for a moment and then asked, "What's wrong? You look like you got in a bar fight? I thought you were just meeting with Johnny."

"I met with Johnny," he stated. "It's just..."

"What did the O'Brian's want?" Sonny inquired before taking a sip of the amber liquid in his glass. "Patrick spoke to me a week or so ago and said that Johnny would be contacting me. Then when he called late last night...I haven't heard the O'Brian's this on edge since they were afraid Gotti was going to rat them out."

Jason dropped his arms, and planted them on his hips, pushing the ruined jacket back. After a moment, he shrugged his arms out of the sleeves and let the leather fall to the floor. It was better the carpet have to be replaced than any of the furniture. With the removal of the jacket, a restlessness entered him and Jason turned and stalked towards the table, and then spun on his heel and headed back towards the desk.

"Did you know Patrick O'Brian has a daughter?"

"No," Sonny said with a shake of his head, surprise ringing clearly in his voice.

"Elizabeth Webber," Jason filled him in. "Daughter of Patrick's long time mistress. After Johnny's mother died, Patrick began spending more time with her and her mother, and the Ruiz family found out about her."

His boss swore softly under his breath and Jason nodded tersely. "Exactly. So now they're putting the screws to the O'Brian's. They'll cause problems for Long Island unless Patrick agrees to arrange a marriage with his daughter and Manny."

"Manny?" Sonny spat out in disgust. "The same man whose pregnant girlfriend disappeared and was later found off the coast in small pieces?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Him. Which is why Patrick and Johnny are trying to avoid such a scenario for Beth."

"Beth?"

"It's what she prefers, I guess. Frankly, I have a few other names I'd call her."

"You met her?" Sonny asked in surprise.

"Johnny arranged for her to be at the meeting. He...he asked me to marry his sister so that she would be safe from the Ruiz family. By her marrying your second in command, she's protected, the Ruizes hopefully won't go after her, and we also combine the two territories more formally. We get direct access to Long Island, plus a percentage of the O'Brian's profits, and Patrick O'Brian's daughter doesn't have to marry Manny Ruiz."

Sonny finished off his drink and then ran a hand over his face. As he shook his head he stated, "I had no idea, Jason. I had no idea that's what Johnny wanted to meet about. I would have never sent you down there without telling you."

"I know," Jason waved his hand through the air. "I'm not happy about the way Johnny did this, but I understand. If it was Emily that Manny was going after, I'd do anything I could to protect her."

"Yeah, but marriage?" Sonny let out a low whistle. "What'd you say?"

"That I'd have to talk to you," he said as he looked away.

His friend let out a bark of laughter. "Come on, Jason. You and I both know that you only did that for formality, and Johnny knows that as well. He had you meet the girl so that she wasn't just a faceless name to you. There are only a few organizations that have the power to go up against the Ruizes, and we're the only one the O'Brian's trust enough to come to. You have your own power in this world; you're not just an underling. By you marrying Patrick O'Brian's daughter we gain even more power, and she gets the protection her family wants for her. Johnny knows this, and that you're not going to let Manny terrorize a woman. You've already agreed; you're just waiting for me to formalize it with Patrick."

Jason let out a long sigh and nodded his head. "Yeah. I told Johnny that I'd do it. It'll be up to you and the old man to hash out all the details."

"So if you already agreed, then why the attitude, and why do you smell like you rolled around on the floor of Jake's?"

"Because Beth Webber threw half the contents of the Lady Luck's back room at me." When Sonny smirked Jason continued. "She threw the other half at Johnny. She's not thrilled about Johnny's little arrangement."

"She understands who Manny really is, right?" Sonny asked, concern now entering his voice. "Johnny did explain the situation, right?"

"Yeah, he did, and she knows," Jason nodded. "But she's still not happy about being bartered off like a cow. Her words. She thinks that Johnny and her father didn't try hard enough to find an alternative. She also thinks that this is her father's way of controlling her. If he marries her off into the business, then she can't go off and do the things she really wants to do."

"What does she want to do?"

Jason threw up his hands in the air and whirled away. "I don't know. She was screaming so much that half the time I didn't understand her. The other half just gave me a headache. She talked about art and Italy and some artists' compound in California. I don't know what she was serious about and what she was saying just to anger her brother. All I know is that she yelled, a lot, and that she was angry. She threatened to run away, she swore that we couldn't make her get married, and then she threatened to scratch out my eyes if I tried to force her."

He gave a disgusted shake of her head. "The girl's nuts."

"She's scared," Sonny said softly. "She's just had her whole world turned upside down and she's lashing out."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to put up with having things thrown at me all the time. I thought the Italians were supposed to have the tempers, they've got nothing on this girl."

"That's twice you've called her a girl," Sonny tipped his head to the side. "Just how old is she?"

Jason scowled and shook his head. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"If the O'Brian's are trying to foist a child on you and this organization..."

"No," Jason immediately negatived. "She's an adult, somewhere in her twenties I'd say. She just...she looks young. Too good to get messed up in all this."

Sonny shrugged as he said, "You can't help who your parents are. You may not like the Quartermaines, but they're your parents. She didn't ask to be born to a mobster and his mistress, but she was. Now Patrick's doing everything he can to make sure his daughter stays safe."

"Which means getting married," Jason sighed.

Sonny nodded solemnly. "Which means getting married. Did Johnny say anything about when?"

"The sooner the better."

"I agree that it should be soon."

"Fine," Jason sighed. "I'll have Benny get a license; we can ask Patrick if he wants it there in Long Island, or if we should have it here. Or, we could just fuel up the plane and head to Vegas."

Sonny's eyebrows rose and he shook his head. "Vegas? You want the Ruiz family to believe this."

"The Ruiz family isn't going to believe any of this," he snorted. "They're not going to be happy that they lost the bargaining chip they thought they had over the O'Brians. But the sooner we get this taken care of, the sooner Beth Webber is safe."

"I agree," his friend and boss agreed. "But even if the Ruiz family doesn't agree with this, the other families need to. They know that marriages are arranged all the time, but they're willing to look the other way if it's done properly. Rushing off to Vegas is not the proper way to do this."

Jason rolled his eyes, his headache coming back. "Fine," he waved a hand through the air. "We'll do it however it needs to be done. But we need to make sure Beth Webber is protected beforehand. Some of our guards should be added to the O'Brian's."

"I agree. It's a good show of our commitment and our intentions. I'll call Patrick and find out when and where this should take place. With his wife dead, I'll offer Carly to help out with the arrangements."

"Why inflict Carly on them? Her mother can help."

Sonny sadly shook his head. "She's the mistress, Jason, you know that she has no standing in the organization. She'll be lucky if she can attend the wedding in the back. While it's understood and acceptable for a man to have a mistress, they're not openly acknowledged. To many people, Beth Webber only has one parent, and that's Patrick O'Brian."

"I," Jason paused and shook his head. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to tell Carly right away. You know how she's going to get with this."

"Yeah," his friend nodded. "But there's not much we can do about it. Hopefully she'll understand the circumstances. There is one bright spot at least."

"What's that?" Jason asked wearily. Ever since he left Long Island all he could think about was how much his life was going to be turned upside down with this whole event. Carly's rantings, because she was sure to rant, was something he was not looking forward to.

"At least you don't have a girlfriend you have to break up with," his friend said in an attempt to be helpful."

Beth Webber hated her father. It was why she didn't refer to herself as Beth Webber O'Brian.

Ever since she had discovered that her Uncle Patrick who came and spent time with her and her mother was actually her father, she'd hated the man. She'd been thirteen at the time, and while she couldn't remember the exact details regarding the reveal, she remembered everything that had happened afterwards.

She yelled at her mother. She yelled at her father. She accused them of being selfish, of being weak, and of being immoral.

Her father was married to another woman, and had two children with her, only one of which had survived. The marriage, her father tried to explain to her, was loveless. He loved his son, and mourned the death of his younger boy who had died two days after being born almost three months premature, but he didn't love his wife. He claimed to love Beth's mother, but because she'd been a dancer in a club, his father wouldn't let him marry her. Instead, her grandfather had arranged a marriage to a woman whose father had some territory the elder O'Brian wished to have, and so a marriage of convenience, a merger of territories was arranged. Patrick O'Brian continued to see the dancer, though, and she accepted him into her heart and into her bed even though he was married. Her mother, who had taught Beth that sex should be something special and not just something to be given up under the high school bleachers, who told her that her first time should be special and cherished, had willingly and knowingly entered into an affair with a married man.

It was then that Beth wondered if she knew anything. Her mother had been a showgirl, a glorified name for a stripper, and didn't get upset when the man she loved married another woman and had children with her. No, her mother continued to love the man and even had a child with him, knowing that she would never rank of any importance to the man. After all, what kind of man did that to the woman he claimed to love? Put her up in a house, give her money, and expect her to stay faithful to him while sleeping with another woman. Her father had turned her glorified stripper of a mother into a glorified whore. The house, the cars, the money for expenses, they were all payments in return for sex.

When Beth withdrew from both her parents, when she didn't want to spend time with Uncle Patrick her mother had come to her and actually ordered her to stop being so childish about something she knew nothing about. Her father took care of them the best he could and while he'd never once attended one of Beth's ballet recitals or came to any of her figure skating events, she'd taken pictures of them and told him all about them. When Beth became interested in art, he was the one who had arranged for the famous artist to volunteer at her school and become her personal tutor. Her mother and her father seemed to believe if he threw enough money at the situation, then he was taking care of his obligations.

Forget the fact that Beth had never had a father to tuck her into bed and read her stories, except for those nights when Uncle Patrick passed through town and visited them. It made her want to throw up when she realized that after she'd fallen asleep, her parents had no doubt gone back to her mother's room and had sex. Her father's business trips were all just a disguise to come fulfill a booty call. She wondered if Mrs. O'Brian knew about her husband's double life, if she knew about Beth and her mother. And if she did, what had been her reaction? Had she just accepted it as a normal part of life? Had she been angry, but ultimately powerless to stop it?

Oddly, Beth found herself having more compassion for Mrs. O'Brian than for her father or mother. Maybe that was because she found herself in possibly similar situation. About to enter a marriage of convenience, a marriage to merge two territories, to a man she didn't love.

She wondered if Jason Morgan had a girlfriend who would then become his mistress after he got married. Would he slip off at night to go visit her? Would he move her to another city and then take business trips to see her? Would they have children, and what would that mean for Beth?

Who knew how long this whole interminable situation would last. In the mafia world, her brother had tried to give her a crash course in reality, killing a member of a rival mob family had to be done delicately in order to minimize the fall out. There was a governing board of sorts that had to authorize such things, and if killings weren't authorized, families would turn on each other and then war broke out. The family of the dead man could expect support, even if they were considered sick, ruthless and unacceptable in the Mafioso world. The Ruiz family was considered a wild, almost rogue faction and previous attempts to bring them in line had failed.

Nobody, Johnny had explained to her, wanted to see her married to Manny Ruiz. But many didn't have the power or resources to go against the Ruiz Family. Those that did, weren't very anxious to risk their men. Because men would inevitably die if they attempted to stand up to Manny Ruiz and his father. The Ruiz Family didn't see the necessity in following rules; they were mobsters, they reasoned, rules didn't apply to them. Even the laughable Code of Omerta. So killing off rival gang members simply for personal reasons, not business ones, was nothing new to them. The Ruiz Family didn't respect women and protect them, they terrorized them. The father and oldest Ruiz boy had numerous mistresses, who often met with tragic ends when the men tired of them. And Manny had a string of girlfriends who met with similar demises, the last one after she announced that she was pregnant. Men who could act like that towards women wouldn't think twice about killing anyone tried to stop them from doing what they wanted, or from killing a family member.

Dealing with the Ruiz family, getting Manny to back off and leave her alone, was not going to be easy. Her father had told her it could take years. It may, in fact, never happen. She could end up being married to Jason Morgan for the rest of her life, or his.

That was when Beth wondered exactly what kind of marriage she would have with Jason Morgan. Would it be like her father's to Johnny's mother? Would she be expected to look the other way at his indiscretions? Would Jason expect to share a bed with her? Would he want to have children, legitimate ones, with her? Or would he have a mistress and expect Beth to raise that woman's child as her own? Her father had told her that her husband was the undisputable head of the family and she was expected to follow whatever he said without question. His indiscretions weren't for her to question or argue against, but Heaven help her if she took a lover herself. Her husband could divorce her and take away his protection, leaving her vulnerable to Manny Ruiz. He'd also made it clear that if she shamed her husband, she could forget about getting any help from him. Johnny had remained silent on that count as well.

After that conversation was the first time Beth tried to run. She refused to put up with a life like that. She was not living in the 19th Century; she was not a piece of property to be transferred from her father to her husband, she had rights. She couldn't be forced into a marriage with Manny Ruiz, or Jason Morgan, or anybody that she didn't want. Her mother may have been a fool and lived with all this crap, but she wasn't going to.

However, she never even made it to her car.

Her father had guards stationed on her. And while she knew about their habits, schedules and rounds, she didn't know that Jason Morgan and Sonny Corinthos had guards of their own watching her. A tall Italian named Richie had stopped her before she made it to her car, and then grabbed her around her waist and forcibly carried her back into her apartment when she refused to cooperate. Her father and brother had been called and they'd yelled and lectured her on her stupidity. Actually, her father yelled and lectured, her brother just stood there silent as a stone pillar.

Things had gotten worse when several hours later Jason Morgan and Sonny Corinthos had shown up. Jason, who had looked thunderous when he left the Lady Luck after agreeing to marry her, looked like a Category Five hurricane when he arrived. He called her stupid and naïve and asked if she'd rather just gift wrap herself and show up on Manny Ruiz's doorstep. Between him and her father, she was made to feel like an ungrateful, petulant child who didn't know what was good for her. Sonny Corinthos had stood silently by her brother, but she could feel his disapproval radiating off him.

The disapproval had only increased when his wife Carly showed up the next day. She treated Beth with cold disdain and the barest civility. It was clear to the younger woman, that the mobster's wife didn't think an illegitimate child was good enough for Jason Morgan. She told Beth that her marriage to Jason was going to mess with Jason being with his real family, the family he should be with. By that, Beth understood that Jason had a girlfriend, someone he was in love with and rather serious about, perhaps even had a child with or was planning to, and Beth had messed all of that up. At least she would no longer have to embarrass herself by asking her husband-to-be if he intended to take a mistress after their marriage. Carly Corinthos had at least been useful in that regard.

It was after her conversation with Carly, that her attitude regarding the marriage changed. All hope was lost, so there was no longer any point in fighting the inevitable. Fighting only made people angrier, and as her father had pointed out quite clearly, angry people were distracted people and distracted people were endangered people. She didn't want to be responsible for anybody getting hurt or killed, so she stopped fighting. Jason was turning his life upside down, giving up the chance to be married to and have a family with the woman he really wanted to be with, the least she could do was not make things more dangerous for him. She would not repay his kindness by getting him killed and stealing him from his girlfriend any more than she already was.

She would not object to Jason staying out late. The euphemism clearly meant he would be spending time with his girlfriend. If the other woman got pregnant and Jason asked her to accept his child and raise it so it could be legitimate, she would do that. She wasn't quite reconciled to whether she would accept her husband into her bed and provide him with an heir, but maybe after several years, she would feel differently.

She would be dutiful. She would be accepting. She would be obliging. She would not give any of the men in the Corinthos organization any trouble or cause to resent her any more than she was sure they already did. She would put up with this marriage.

Even if it killed her.

Jason frowned into his drink as he stood next to his fiancée as yet another person came up to them during their engagement party to wish the two of them joy and a long marriage. Beth Webber, dressed in a perfectly sedate outfit, with perfectly sedate hair, and perfectly sedate jewelry - including an engagement ring he'd picked out at Tiffany's - was standing next to him in perfect sedateness. It was downright eerie. He didn't know much about the women he was about to marry, but if asked to describe her the last word he would have used was calm. From the moment she began arguing with him and her brother in the back room of the Lady Luck Club to the day he and Sonny arrived in Long Island at 4 in the morning, she had been fighting against this marriage with every ounce of energy in her petite frame.

After that morning, things had changed. She had become...calm. Almost meek. Although meek didn't entirely describe the change. It was almost as if she'd become resigned. She looked like Beth Webber, she sounded like Beth Webber, but she didn't act like Beth Webber. She acted like...a perfectly good mob wife. Not the kind in Port Charles; Faith Roscoe, Skye Alcazar and Carly Corinthos had never exactly been as deferring as Beth was. But she was acting like mob wives that Jason had seen in other places. A generation ago. Wives of men old enough to be Jason's father, wives like the man Patrick O'Brian had married to. Women who did what their husbands told them to, didn't ask questions, didn't voice objections, and didn't cause any problems.

The frown deepened.

The change in demeanor had actually come, he realized, the day after Carly arrived. When Sonny insisted that they had to tell her, to bring her in on the planning because they could no longer delay setting a wedding date, she'd shown up in Long Island upset because she'd been instructed to come, and also because the limo hadn't taken her to the shops in Manhattan. Then when Sonny and Jason told her why she was there, that Jason was getting married, things had gone from bad to worse. To say Carly was upset was putting it mildly. She asked him how they could do this to her, sounding almost as if she was his girlfriend and was being told that Jason was dumping her.

When Sonny tried to explain the situation, told her that Beth was in danger because of the Ruiz family, Carly had acted like she didn't really care. She was more concerned with insisting that Michael and Morgan would never call the interloper Aunt Beth. She wasn't going to be family, despite the fact that she was marrying Jason. She declared that even though it was just a marriage of convenience, that the twit was stealing Jason away from her boys. That he wouldn't be able to play with them like he used to, that he wouldn't be available to come to sports games and family dinners as he had before because now he would have his own family. She made it sound like Beth was already pregnant and they'd be popping out babies left and right and he'd never have time for the boys ever again.

When she left to go talk to Beth about this travesty that was about to take place, Sonny had just shook his head, rolled his eyes and laughed at his wife's antics. They were long used to her acting like she owned Jason and expected him to be at her beck and call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and anything that threatened to upset that was immediately deemed horrible. Sonny said she'd get used to it, she'd get to know Beth and realize that the younger woman wasn't so bad and eventually she'd come around. Jason had been less optimistic.

Jason had been the one who'd had to put up with Carly's possessiveness and jealousies longer than Sonny had. First Carly had run Robin off, and then Courtney and then Sam. None of the women had been able to accept Carly's lack of boundaries in their lives. She came into his home whenever she felt like it, she dismissed the women he had dated, she had his number programmed into her cell phone above her own husband's. She was rude, disrespectful and didn't like when he told her no. No matter how many times he changed his lock, she somehow always got a key. When Sonny tried to talk to her, she dismissed him and told him he was imagining things. If the other women couldn't understand Jason's commitment to the Corinthos family then it was better that they left. Business came first, and Sonny's family was business.

When both men had tried to explain to her that business was separate from her personal life and her imagined crises, she had deliberately acted dumb. How could his boss's family be considered personal, she'd asked. And she would continue to behave as she always had, often worse. Eventually, the other women - despite his attempts at reassuring them - couldn't handle her constant presence and had left. They refused to put up with Carly's petty attacks any longer and gave her what she wanted. Jason's undivided attention.

Sometimes, Jason wondered whether Robin's friend was correct. Jason didn't put much stock in doctors, even less in psychiatrists, but Dr. Lainey Winters had once, while drunk on tequila at Jake's, said that Carly treated Jason like her boyfriend, even though she was married. She knew enough from the talk around town that Jason and Carly had once been involved before she married Sonny, and in her professional opinion, she wanted to re-establish that relationship. If she thought Sonny and Jason would go for it, Carly would stay married to Sonny to have the power and prestige that came from being married to the mob boss, as well as someone who would take her to all the right parties dressed in all the right clothes, and then keep Jason as her personal stud.

Jason had walked away shaking his head, dismissing the words as nonsense born from too much alcohol and the twisted minds of shrinks who always looked for things that weren't there. And always seemed to fall back on sex as a last resort. However, there were times that those words came back to Jason's mind and he wasn't able to dismiss them as easily.

Carly had taunted Courtney as being too pure, too afraid to take the risk that Jason was. She claimed the blonde liked the thought of life with the bad boy, after all who wouldn't want a boyfriend who was a motorcycle-riding, drop-dead gorgeous, great in the sack guy like Jason as opposed to a guy who drove a forklift on the docks and thought he might want to become a cop someday. Courtney had walked away mortified from that run-in, because she and Jason hadn't slept together at that point in their relationship. When Carly found that bit of information out, she went out of her way to reference the great sex that she and Jason used to have. And used to have frequently.

It always seemed to come back to that with her. She'd talk about how they used to be, how they'd been great together, how they'd been explosive together, and it was too bad they'd wanted different things out of life because if their ambitions had been the same they would be married right now and Michael and Morgan would be his children instead of Sonny's.

So it made him nervous about what Carly and Beth had talked about. He couldn't help but feel that something had happened during their wedding planning session, and that was the reason Beth had suddenly turned quiet and demure. He just didn't know how to ask either woman and get a straight answer from them. Carly would immediately claim that she didn't know what he was talking about, and then she'd swear up and down that she'd done nothing wrong. Then she'd launch into another rendition of how Jason didn't have to do this, he didn't have to get married to save someone whose own family clearly didn't think she was important enough to protect. He was tired of the constant noise and so he tried to avoid her as much as he could.

With the preparations underway for the wedding, it was relatively easy to do so.

The person he wanted to talk to seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him. Beth had become a walking bridal magazine. She was always dashing off somewhere to talk to someone regarding the wedding. She couldn't talk because she had to call the caterer, or the florist, or the designer who was being paid exorbitantly by her father to design her exclusive dress. And when she wasn't busy with that, she was busy planning tonight, or packing up for the move to Port Charles. Always a million excuses as to why she was too busy to talk to him.

When the person finally moved away, drifting back into the party where champagne and caviar flowed like water, Jason set his drink down and touched Beth's elbow. She seemed startled by the contact, but then smiled serenely up at him. But he noticed her eyes were constantly looking around the room, as if gauging how everyone was viewing them.

"Are you alright?" Jason asked, turning towards her slightly in an attempt to keep other people from infringing on the brief solitude he had with her.

"I'm fine," she murmured automatically. It was the answer she gave whenever he asked her something. The shrimp was fine, the wine was fine, it was fine if they had steak instead of chicken, it was fine if he had to work late and wasn't able to meet with the minister until the following morning. In fact, Jason was pretty sure that if he told her he was thinking of shaving off his hair and thought she should dye hers purple she would think that was just fine too.

"No, you're not," he said with a shake of his head.

That made her look up at him, a spark he'd seen a long time ago flickering through her eye before she quickly doused it and then looked at him slightly uneasy. "I am," she insisted. "I'm just nervous about meeting all these people. I've never been very good with remembering names and I just don't want to forget anybody's. I don't want to embarrass you."

"You wouldn't," he said. "Sometimes I don't know everyone, not the ones in the lower levels of the organizations. Just smile politely and ask them to repeat their name, they won't be offended."

Her eyes were large and imploring as she looked up at him. "Are you sure? I've bought a book about how to improve my memory, and I've tried to use the tips about remembering people's names, but I just...there are so many people here. I know that my father as well as you and Sonny want to make sure everyone thinks this is legitimate, but I..."

She trailed off and drew her lower lip into her mouth, worrying it between her teeth until it was red and swollen. "Carly told me how important this night was and that I couldn't afford to screw it up. I don't want to cause any more problems than I already have, that's why I've tried to stay out of your way."

"You're not in my way," Jason answered. "Look, we need to talk."

He saw someone starting towards them and determined not to get interrupted he tightened his grip on her elbow and started them towards the terrace doors of the hotel. They needed some fresh air and most of all, privacy. It sounded like Carly had been giving Beth pointers and he wanted to tell her not to believe a fourth of what the blonde said, he did not need another Carly in his life.

"Jason."

He wanted to roll his eyes, but settled for clenching his teeth in irritation when she suddenly appeared at his side. She probably saw him trying to step out for a few minutes and was there to tell him he had to keep up appearances. He figured stepping out for a few private moments with his fiancée wouldn't shatter any illusions.

"Not now, Carly."

"Yes, now," she said as she laid a proprietary hand on her arm, her blood red fingernails digging into Jason's arm through his suit coat. She didn't even acknowledge Beth, but that could possibly be a little hard considering Beth seemed to be trying to make herself invisible behind Jason.

"No," Jason said more forcefully, his words coming out on a harsh whisper. He was not going to let Carly deter him this time. "I'm going to get some fresh air with Beth and we'll be back in a few moments."

"Jason," she tried again, not even bothering to look Beth's way.

"Not now," he bit out.

"Jason."

He wanted to snap in frustration at Sonny's arrival. "What?"

"We have a problem."

"You've got that right," he muttered.

"You've seen him?" Sonny questioned.

Now Jason was annoyed and confused and he looked up sharply at Sonny. At the same moment Johnny appeared on the scene and Beth's arm began to tremble under Jason's hand. "What is going on?" he demanded.

Sonny looked at him questioningly, but then leaned forward while looking over at the door. "The Ruiz family just arrived."

Beth Webber thought she was going to throw up. The nausea rose up so quickly that she actually pressed her hand to her stomach and swallowed hard in order to try to gain some semblance of control over her own body. Manny Ruiz was at her engagement party.

She'd leave it to others to deal with the mob logistics of what to do with a party crasher; she was more concerned with not being sick all over herself. This was the man who had followed her father on one of his business trips to see her mother, which had required her leaving her art studio that doubled as her apartment to come break bread with her parents. That whole worthless debacle had been the cause of her existence being discovered. To which she could only say, thanks a heap, Pop.

The Ruiz family had wondered why Patrick O'Brian had gone to a non-descript house in Connecticut and stayed the night. They wondered who the young woman was who had shown up late, left after only a short time, and why she had looked so upset. So the Ruiz family had done what any good mob family would have done under the circumstances, they investigated. And discovered that Patrick O'Brian owned the house, that all the utilities were in the name of Maria Webber, and that the young woman was none other than Maria's daughter. Further digging had turned up the birth certificate for Elizabeth Imogene Webber-O'Brian.

And that's when the Ruiz family, who had been trying to persuade the O'Brian's into accepting a merger of territories, shipping lanes and distribution routes, had discovered they had the perfect negotiation tool. Patrick O'Brian's daughter. That's also when Manny Ruiz had apparently decided she'd become his latest acquisition. He needed a new girlfriend, who better to take the post, and possibly also finally be the one to induce him into marriage, than the daughter of his new partner.

Beth had heard enough about Manny Ruiz from her brother and Sonny Corinthos to know that Jason had literally saved her life. He'd also saved her from a lifetime, however long it may have been under the capricious hands of Manny, of abuse. She understood those facts, and she was grateful for Jason stepping up to help her out. Even if she hated the whole concept of a forced marriage to a man she didn't know who didn't love her and would carry on with a mistress behind her back, she was infinitely grateful to be marrying Jason Morgan instead of Manny Ruiz. That only increased when she finally saw him.

To say that Manny Ruiz frightened her would be understating the fact. She didn't have a problem with tattoos. But the tattoos that peaked up from his suit collar, that were visible on his hands, combined with the shaved head and sinister looking goatee, and Beth found herself grateful for Jason's steadying hand on her arm as her knees shook ever-so-slightly. She was also grateful for the way her fiancé stepped in front of her, shielding her whether consciously or not, from the penetrating gaze of Hector, Javier and Manny Ruiz as they stood in the doorway of the ballroom in her father's house.

"What are they doing here?" Carly hissed to her husband and friend. Then she turned to glare at Beth and snapped, "Did you actually invite them?"

"My sister did not invite them," Johnny spoke with barely concealed annoyance. "How could you even suggest such a thing? Nobody invited them. They came on their own."

"Then how did they get past your men?" she insisted.

"They were stopped at the gate and our men there called. I came to find Sonny and Jason to tell them so we could handle the situation together, but they obviously didn't wait."

"How could your men just let them past?" Carly continued on, her voice reaching a shrewish level that made Beth look at her. For all her lectures on how to behave as a mob wife, Carly Corinthos sure didn't see the need to follow her own advice.

"Carly." The word held a measure of warning from her husband and she finally shut up. Beth noticed that when she did, Jason's grip on her arm lessened slightly. Looking up at the man she was supposed to marry in a week she saw that his jaw was tense, veins were visible on his forehead, but the cold look wasn't for the trio across the room, it was for the blonde at his side. Interesting. "You know how these things work, even if you choose to ignore it. If the O'Brian's men had refused to let the Ruiz family past, it would have created bigger problems for us all."

"But-"

"Carly." This time the speaker was Jason, and his warning was even stronger than Sonny's. "Shut up. This is not the time or the place, so stop interfering and let us deal with it."

She snapped her mouth shut and looked away, clearly acting put out, but Beth was relieved that the other woman was at least keeping quiet.

"What do you suggest we do?" Johnny asked. It may be his and Patrick's house, but her brother was clearly deferring to Sonny and Jason in this situation. Another interesting tidbit for Beth to quietly store away in her cataloging mind.

"There's not much we can do," Sonny sighed wearily. "We let them stay. They come and meet Jason and Beth, we put up a front of solidarity, and then we get Beth and Jason out of here as soon as we can without being rude. Actually, forget being rude, we get the two of you out of here."

"Sonny." Jason sounded like he didn't agree with that plan and was ready to argue the point, but at one look from his friend he silenced himself.

"No, this is not the time for you to stay. Your place is by your fiancée. You don't leave her side. It's not just for her protection; it's also to convince the Ruiz family of the strength of your relationship. You are the adoring fiancé, she is the besotted bride-to-be, you can't be bothered with a few gatecrashes, you have only eyes for each other, you leave to spend some time together."

He didn't look at them, but the tone of his voice was clearly ordering them to put on a good act. Jason's hand tensed, along with his entire body, but Beth placed her free hand on Jason's chest and smiled up at him before looking over at Sonny and saying, "Absolutely. We'll do whatever you say."

Jason looked down at her, a frown furrowing his brow. Thankfully she was saved from his inquisition by Johnny murmuring. "They're coming this way. I think my father's stalled them as long as he can."

"It's fine, Johnny," she said in what she hoped was a placid voice.

As they neared, she stepped instinctively towards Jason, hoping he would provide protection from the devouring gaze of Manny Ruiz. Jason released her arm and slid his hand around her waist, bringing her even closer to his side. His hand came to rest at the edge of her stomach, his fingers centimeters away from hers that was still pressed tightly to her stomach to quell the nausea. When she shifted her hand slightly to alleviate the cold sweat she could feel pooling on her palm, she was startled to brush her fingertips across his. Before she could remove her hand, Jason's was moving, twining their fingers intimately. The tips of his blunt fingers rested against the cool metal of her engagement band, jostling the gold and lightly caressing it.

It was strange to be standing this close to him. She'd never done more than barely touch his hand, and now she was pressed up against his side from thigh to shoulder. She'd never really appreciated just how tall he was until she realized that she barely came up to his chin. Right now, though, she was glad to have his height to her advantage. The Ruiz men were shorter in stature than Jason, and they had to look up to meet his gaze. She knew enough about male egos to know that height gave the taller one an advantage, and she sensed by the intimidating aura Jason radiated that he was well aware of the fact.

"Good evening, Mr. Morgan, Miss O'Brian," the Ruiz patriarch intoned when they reached him. "It's a pleasure to see you tonight."

Beth took her cues from Jason. When he inclined his head ever-so-slightly towards the men, she gave them a benign, closed-lipped smile. She didn't speak. She wasn't going to until Jason did or she was forced to by a question she could not ignore. Hopefully, she would only be required to stand at Jason's side, being an ornament to a conversation that would be about her as if she wasn't even there. That was the way many of her father's conversations were with his men and the few associates she was introduced to, she could only pray that this one went the same way.

"What a wonderful celebration," Mr. Ruiz continued, his smile easy, but deadly. "And for such a blessed reason. We were surprised to hear you had finally decided to settle down and marry, Mr. Morgan. I had been hoping that my son Manny would join the same state, but it seems not to be."

Beth felt Jason's arm tighten around her, or maybe it was her hand that clung tighter to his at the blatant reference by Hector Ruiz to Manny's interest in her. She had heard enough about the Ruiz family to know that they didn't play by the rules of the mafia underworld, but she never would have expected them to show up at her engagement party and then state, in front of everybody, that Beth had slipped away from Manny. It made her shiver, especially when combined with the feral and predatory gleam in the younger son's eyes.

"I'm a very lucky man," Jason finally spoke, but Beth barely heard the words he spoke because his thumb was now sweeping lightly over her stomach, the movement creating a warm friction against the silk of her dress. "I never expected to find someone like Beth."

"Yes," Javier spoke up, his lips twisted into something ugly underneath the polished veneer. "How exactly did you find Beth?"

"I've known the O'Brian family for years," Jason stated simply.

"And you knew about her?"

"Mr. Morgan has always been a discreet man," Beth's father stepped into the conversation. "He understood that I didn't want Beth exposed to this life, but you can't help who you fall in love with. I'm proud to welcome Jason into the family."

The Ruiz men narrowed their eyes at the insult her father just leveled at them and Beth once again shivered due to the tension in the room. The thinly veiled questions and insults, the rules and posturing, all of it was tedious and it made Beth's head ache. She hated that nobody spoke freely, although she wasn't sure she wanted to have any of the Ruiz men uncensored as frightening as they were.

"Yes," Manny opened his mouth for the first time. His voice was a soft, raspy whisper, but there was nothing gentle about the man; the voice was pure lethal ice. "Mr. Morgan seems like he'll be a dutiful son-in-law. Let's hope he's fortunate in having an equally dutiful wife. There's no questioning her beauty and connections."

Beth swallowed raggedly, feeling overwhelmed by the whole party, the pressure to not cause problems for Jason and Sonny's men, and now by the thinly veiled threats Manny Ruiz was making regarding her. She leaned heavily against Jason's side and was grateful that he pulled her tighter against him and shored her up.

"We wish you both all the happiness in the world," Manny stated as he stepped forward unexpectedly and kissed Beth's cheek. Then he dropped his voice so that only she could hear it, "For however long it lasts."

The only good thing about this moment was that Carly Corinthos was not present. She had been sent home by her husband, regardless of her protests and insistence that she be a part of the conversation. She was Jason's best friend, she claimed, and she should be present. She pointed out that Beth was going to be there, so she should get to come along as well. That's when Sonny had stepped out of the cluster of men, pulled her to the side and stated that she was going to go home. End of story. She was making a scene and embarrassing him and it was going to stop. Either she stopped causing so many problems or he was going to send her to the island and then she'd miss Jason's wedding all together.

The blonde had snapped her mouth shut at that point, but then her eyes filled up with tears as she pouted at her husband. Beth didn't think either of them realized she was close enough to hear their conversation, and she found herself feeling sorry for the wife who had so far treated her with nothing but rudeness. Nobody should be talked down to by anybody, let alone their husband. Yes, Carly Corinthos was caustic and brash, but there should have been a better way for Sonny to talk to her and convince her to go home. Something besides the overblown male posturing that afflicted this world by claiming she was an embarrassment to him.

But her momentary sympathy for the other woman was pushed aside as Beth was escorted from her father's house under heavy guard into a waiting limo with Jason. They were driven to the hotel that Jason and Sonny were staying at, and then whisked from the garage up the private elevator to the penthouse suite the men were renting until the wedding. She was in the car with Jason, Sonny, her father, Johnny and two guards from each organization. The normally spacious car was crowded with everyone, nobody was getting separated, and Beth knew from her few weeks' acquaintance that Carly Corinthos would have made the whole trip worse. At least for a brief moment Beth didn't have to put up with any talking.

She knew the noise and cacophony would begin soon enough. The Ruiz family's appearance at her engagement party, Manny's complete breach of etiquette combined with his threat - even if none of the men knew about it just yet - was going to cause everybody to regroup. She had the feeling it was going to be a long night, but all she wanted to do was crawl beneath her covers and go to sleep. For a month. All this trouble and fuss, it just didn't seem worth it. Especially the way it was affecting so many lives.

The elevator dinged softly and the polished doors opened into the opulent hotel suite. Two guards stepped out first and quickly scanned the area, then nodded, before heading off to do the complete sweep of the rooms. Jason touched her back lightly and Beth immediately propelled herself forward. The chivalry every man displayed with a bit laughable sometimes, given who they were and how they spoke to and treated the women around them. Apparently it didn't seem as inconsistent to them as it did to her, and so she knew that they expected her to enter the room first and would remain standing until she took a seat.

"Would anybody like anything to drink?" Sonny asked as he walked towards the wet bar at the side of the room.

"Bourbon, neat," her father declared imperiously.

"Whiskey," Johnny stated quietly as he moved towards the bar.

"Beth?"

She looked up, surprised by Sonny addressing her. She looked at him in puzzlement, and then wondered if he expected her to do the task of pouring or serving. When she took a step towards the bar, Jason took hold of her arm gently and shook his head. He directed her to a plush tan colored sofa in the living room and all but pushed her down until she was sitting on the soft material.

"Do you want anything to drink?" he asked her quietly.

When she shook her head, he frowned and then asked Sonny. "Is there any wine?"

The older man nodded and poured healthy dose of red liquid into a crystal goblet. He crossed the room and tried to hand it to Beth himself, but she stared at him in sluggish disbelief. She'd told him she didn't want anything to drink, why did he bring it? Why did Jason insist on it? When she didn't reach for it right away, Jason took it from Sonny, along with his beer and then turned to Beth.

"Here, you should have this," he said softly. "It will help."

She wanted to ask him help with what? The mess their lives were in? The fact that she, and he, had just been threatened by Manny Ruiz, the fact that she was being forced to marry a man who didn't love her, that he was being forced to marry one woman while in love with another, or that she was being ordered around by everybody and nobody listened to anything she said? What exactly was it supposed to help with? Instead, she swallowed all her anger and annoyance and reached dutifully for the glass of wine. He was going to insist she drink it and Beth knew that if she continued to refuse it, her father would begin insisting and she didn't want to create a scene that would come with his inevitable lecture.

Numbly she brought the glass to her lips and took a drink, only noting absently that the bouquet and taste were excellent. But then, she expected that Sonny Corinthos insisted on only the best.

After she'd taken a few sips of wine, Jason leaned forward and rubbed his hand over his mouth. "What...what did Manny say to you?"

She looked at him, along with every other man in the room, and he tugged at the collar of his shirt. "I know he said something when he kissed you. It was the reason he did it, as well as to rattle everyone. What did he say?"

She knew better than to resist his orders, and there was no mistaking the tone in his second question, and so she set the wine glass down on the glass-topped table in front of her. "'For however long it lasts.' He told me to enjoy our happiness for however long it lasts."

Jason's eyes darkened and her father shot from his seat with a vicious oath. Sonny, who was on his way back from the bar with his own drink, paused and then swallowed the contents all at once. "He threatened you at your own engagement party."

"You realize that we have to act," Johnny said, having remained silent until now.

"What do you suggest we do, John?" their father asked impatiently. "If we go after the Ruiz family, we could set a war into motion that could last for years with people dying, more than would be acceptable."

"So we should let him continue to threaten Beth, and now Jason?" he asked. "A war over territory would be acceptable to you, but one over my sister isn't?"

"Your sister is getting married," their father said, a placating, patronizing tone in his voice. "Her husband will take care of her."

"That would be rather hard for him to do if he's dead," Johnny stated bluntly. "Do you really think that Manny Ruiz won't try to create an accident, or hope for Jason to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and become collateral damage? If her husband dies, what happens to Beth? Will you accept her back under our protection? Or will you bow to pressure from the Ruiz family? Because you know that unless we deal with them, Manny will continue to come after Beth, especially if Jason is no longer in the picture."

"If Jason dies," Sonny stated around the rim of his glass, "Beth will remain under our protection. Family protects family."

Beth closed her eyes at Sonny's barb against her father. Always the posturing, always the preening, and all it served was to antagonize people.

"Look," Jason said, silencing the room. He placed his hand on the back of the couch behind Beth, and even though she was sitting straight - never slouch, it creates a bad impression her mother had instructed her - she could feel the heat emanating from his hand. "Talking about what ifs isn't going to solve anything. I agree with Johnny. Something needs to be done about the Ruiz family, especially Manny."

"I agree," Sonny chimed in, effectively outvoting her father. "Besides, once she and Jason are wed, we have a stronger bargaining tool. We're protecting a wife, not an illegitimate daughter."

Beth clenched her hands in her lap to stop their sudden trembling. She had always known her value wasn't very high, but to hear it stated so plainly was disconcerting. She supposed that she should at least be grateful Jason was willing to sacrifice himself to give her legitimacy.

"After the wedding, I'm going to call a meeting of the Five Families," Sonny announced. "We'll get the heads of Boston and Chicago involved, along with Manhattan, and we'll talk about what to do about the Ruiz family. We are not going to stand idly by and let Manny terrorize Beth, or Jason."

"I can take care of myself," Jason stated, and Beth fought hard not to roll her eyes at his sudden male ego that entered the fray.

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree," Sonny placated him. "But right now, you have a bigger target on your back than I do, especially with Manny Ruiz. From now on, you have a guard with you. And Beth has at least two. One from your organization, Patrick, and one from ours. At least until the wedding. And then we'll assign her a second guard."

"No," her father shook his head. "I will gift her with her own guard, someone who will transfer to your organization, if you will agree. I want Beth to have someone she knows and feels comfortable with as she makes this transition."

Sonny eyed Jason and when her fiancé nodded, Sonny inclined his head towards Patrick O'Brian. "That will be fine. We can discuss the details later."

"For now, I think we need to discuss the possibility of moving Beth to a different place before the wedding," Johnny suggested, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. "And possibly even moving the wedding."

"A week before?" her father asked, with a defiant shake of his head.

"Where do you suggest?" Sonny asked, not immediately dismissing her brother.

"I think the wedding should take place in Port Charles," Johnny stated. "But we let keep the plans for her, we just hand-deliver the changes. That way the Ruiz family thinks it's happening here in Long Island, and there's less of a chance for them to interrupt it."

"And where does your sister go?" their father demanded. "Since you seem to have thought of everything."

"I think she should go to Port Charles, with Jason and me."

"Here we are."

Jason unlocked the door and then stepped aside to let Beth and her brother inside. The O'Brian siblings stepped inside, one hesitantly, one confidently. Jason's focus wasn't on Johnny, though; the man was able to take care of himself well enough and would only be a houseguest for a week. It was Beth that consumed all of Jason's attention. She was quiet, and seemed to be doing everything she could to make herself small and invisible. Her shoulders were rolled forward, her arms were wrapped around herself and she was so small in her flat-heeled shoes that Jason was half afraid he'd trip over her. He really needed to get her brother away from her for five minutes so he could talk to her, but she was practically Super Glued to O'Brian's side.

"Not a whole lotta stuff," Johnny said as he looked around the penthouse. "And I should know better than to be surprised that you have a pool table instead of a dining table, but I am."

"Yeah," Jason replied as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't need a lot of stuff. Carly's always trying to redecorate the place, make it as gaudy as Sonny's, but I won't let her."

Beth looked at him curiously and seemed about to say something, but then turned away under the pretence of looking at the balcony through the door.

"The glass is bulletproof," he said, more to Johnny than anything else. "It's bulletproof in the bedrooms upstairs as well."

The O'Brian son nodded his approval, his gaze drifting over to Beth. "She understands. My father had bulletproof installed in her mother's house and then in her apartment when she moved out."

"The kitchen's through there," Jason said as Beth was walking a circuit of the room and passed by the entryway. "I probably need to send a guard shopping, there's not much on hand. I...do you cook?"

"I can cook a few things," Beth answered quickly, almost seeking his approval. "I'm teaching myself to do more. If you tell me what foods you like, I'll make sure to learn those recipes."

"I don't expect you to cook for me," he shook his head with a frown. "I can cook; I just don't do it very often. I'm busy and I either order delivery, or I get something while I'm out."

"Oh," she said, her mouth forming a perfect 'O', and her cheeks flushing slightly. "Right, I...I should have figured that out. But still...you, you should tell me so that I know so that we keep up appearances."

Then she all but fled into the kitchen leaving Jason and her brother behind. Turning to look at Beth's brother, he said, "What's going on with her?"

Johnny sighed and rubbed the back of his head wearily. "I don't know entirely. I know our father lectured her pretty sternly on her behavior the day she tried to sneak out."

Jason sighed and crossed the room to stand by the balcony doors. Folding his arms across his chest he shook his head, weighing the merits of saying something about the O'Brian patriarch.

"I don't approve of what he did, Jason," Johnny spoke softly, startling the enforcer out of his contemplations.

"I never knew about Beth's mother until he told me several months ago. I knew my parents weren't happy in their marriage, but I never knew the full truth about my grandfather's interference until this whole mess with the Ruiz family started. Beth and I...I've tried not to blame her for the mistakes of our father. It's not her fault that our father cheated on my mother, or didn't marry hers but instead turned her into his mistress. Beth's told me that when she found out the truth about the man she'd grown up calling her uncle...she was angry. Beyond angry. She was angry at her mother, she was angry at our father; she didn't want to have anything to do with him."

Johnny cast a glance over at the doorway to the kitchen and Jason found himself looking over his shoulder as well. Then the other man stepped forward and dropped his voice so that it wouldn't carry into Beth. "She told our father that he treated her mother like a whore, that the house and the living expenses and everything else were payments for sex. She asked how her mother was really any different than the prostitutes out on the street."

Jason sighed; that had to have been a painful conversation for her to have. Patrick O'Brian was an old school man, who believed that as long as his needs were taken care of and he was happy, then nothing else mattered. In some ways Sonny was like that, and Jason no more approved of that attitude in his friend than he did in the elder O'Brian. But Jason also understood it wasn't his place to judge them, or say anything, because they were the crime bosses and things were expected, and overlooked, because of their power. While Sonny knew that Jason didn't approve of the times he'd cheated on his marriage, Jason couldn't imagine saying anything to Patrick O'Brian.

"Beth and I talked about the kind of lives we wanted," Johnny continued. "I told her that I'd lost a little respect for my father when I found out what he'd done to my mother and I didn't want to become that kind of man. Beth said she'd never marry anyone like our father, so, Jason...I'm asking you for the sake of my sister, to please be discreet."

Jason's brows dipped down low in confusion. "Discreet?"

"When you go see your girlfriend," the other man continued. "We know that we disrupted your life, and we know that you don't love Beth, but we do believe you're an honorable man, so I'm asking you personally, please be discreet for Beth's sake. Don't have your girlfriend show up someplace that Beth could meet her, don't expose her to that kind of ridicule and humiliation. Hopefully this marriage won't last forever, and then it can be dissolved and you can return to your life if your girlfriend waits for you. But try to spare Beth in the process, okay?"

"Wait, wait," Jason shook his head. It was swimming with confusion and he was trying to get his bearings to ask how Johnny thought such things. "I don't-"

"Jason?"

Both men swung their heads around to look at Beth who was standing in the doorway, looking timid and unsure. Johnny cleared his throat and looked down flustered, and Jason could only gape at her until he caught himself and snapped his mouth shut. Did she think he had a girlfriend and would cheat on her?

"Oh," she said taking a step back. "I'm sorry, I interrupted. I'll just go back into the kitchen. I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation."

"No," Johnny said. "We were done. Right, Jason?"

He nodded mutely, and then cleared his throat. "Yes. It's fine. What...did you need something?"

She held up a piece of paper and shrugged uneasily. "I...I made a list of groceries that I would like, if that's okay?"

He swallowed and nodded. "Of course. This is going to be your home, Beth, so if you need anything, you don't have to ask my permission to get it, just tell me or the guards what you want. I want you to feel comfortable here. With Manny's threat, we have to take precautions and you won't be able to go out very much, I'm sorry about that."

She shook her head, "No, it's fine. I figured I wouldn't be able to go to the store, I just didn't know the procedure. But can I...if I need personal items, will the guards get those, too, or can I go out for those?"

"No," Jason coughed and wouldn't look at Johnny who seemed to turn a slight pink color. "We can arrange something. Let...let me show you the rest of the apartment."

Anything to distract both of them from the questions and details that pertained to her personal shopping. He knew about the facts of life, but it had been a while since he'd lived with a woman - or even dated anyone - and he forgot about all the little things they needed.

He led the O'Brian siblings up the stairs and down the hallway. He showed Johnny to the room that would be his for the week until the wedding. The only way Patrick had agreed to let Beth go to Port Charles and be placed under Jason and Sonny's protection was to keep up the appearances of propriety by having her brother there as chaperone. Jason thought it was a bit ridiculous considering the man had cheated on his own wife, but he knew that was simply the way things went and since he wanted Beth in the safety of the Towers with his people and his surveillance system instead of the O'Brian's unknown, but suspected inferior, one, he'd agreed.

Then he turned for the master bedroom and opened the door. "This will be your room, Beth."

She looked in the room, but refused to cross the threshold. "Is this...this is your room?"

"It is," he agreed and when she looked up at him with wide-eyed disbelief he hastily added, "but I'm moving to the one across the hall."

"Why?"

"Uh," he scratched the back of his neck. "I...I didn't think you'd expect to share a room with me."

She flushed crimson red instantly. "I don't," she said hotly. "I just...I mean, there's no need for you to move across the hall. Whatever room you have for me will be fine. I don't want to make you move or inconvenience you."

"You're not," he shook his head at her instant contriteness. "I'm offering. This room is larger and I figured you might like the view from the windows because they look out over the harbor. I don't need much space and can take the other room. The room that Johnny's in, I thought that after the wedding we could turn it into an art studio."

"An art studio?" Her voice was a surprised whisper.

"You said...you said you were an artist," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "That day back at the club. I just thought, given that you won't really know the town or anybody, and with the danger of the Ruiz family that you might like something to do, something you enjoyed, if you were going to be spending most of your time here."

"Oh," she nodded, her voice now sounding dull and flat. "Right. I suppose you'll also be gone a lot on business, and so I should find something to keep myself occupied. I know that hosting dinners for your associates will be Carly's job, but I will do whatever you need me to do in order to keep up appearances, Jason."

Jason sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. He looked at Johnny and jerked his head to the side, an unspoken command for the other man to leave. The O'Brian second-in-command faltered for just a moment, and then nodded, leaving quietly without Beth noticing.

"Beth," he said, placing his hand on her back and pushing lightly. She immediately complied and entered the room that she had been trying to avoid only moments before. It had to be her father's doing. Who knew what the elderly man had told her, tried to instill in her in the weeks before the engagement party. Combined with whatever Carly might have said to her and Jason knew he had to talk to her, clear up any confusions she might have. No, he didn't want someone like Carly who went off half-cocked all the time, stuck her nose into everything and only compounded an already bad situation, but he didn't want, or expect, Beth to be this docile little housewife. This wasn't the 1950s and that Leave It To Beaver junk that Robin used to watch late at night, and it wasn't The Stepford Wives that Sam had tried to explain to him. He knew it would be more convenient to keep Beth inside, especially while Manny was out there causing problems, but he did not intend to make her a prisoner. And he didn't want her to walk around trying to be as unobtrusive as possible always apologizing to him, or pretending that things were fine when they weren't. They needed to talk, and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to clear the air.

"Listen," he began, leaning against the dresser while she hovered uneasily by the bathroom door. "I know that this situation is hard on us all."

"I'm trying to do all that I can to not complicate your life any further," she hastened to say. "I know you'll be gone, I accept it and expect it. So, yes, having some art things will be fine. But we don't need to turn a room into a studio. When this is all over, and hopefully soon so you can get back to your life before I came in and wrecked it, there's no need for you to get stuck with a room you and your girlfriend won't have any need for."

She said the whole thing so fast that Jason could barely keep up with her, but he did pick up on the word girlfriend and he wanted to tell her that there wasn't anyone, despite what her father had undoubtedly told her. But his phone rang then, and when he looked at the display he swore when he saw Sonny's name appeared. Since his friend knew that Beth and Johnny were arriving today, something had to have happened to make Sonny interrupt.

"What?" he growled once he hit the talk button.

"Jason, we have a problem," Sonny said without preamble. "A delivery was just made to the warehouse. Manny Ruiz knows Beth's in Port Charles."

Beth Webber stood in her new bedroom and frowned. The master bedroom; Jason had given her the master bedroom. Why?

He claimed he didn't need a lot of space. Did that imply that she did? And since she'd sunk so low as to be a snoop and opened the door to her fiancé's room and had a peek at it, she knew that the bedroom across the hall wasn't that much smaller than this room. Was Jason being gallant and trying to make the transition easier on her by giving her the best room in the house? A part of her said she should be flattered that he'd made the gesture. He could have easily stuck her in the room he'd claimed for his own, or even downstairs in the maid's room. She certainly didn't expect a lot of special treatment, even if she would technically be his wife.

So why did he make the gesture? Jason Morgan was a mystery to her. She had expected all mobsters to be like her father and the few associates of his she'd met. Her brother never really talked much about the business, and when he talked about his personal life, aside from mentioning the fact that it was pretty much non-existent, he would state that he hoped to never treat a woman the way their father had treated his mother, or hers. She figured that his declarations were an anomaly in the world he and their father lived in; born from hurt at the secret the older man had kept from his son.

From her father's tutelage she'd learned that affairs, mistresses, even the occasional illegitimate child weren't that unusual. After all, marriages were about power and acquisitions, not love. Love was reserved for the mistresses. Wives were for show and children to carry on the family name. Like brood mares. So she'd believed that was what all marriages were like.

Until she met the people around Jason. Sonny Corinthos' marriage was nothing like she'd expected. Carly Corinthos was a brash, overbearing, interfering woman. But clearly her husband didn't like her behavior, and she'd heard a couple of her father's guards discussing the Corinthos marriage when they thought they were alone. It was rife with affairs on his part, interfering schemes and ultimatums on hers, and they'd been divorced and remarried several times. She wondered why they were together when it was obvious from the few things Beth had learned that Carly hadn't brought any territory or clear enhancement to the marriage.

That was when she realized that Sonny and Carly were a prime example of a marriage between people of clashing temperaments who seemed to bring out the worst in each other, but the sex was too good for them to stay away. Her mother had explained such situations to her; had actually used it to describe her relationship with Beth's father. They knew they were all wrong for each other, the relationship wasn't healthy or good for either of them, but when it was good, and the sex was amazing, they just couldn't help themselves. After that conversation Beth had showered until she ran out of hot water, hoping that by cleansing her outer body she might be able to cleanse her mind. Sonny and Carly Corinthos seemed to be exactly like her parents. Beth found herself feeling sorry for their children; to be stuck in a household where their parents fought, divorced, treated each other with disrespect. Children shouldn't have to live like that.

But Jason...Jason did not seem to fit into any mold. Seemed to shatter all her preconceived thoughts and notions.

His home was stark, unadorned and she had a hard time believing that his girlfriend hadn't added her own touches to the place. Maybe she had and the guards had been amazingly proficient in removing everything, or maybe Jason simply hadn't let her. It was hard to believe either scenario considering the short amount of time that had passed from the discussion in the hotel room where it was decided she and Johnny would go to Port Charles until they arrived, yet it was also hard to believe the latter option given the fact that he'd offered to turn one of the spare rooms into an art studio. He'd offered her anything she needed, she couldn't reconcile that offer to a man who wouldn't let a woman decorate how she wanted, or add a few of her own things. Then she remembered that he said he wouldn't let Carly redecorate his place, but maybe that was just because her decorating style was different from his. Maybe he only allowed things in that fit with the scheme already in place.

And what did it really matter anyways? It's not like she really cared. A prison was a prison, no matter how beautifully it was decorated. She would be locked up in this tower, kept safe and protected from Manny Ruiz, not allowed out unless under heavily guarded and carefully controlled situations. Jason would be allowed the freedom to come and go because he was a man, and even though his boss had told him he would have a guard, Beth fully believed that Jason would order the man away at times. Probably when he headed off to see his girlfriend.

It was the thought of Jason's girlfriend that deepened Beth's frown. She looked at the king size bed dominating the room and sighed. She knew it was ridiculous, considering she slept at hotels whose mattresses were more unsanitary than the one before her, but she did not like the idea at all of sleeping in a bed where Jason had slept with his girlfriend.

Approaching the bed as if it were a nuclear bomb, Beth gingerly sat down on it. And smiled. It was hard a rock. She hated firm mattresses, her brother knew that; he'd gone shopping with her one day in an attempt at sibling bonding and it just so happened that she'd been shopping for a new bed for her apartment. After two hours in the store where she tested every mattress and then waffled for a good thirty minutes between two that he couldn't tell any difference between, he had declared her too picky for his tastes. But she now had the perfect excuse to get rid of this bed and ease her mind. If she had to be stuck in this situation, at least she wouldn't have to sleep in a bed where Jason and his girlfriend had had sex.

Problem solved, Beth checked the dresser and closets and was surprised to see that they were empty. Apparently the guards had been busy as they'd traveled up from Long Island. At least she didn't have to worry about moving Jason's things so she could unpack her own. When she was done with two bags she'd brought, she sighed and looked around. There was a distinct lack of things to do here, and with Jason and her brother gone, she felt isolated and lost. She figured she'd better get used to it though, because Jason wasn't marrying her for companionship and certainly wouldn't think it was his job to entertain her. He had his work, he had his friends, and he had someone else to keep him company. She would be expected to stay quiet, to stay out of the way, and to find ways to keep herself busy without bothering others.

"Jason?"

She turned at the sound and sighed in exasperation. She'd rather be alone than have to deal with Carly Corinthos.

"Jason?" The voice was getting closer and Beth stepped out of her bedroom only to see Carly coming up the stairs. "Jason? Where are you?!"

"He's not here," she informed the other woman quietly.

Carly froze in the hallway, glaring at Beth. "What are you doing in Jason's room?"

Angling her chin up slightly she informed the mob boss' wife, "It's my room now."

The blonde's eyes widened and she marched forward looking not unlike a hippo on stilts. "What?! Are you serious? Listen, honey, your mother may have been nothing more than a little slut who charmed your father into her bed so she could get pregnant and try to trap him, but Jason is smarter than that. Do you really think he plans to sleep with you? This is nothing more than a marriage of convenience to save your sorry butt because your father is too weak and too stupid to protect you like he should."

A perfectly manicured finger was shoved into Beth's face as Carly continued, "You've got another thing coming if you think I'm going to let you take advantage of this situation and try to do the same thing to Jason. Jason isn't going to sleep with you, who knows what he might catch. Besides, Jason deserves to have a family with someone infinitely superior than you; someone who will love him and treat him the way he deserves to be treated."

With a triumphant smirk at Beth's pale face, Jason's friend went for the final blow, "You know that when Manny Ruiz is taken care of, because Jason and Sonny will take care of him unlike your worthless father, that Jason will divorce you and toss you out of his life with the rest of the garbage. You'll be exactly where you belong; not here. When you're gone, Jason will have his family with him and I intend to do everything I can to make sure that you don't sink your claws into him so he feels obligated to continue to take care of you."

Beth swallowed and counted to ten in her head. Because she still felt like scratching the other woman's eyes out, she counted to ten again, and then went on to twenty. In French. Finally, when she trusted herself to speak without causing a serious breach between her and Sonny Corinthos who was being kind and generous enough in offering her protection, she lifted her chin and said, "Get out of my house."

"Your house?" Carly scoffed. "This isn't your house, this is Jason's house. You're nothing more than an unwanted long-term guest."

"Whether you like it or not, I will be his wife."

"In name only."

"Be that as it may," she said carefully, controlling the urge to slap the woman before her, "this is my home now. Jason told me to make myself comfortable, to get whatever I need, and that I feel at home here. In order to do those three things, I need you to be gone."

"You can't kick me out of Jason's life," the blonde shook her head menacingly. "Better women than you have tried and all of them have failed. None of them ever been able to come between me and Jason and you're a naïve little girl to think that you are anything special. I will always be first in Jason's life, and nobody will ever take that place."

Sick realization hit Beth's stomach, but she shoved it down. Instead, she pushed past Carly and headed down the stairs. She knew the other woman would follow her and that was what she wanted. When she reached the first floor, she turned for the door and opened it, surprising her guard.

"Ms. O'Brian, did you need something? Mr. Morgan asked that you remain here for now."

"I know that," she smiled at the man. He was the guard Jason said he would assign to her, but she didn't know him or feel comfortable with him and could only hope that he'd support her on her request. "I actually need your help."

"With what?" he asked, looking over her shoulder and no doubt seeing Carly Corinthos.

"I would like you to escort Mrs. Corinthos home, please," she stated. "And then I'd like to speak to you, afterwards."

The guard, Francis, seemed confused, but he nodded his head and looked expectantly behind Beth. "Mrs. Corinthos."

"Like I want to stay here with the Girl Scout," the blonde snorted and flounced out of the room and back to her own home.

Beth left the door open and went and sat down on the leather couch. When Francis came back she intended to ask him that if Jason wasn't home, she would prefer not to have to deal with Carly. While she wouldn't ask her fiancé to give up his relationship with her now or when they were married, she had no desire to have to deal with his mistress any more than she absolutely had to.

Jason didn't know what to do. It wasn't a feeling he liked, and because he currently lived in that feeling, he was ready to come out of his skin.

He'd never really been a man to contemplate marriage. He'd always figured his lifestyle, being an enforcer to Sonny, being the one to execute orders and carry out killings, was not very conducive to having a wife. Girlfriends were still tricky, but different. A wife would expect his honesty; a wife would expect his fidelity and his allegiance to her and a family they might create. The fidelity wasn't just in terms of extramarital affairs, he could not condone those in others, he would not participate in one himself, but in making her a priority. He couldn't envision pledging his life to someone knowing that his priorities to Sonny, his safety and the business would take precedence. How could he ask someone to pledge her whole life to him when he couldn't give all of himself in return?

He had always believed he'd be single until he met a premature death due to the inherent hazards of his lifestyle. But now he was engaged and in less than a week would be a husband. No, it wasn't a traditional marriage. He wasn't in love with his wife-to-be, but she wasn't in love with him. It was a marriage for protection, which brought the added bonus of territory and power. But Jason was already feeling a shift inside himself. And it was because of his fiancée.

Beth Webber had evoked emotions in him he wasn't used to feeling. He'd believed himself in romantic love before, had definitely experienced his fair share of carnal lust and physical delights, and he knew the love for family members. He loved his grandmother, his mother, and his sister, as well as the two little boys who called him Uncle Jason. He felt a solidarity that went beyond business to Sonny, considered him a mentor, a father figure and his brother. He also considered Carly his friend. Yes, it was a complicated relationship, and sometimes she aggravated him more than she pleased him, but he really couldn't imagine her not being a part of his life. But Beth was different.

First he was annoyed at getting blindsided, but then his natural instinct to protect kicked in. It wasn't her fault Manny Ruiz was coming after her. He wouldn't let anyone get hurt by the psychotic man. However, things were changing. He found himself not feeling sorry for her, or pitying Beth, but feeling sympathy for her situation. Her whole life had been tossed into a blender and someone pressed the puree button. She was having her whole life arranged and was getting very little, if any, say in it. Her father treated her like she wasn't there, or ignored her when she tried to speak. Johnny did what he could, in his own way, to speak up for her situation, but Johnny was just as trapped by the constraints of the world they lived in, combined with Patrick O'Brian's narrow-mindedness. While Johnny attempted to help his sister, he wasn't always able to manage it. That was why, Jason knew, Johnny had talked to him about being discreet for Beth's sake.

It appeared the whole O'Brian family expected Jason to marry Beth, parade her around on his arm to all the appropriate places, and then sneak off and visit his girlfriend for his personal pleasure. The thought sickened him, even as he told himself he shouldn't be completely offended by the sentiment when so many others, including Sonny, behaved that way. Nobody would have any idea of Jason's personal held beliefs because there had never been an occasion for them to be made public. Jason didn't know how to convey the truth of the situation to Beth without appearing that he was insulting her father and passing judgment on the man. While he knew she didn't have the best relationship with Patrick, he was still her father.

He had to talk to her about that, though, because he found that he didn't want her thinking that he would shame her, or dishonor her in any way by having a mistress. He was also determined to find out what exactly Carly had talked to her about. For reasons that he couldn't entirely explain, but didn't dismiss because he trusted his instincts - especially as they pertained to Carly, he suspected that Carly had tried to be helpful in her own way and given Beth instructions on how to behave. Jason suspected that Carly's motives weren't entirely altruistic, considering how she'd behaved towards the women in Jason's life before. Her helpful tips on how to deal with the mob lifestyle had actually been self-serving to ensure that whenever Carly called the women wouldn't object when Jason went running to take care of her crisis.

If that was the only problem facing Jason, he would consider it enough on his plate. Because he knew that eventually he was going to have to talk to Carly, lay down, and enforce some ground rules, and he might have to talk to Sonny and get him to rein in his wife. It wasn't something Jason looked forward to having to do, despite knowing it was going to have to happen.

Unfortunately, Jason was facing a much bigger problem than trying to convince his wife he wasn't going to cheat on her in their marriage of convenience and force his supposed best friend to accept his marriage and that things were going to be different. Manny Ruiz was proving to be even more out of control than anything had ever indicated before. He brazenly showed up at Jason and Beth's engagement party, in Patrick O'Brian's home, taunted everybody by kissing the bride-to-be, and while doing that threatened her and Jason. And now...now he knew that Beth was in Port Charles when they had hoped they might be able to keep her location under wraps. Combine to that the fact that Manny had just ruined their entire coffee shipment and Jason was in a decidedly foul mood.

"I've got to call my father," Johnny said as he appeared at Jason's side. "Let him know what happened."

Jason nodded, remaining silent as the foreman and several guards worked their way through the warehouse and the crates of coffee that had been unloaded only hours before. The warehouse workers had been dismissed and sent home, with pay, and a bonus would be added to their paychecks to keep them from saying anything.

"I don't understand how he did it, though," Johnny continued. "Malcolm was in the lead car with Francis. They got to your building, checked in and then Francis said he was going to go check in at the hotel. He didn't arrive that long before we did. How did Manny grab him and do...this?"

This.

A nice, sterilized euphemism for the death and dismemberment of the O'Brian Family guard that Patrick had decided to make part of Beth's dowry. His foot had been found in the first crate of coffee beans opened, his head in the third. The delivery hadn't arrived outside the normal parameters of time, which meant that Manny had moved quickly, somehow hijacked the shipment without them knowing about it, and then delivered his message right to their warehouse. Either Manny was very good, or he had someone inside the Corinthos and/or O'Brian organizations.

The thought did not sit well with Jason or Sonny, and Johnny looked like he was either going to explode with anger or collapse with fear for his sister.

"I don't know how he did it," Jason said, his voice slow, measured and lethal. "But it's too close. He followed us, or we have a leak somewhere in our organization and that's unacceptable. It also means that Beth is in more danger than we realize."

"We'll put more guards on the building," Sonny immediately told him in an attempt to assure him. "We've got the building wired for surveillance, your guy Spinelli took care of it. We'll pull in all the guys we need to, watch all the entrances and exits, we'll put someone outside and inside your place. We'll keep her safe."

"We need to meet with the Families," Jason said with an insistent shake of his head.

"We will," his friend agreed. "I've had Benny start making the calls. After the wedding, we're meeting with all the heads."

"I'm not waiting until after the wedding," he disagreed. "I'm not giving Manny a week to continue to terrorize us, taunt us and try to get closer to Beth."

"Jason," Sonny cautioned. He cast an almost apologetic glance towards Johnny as he said, "She needs to be your wife. We can't call in a favor when she's just Patrick's daughter."

"I know," Jason growled, angered at the ridiculous structure and rules the Families ascribed to. Beth was in danger. Manny Ruiz was threatening her. What difference did it make if she was just Patrick O'Brian's daughter, Jason's fiancée, or his wife? A woman's life was at stake. Didn't that count for anything?

He'd made a decision standing here tonight, and he knew that there would be fights on it, but he felt it was the best way. "That's why we need to get married tonight."

"Tonight?" Johnny asked. "We can't get everybody here."

"We're not going to have everybody here," Jason shook his head. "We can still have a reception later, for all the families and associates, but we're not postponing the wedding. If the Families will only agree to meet to discuss the situation if Beth is my wife, then we make her my wife. We'll call Father Thomas, have him come over to the penthouse. You and the guards will be the witnesses, Johnny will give her away; we'll take care of it tonight."

"What about Carly?" Sonny asked.

"She's not coming," Jason said with a shake of his head. "I don't want to put up with the headache she's going to cause. She's already complaining enough as it is, I don't feel like wasting time trying to explain to her what's going to happen. I'll just tell her when it's already over. If she's unhappy..."

He trailed off with a shrug and figured that maybe this would be the first step in convincing Carly that she didn't run his life.

"What about my father?" Johnny asked.

"There's no time to wait for him," Jason shook his head. "We need to get this done as soon as possible because we need to call the Families. Besides...I don't think...she'll have you there."

"Alright," he nodded. "I agree that under the circumstances, we need to move up the timetable. In the absence of my father I will stand in for him."

"I'll call Father Thomas," Sonny said as he pulled out his cell phone. "I'll call Francis and have him step up the security at the Towers and tell him that the Father will be stopping by."

"I'm going to go speak to Beth," Jason said, his shoulders tensing slightly.

He'd wanted to talk to her about her father, about Carly, about her assumptions regarding him, but there just wasn't any time right now. They needed to get married as soon as they could, so that she was afforded all the rights and protections that came with being his wife. Then he would need to meet with the guards about the security; he wasn't going to just leave it to others, he needed to oversee this personally. Then hopefully Benny could set up an emergency meeting with the Families and they could discuss the situation with Manny Ruiz. Somewhere in all of that, he was going to have to get a few hours of sleep. When was he going to get the chance to talk to Beth?

He didn't like having to leave her there, trapped in his home, but there wasn't any other option. As he walked out to the car and climbed in so the guard Sonny insisted he have could drive him home, he pulled out his cell phone and called one of his men.

"Richie," he clipped out when the man picked up. He didn't have time to waste, so it was good that the men were trained to follow orders without explanation. "Listen, I need you to do something for me and then meet me at my penthouse. Find an art supply store that's open, or bribe an owner to let you in if you have to. But I need you to get some things."

He figured the least he could do if he was going to have to take off on his new bride was to at least get her a present for their wedding.

Beth sat on the edge of the bed in her room and sighed as she looked down at her fingers twined together in her lap. Her engagement ring was missing from her finger and she found herself lamenting its absence. She had become accustomed to the feel of it around her finger and she kept startling herself when she went to run her thumb over the cool metal band only to discover it wasn't there. It was on the mantle in the living room, ready to be returned to her finger once the wedding ceremony was over and her wedding band had been slid into place. At this moment, Jason was talking to the priest who had come to officiate their ceremony, and she had come upstairs to get dressed.

Her wedding dress wasn't here, so she'd picked out the nicest dress she'd brought with her, chosen a necklace to wear and Johnny promised her that she'd have flowers by the time the ceremony started. Even if he had to dig them up from someone's garden. She'd told him not to do that, there was no need for anything like that. It didn't matter if she had roses or the dried flowers from the vase in the downstairs' bathroom; it's not like she'd look back at this day and see it for anything but what it truly was. The night Jason married her so he had better leverage when talking to his associates to arrange her protection. Her wedding wasn't about love, it was a business arrangement. There wasn't any reason to pretend it was otherwise.

The expected knock came on her door and Johnny called softly from the hallway, "Beth, can I come in?"

"Sure, Johnny," she answered dispiritedly.

Her brother opened the door and peaked his head around it, then smiled sadly when he saw her sitting there. She stood and smoothed down the skirt of her dress, "Are they ready to start?"

"In a minute," he told her as he crossed the room. "You look beautiful, Beth."

She smiled wryly and looked away. "Thanks for trying to raise my spirits, Johnny. But-"

"No," he shook his head. "You are, Beth. You're a very beautiful woman. When our father first told me about you and we met, I remembered thinking, 'I'm going to have to check out every guy who wants to date her' because I knew men would be flocking to you in droves."

"Yeah," she said on a huff. "Because of who Dad is."

"No, because you're beautiful, Elizabeth."

She looked at him, surprised to hear her full name. She'd always just been Beth, unless her mother was upset and lecturing her.

"I know that this day, and this whole situation sucks. I know that. When I asked Jason that day to marry you, I didn't want to. I didn't want to force my baby sister into a marriage where she'd be unhappy. I wanted you, I'd hoped, that you would have the marriage our parents never had, that I wouldn't. I know Dad wants me to get married, and he expects me to do what he did, find a wife who combines territory or brings a lot of money into the family and makes us seem legitimate. I've tried resisting it as long as I could, but I know that one day I'm going to have to get married. I hope I can love her, or at least respect her more than our dad respected my mother. But you, because you hadn't grown up in this life, I hoped you'd get to have what I never would."

"Johnny," she whispered, tears threatening her composure.

"Hopefully, when this is all over, you'll be able to find that. I'm glad at least," he said, "that Jason is a good man who will treat you decently. He won't hit you, and he won't yell at you, he won't demean you...he'll treat you with respect. That's one of the things I've always been impressed with about him."

Beth licked her lips and wondered what her brother would say if she told him that this honorable man was sleeping with Sonny Corinthos' wife. That he was making a cuckold of his boss and supposed friend. She couldn't imagine that Johnny would be forgiving about such a revelation. Any other woman but the mob boss' wife would be acceptable for Jason to have an affair with, but not a situation that could expose his boss to ridicule or threaten the stability of the organization. While she was disgusted by the adulterous pair, she wasn't going to expose them because Jason didn't have to agree to marry her and she wasn't going to repay him by exposing his affair.

"I think I might have been wrong about him," her brother continued, startling her.

"Wh-what?"

"I don't think that Jason will shame you by having a mistress. The guy has always had the reputation of living like a monk, except for a few girlfriends but nothing recent, and I always thought it was show. But I...I spoke to him. Asked him to be discreet, to consider your feelings on how he acted, and he seemed, he seemed insulted. Not that I talked about it, but that I'd even think he would do that. He didn't say it, but I think he was about to."

Johnny smiled, a bit relieved and said, "I'm glad, for your sake, Beth. I don't think you'll have to worry about it."

"I wouldn't be so sure," she said as she turned away.

"What?"

"I believe Jason does have a girlfriend. I don't know what he plans to do after we get married, but I don't expect him to not go see her. I've expected it; I've had a couple of weeks to come to terms with it."

Johnny came to stand in front of her and furrowed his brow, "A couple of weeks? Jason said something to you?"

Her eyes widened as she vigorously shook her head. "No! And I would never ask him. It was Carly. The day I first met her...she let me know how she felt about me and told me quite plainly that I was messing up Jason's life and his being with his real family. She...she's his best friend, so she should know, right? She should know if he has a girlfriend."

Her brother swallowed and sighed. "Yeah, she would. Oh, Beth, I'm sorry. I hoped-"

"Please don't tell me you hoped that because Jason didn't have a girlfriend that he and I would somehow fall in love during this marriage of convenience," she said on a strangled laugh.

"No," he shook his head. "No, I don't believe in clichés or fairytales any more than you do. I'd just hoped that you wouldn't have to suffer through the mortification, or the belief, that people were whispering behind your back because of your husband's infidelity."

She gave a strained shrug and said, "I doubt I'll be seeing anybody, really. The only person I'll probably see will be Carly and she already knows and she already hates me and she had no problems letting me know that every time she sees me, so it's no big deal."

"What do you mean?" Johnny pressed. "What has Carly been saying to you?"

"Nothing more than the truth, Johnny," Beth tried to deflect him. "Don't worry about."

"I will if my associate's wife is disrespecting my sister," he snapped, his temper beginning to rise.

"Johnny, there is no reason for you to say anything to Sonny Corinthos and I don't plan on saying anything to Jason. This marriage isn't real, it's not going to last very long, hopefully, and there is no reason to strain relations over some crazy woman's insecurities and petty jealousies when I don't plan on having any contact with her once it's all over." She walked away from her brother, slipped on her shoes and turned back to him with a pointed determination to end the conversation and get on with the travesty that needed to take place. "Now, are you ready to escort me down the aisle?"

Johnny didn't look happy to be ending their discussion, but thankfully he let it go and put on his best smile for her. "It would be my pleasure, little sister."

She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and together they left her bedroom and headed downstairs. When they reached the landing, the priest caught sight of them and signaled to Jason and Sonny. Both men turned and watched her as she descended the stairs and walked towards Jason as he stood in front of the fireplace. Beth was surprised that Carly wasn't there, only Sonny and several of the guards, but then she figured that Jason wouldn't want his mistress around as he got married. She was thankful for little favors.

It didn't bother her that her mother wasn't there, or her father. They both had made a mockery of his marriage, and while she herself was entering into a sham of one, at least all parties involved knew it. Mrs. O'Brian never had, and Johnny never suspected his father was being unfaithful to his mother. Beth had known that her father had another family, but she'd never asked what their names were or how old they were. She never expected to meet them and she didn't want to know anymore about them beside the fact that they existed. Getting to know Johnny, both of them trying not to take their anger towards their father out on the other, and actually forging a relationship had been an occurrence she had never expected.

Having him at her wedding, him being the person to give her away, even though it was all just a joke, helped make up for the fact that it wasn't real. She really felt that her brother cared about her; her as his sister because he liked her, not just because he had to or it was expected of him. He had become her friend, in fact he was her only friend, and even though she was keeping Jason and Carly's secret from him, she was touched by the fact that he'd cared enough about her to speak to Jason on her behalf. He could have just stayed silent, like everyone else in this world seemed to do, but he didn't. He showed his concern and caring, and she would forever love her brother for that.

They reached the fireplace and the priest smiled kindly at her, and then Jason and began the ceremony. It wasn't ornate, it wasn't elaborate, they didn't write their own vows, it was simple and functional, and when the priest told pronounced them man and wife and told Jason to kiss his bride, she felt just as numb then as she had when it all began. None of this seemed real; it was all just the motions they had to go through. So she pursed her lips, accepted Jason's brief peck, and then turned to sign the marriage license so Sonny's lawyer could go file it.

Sonny walked the priest to the door, paying him for coming over so late at night and performing the service. Beth smiled as he called out his blessings to her and Jason and then turned away when the door closed behind him. Jason rolled his shoulders, hooked his finger in his tie and stripped it off like it was offensive and then crossed the room to his desk. He picked up the phone to make a call and she turned to face into the fireplace as she reached up to get her engagement ring off the mantle. As she slipped it into place, she gazed into the crackling flames and wondered what she was supposed to do now. Should she head upstairs so the men could discuss business?

"Thank you," Jason murmured and then hung up the phone. He turned to Sonny and placed his hands on his hips. "Benny says that the heads of Boston and Chicago have agreed to fly in tomorrow afternoon."

"Good," his friend breathed out. "Johnny, did you talk to your father?"

Her brother nodded, "I told him we were having the wedding tonight and he's speaking to the head of Manhattan, and the two of them should arrive tomorrow as well."

"Now we can discuss what to do about Manny," Sonny declared. "He's got to be pulled into line and hopefully the Families will agree."

"I hope so," her brother stated, sounding more forceful than he had been in all their meetings before this. "It's time that they step up and agree to protect Beth."

Sonny looked over at her, and spoke to her even as he was answering her brother. "They will. We won't let anything happen to Beth."

Then he smiled and clapped his hands together. "Well, I think that we should all try to get some sleep before the meeting. I've got to get back before Carly comes over and starts snooping."

"I'm going to head to the hotel," Johnny stated as he came towards her, his arms held out in a hug.

"You're leaving?" she asked, surprised and a bit distressed.

"You're married now, Beth," he said with a grin. "You don't need your big brother hanging around your house now."

He gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead, and then crossed the room. He stopped in front of Jason and held out his hand, but his manner was less warm than it was with her. "I thought you were honorable," he said cryptically. "Don't let me down."

And then he, Sonny and the guards left the room, leaving her along with Jason. Her husband. She rubbed her hands over her arms and licked her lips. "I...I guess I'll go upstairs. It's been a long day and I'm tired."

"Beth," he said, stopping her in her tracks. "I'd like to talk to you. About the girlfriend you think I have."

Beth Webber-Morgan looked like she would rather be anywhere else than in their living room right now. Especially talking to Jason. He wasn't exactly looking forward to this conversation either, but he didn't want her believing something that wasn't true and was obviously hurting her.

"I...I don't think," she stammered and tried to extract herself from the situation.

"Yes, you do," he sighed. "I'm not angry, I don't know what exactly your father said, but I got an idea from Johnny. It's clear you believe I'll be like your father and have a mistress."

Spots of red, whether from anger or embarrassment Jason wasn't sure, appeared on her cheeks and she crossed her arms over her chest. She refused to look at him and she had her mouth pressed tightly closed, so he ran his hand over his face and then rubbed the back of his neck as he continued. "I don't have a girlfriend."

When she still didn't speak and wouldn't even look at him he sighed. "You don't believe me."

"It doesn't really matter what I believe," she said quietly. "It's really none of my business."

"None of your business?" he asked in disbelief. "You're my wife."

"In name only," she pointed out. "And I know that this all just got dumped in your lap and I never expected you to completely change and alter your life to accommodate something you didn't want. I figured you were dating someone and figured you would just continue seeing her."

"Because that's what your father did?"

She drew her lips in between her teeth and chewed them. "Yes, and because that's what happens in this lifestyle."

"Because your father told you that?"

She nodded, then said, "And because that's what Carly told me."

His eyebrow went up, "Carly told you I had a girlfriend?"

"Not in those words," she shook her head. "But she told me that I was messing up your life, that I was taking you away from your real family, and I understood what she was trying to tell me."

"Oh man," he sighed and scrubbed both hands over his face. This was more complicated than he thought.

"I took that to mean you had a girlfriend, but then when you left earlier tonight I figured out what she meant."

Jason tipped his head to the side and narrowed his eye in question. "What do you mean?"

"Is Sonny aware?"

"Aware of what?"

"Is...is one of them yours?"

"One of what?" he insisted. His frustration was rising and he knew he needed to rein it in, but she wasn't making any sense and she didn't seem to want to listen to him and combined with everything else that had happened tonight, it was getting to him. "Why don't you just stop speaking in riddles and talk to me?"

Her head snapped around and her eyes were filled with loathing and disgust as she spat at him, "Does Sonny know that you're having an affair with his wife? And is one of her children actually yours? Because that's what she meant, right? When she said I was taking you away from your real family? She was upset that I would be spending time with you, that you would have less time for her and your son."

His hands fell limply to his side and he stared at her. He heard her words, even understood them, but he was having a hard time processing them and forming a response. She thought he was sleeping with Carly.

"I'm not having an affair with Carly," he finally got out as he leaned against his desk, letting the wood support him. "I wouldn't do that because of Sonny."

"If she wasn't married to Sonny you would be sleeping with her?"

"No," he said hotly and Beth blinked and took a step back. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before stating again, softer this time, "No. I...I need a drink because this is complicated and going to take a while. Do you want anything?"

She tilted her head to the side for a moment, seeming to appraise him and the situation and then said, "Tequila if you have any. Somehow I feel like I'm going to need it."

"You and me both," he laughed humorlessly as he opened his wet bar and extracted a bottle and two shot glasses. Both of them approached the couch and she sat half a length away from him and waited for him to pour the golden liquid.

After they'd downed their first shots, Jason let out a breath and wiped the corners of his mouth.

"I once was involved with Carly," he said in explanation. "It was a long time ago, and it ended. She wanted different things out of life, wanted me to be someone other than who I was. She wanted fancy clothes and expensive houses and wanted to be seen at the best places in town and around the world. She liked that I had money, wanted to spend it extravagantly, and I didn't care about the money so I let her. But she was never happy and she always wanted more and I got tired of her constantly pressuring me to be different. My family had done that to me and I got tired of her acting the same way."

He poured them another round and this time was a little slower in reaching for his drink. "We ended things, but she...she kept hoping I'd change my mind. And when I tried to date other women, she didn't like it."

"Was she still single?" Beth asked.

"No, she married Sonny shortly after we broke up, I think she started dating him to make me jealous, but it didn't work. And then she got pregnant with Michael and Sonny insisted that they get married and so they did."

"She didn't want to marry him, did she?"

Jason shook his head. "I think she was hoping I'd come in and rescue her, but she was having Sonny's child and I didn't love her the way she wanted me to. Sonny loves her, even if sometimes she's difficult."

Beth looked down into her drink and then quickly slammed it back, coughing a little as the liquid burned a fiery trail down her throat. "At our engagement party, after the Ruizes left, I heard him talking to her. I don't think they knew I could hear, and I...I felt sorry for her. He told her she was embarrassing him and threatened to send her away. I...I didn't like the way he talked to her."

"I don't like it when he talks to her that way either," Jason admitted. "But sometimes that's the only way she'll listen to anybody. She'll push and push and ignores what she doesn't want to hear until finally she gets threatened, or the person gets really angry and then she backs off and acts sorry, but it's all just a game she plays."

Reaching out, Beth grabbed the bottle off the table and filled both their glasses once more. "Why are you friends with her, then?"

Jason blew out a breath through his nose and leaned back against the couch. "I had an accident years ago. My brother was drunk, I got in the car to stop him and he crashed. I hit my head and woke up not remembering who I was before and different. That's when I started to work for Sonny, and I met Carly. She didn't know who Jason Quartermaine had been, and she liked Jason Morgan, and I...I didn't really know much except that she was pretty and I liked spending time with her."

Her cheeks flushed once more and Jason knew it wasn't the alcohol. "You mean you liked having sex with her."

"Yeah," he admitted. "I had to learn everything all over again after my accident and Carly was there and she was nice and didn't pressure me at first. Then when it changed and I told her I didn't want to see her anymore it was difficult. She didn't want to accept it, and that's when I think she started flirting with Sonny hoping I'd want her back."

"So," Beth drew out, not looking at him and rolling the shot glass between her palms. "You're still friends with her because she won't go away?"

"It's not quite that simple," Jason shook his head. "She's my friend's wife, and there are times that Carly...I believe she really wants to help me. But-"

"Quite frankly, Jason," Beth cut in, after swallowing her shot, "I think she acts this way because she still wants you all to yourself. She told me she got rid of your other girlfriends and that when Manny Ruiz was taken care and there wasn't any more danger, she'd make sure she got rid of me too. That's why I thought you were sleeping with her. She marched in here without knocking and got in my face when she saw me coming out of your old bedroom."

She poured another round of shots for them and shakily set the bottle down on the coffee table. Jason reached out and capped it, before setting it down on the floor. The alcohol was loosening Beth's tongue and she was saying things Jason didn't think she would say otherwise, not after the quiet, meek mouse routine she'd been displaying for the past several weeks. But he didn't want her to get drunk and wake up with a hangover tomorrow morning.

"What else did she say?" Jason asked. Part of him felt bad asking the question because he wondered if Beth really knew what he was saying or what she was responding and he felt almost as if he were taking advantage of her. But he also felt that this was his best chance of getting answers she would normally be reluctant to honestly share with him.

"She's told me that I'm lucky you've agreed to marry me given that I'm an illegitimate bastard; I'm also not good enough for you because of it. My father is weak because he can't take care of me and had to rely on you and Sonny. Most of it," she shrugged, her posture much more casual and relaxed from the four shots she'd had in the past twenty minutes, "was all about how she'd make sure that once this was all over I would be out of your life permanently. She told me she wouldn't let me sink my claws into you so you'd stay with me."

Jason wanted another drink, but he didn't want to bring the bottle back to Beth's notice. Carly was once again up to her old tricks. Thinking she could control his life, make sure that other women knew they'd always be second to her, and pushing away everything she considered a threat to her. She had a relationship with Jason built up in her mind and he was so tired of trying to fight her on it, but he knew he had to. He'd tried to explain to her that just because he had a girlfriend didn't mean they couldn't still be friends, but Carly was never happy with halfway. She wanted Jason's complete and undivided attention. Well, it wasn't going to happen this time.

He wasn't going to let Carly's petty insecurities interfere with what had to happen here. Manny Ruiz and the rest of his family had to be dealt with. Not only for Beth's safety but for the stability of the ties between the organizations. Jason had to be focused on that and not constantly fending off Carly. Beth was the victim here, not Carly, and he wasn't going to let her be bullied around by someone who really had no stake in the game. Yes, Jason would protect Carly's safety because she was Sonny's wife and getting rid of the Ruizes would make her safer, but how Jason went about that, and what happened with Beth had nothing to do with Carly.

Jason knew that once the threat was gone, there would be no need to remain married to Beth and that this situation was only temporary. But perhaps this was the chance to start making Carly realize that she didn't run his life, that she couldn't keep making things difficult for him, because one day he would meet another person he wanted to date and he wasn't going to have Carly ruin that for him again.

"I'm sorry that Carly said those things to you," he told Beth. "She doesn't like any woman that's in my life and she does these things, trying to shove them out."

"Yeah?" Beth asked. "Well, maybe it's time you shoved back just a bit yourself. You don't sound like you approve of what she does; you don't sound like you're happy about it, so why do you let her get away with it?"

"Because sometimes it's easier than fighting her," he admitted.

"I never pegged you for a coward, Jason," she said bluntly. "I never figured you'd take the easy way out of something just because you didn't want to deal with a situation, but I guess I was wrong. Well, I know that it probably won't make you happy and you'd rather I just stay in the background-"

"No," Jason interrupted. "I don't want you to act like you have been. This isn't...I don't expect you to act like your father might have told you you should, or like how you think you need to for my sake. I want you to just be you. And so if you want to say something, say it. If you don't like something, tell me. I don't want you to ditch your guards or try to sneak out because I can't keep you safe that way, but you don't have to be quiet and stay out of my way, and you don't have to not say what you really think because you think that's what I want."

One eyebrow went up, and he was reminded of that afternoon in the backroom of the O'Brian's social club. "Really?"

He nodded.

"Then I'll tell you what I think. I don't want to have to deal with Carly Corinthos unless it's absolutely necessary. I won't tell you she can't come over here when you're home, because this is your place, but when you're not here, I've already told the guards I don't want her inside. I don't want her barging in here like she owns the place and the next time she calls me illegitimate or trash or insults my father I'm not going to put up with it."

Jason nodded and made a note to himself that he was going to have to speak to Sonny. Carly couldn't keep going on like this. And if she was insulting Patrick O'Brian to Beth's face, who knew what she might say to someone else. It could cause them a lot of problems to have Sonny's wife spouting off her mouth.

"I don't expect you to," he said. "All I ask is that-"

"I don't become another Carly in your life?" she asked with a drunken grin.

"Something like that."

"Don't worry," she said, sticking out her hand, "I think you've already got one too many. But maybe...maybe we got off on the wrong foot."

He looked at her and she huffed and wiggled her hand, clearly intending for him to take it. "So maybe we can start over and actually try to get along civilly. What do you say?"

Shaking his head, he took her hand and let her seal with the deal. "I'll try."

She grinned broadly. "Good. Who knows, we could even become friends."

Letting go of his hand, she set her shot glass down and went to push herself up from the couch. "I think I'd better get upstairs while I can still walk."

He immediately stood and helped her to her feet, not letting go until he knew she wasn't going to fall over. Her steps were wobbly, but they were no longer timid and he found the sight oddly endearing. She was at the base of the stairs when she turned and regarded him over her shoulder. "I'm glad we talked, Jason."

"Me too," he said softly, and then watched his bride walk upstairs.

The morning after Jason's wedding was just like any other morning. He got up, he showered, he went downstairs to make coffee...and found his bride already in the kitchen. She had started the coffee, something warm and sweet looking was sitting on top of the stove cooling, and she was pulling a plate out of the cabinet above her. Jason didn't announce his presence; he just watched her moving around his kitchen. Beth set the plate down on the counter, and then rummaged through the drawers looking for something, the contents inside rattling as she opened and then closed them. Finally she discovered the silverware drawer and pulled out a fork, turned to the pan and fished out what looked like a cinnamon roll drenched in icing.

She paused and looked at the coffee pot, then the cabinets. Jason stepped into the kitchen and said, "Coffee mugs are in the cupboard to the left."

He pulled two out and set them down on the counter, reaching for the carafe to pour them both a cup. "Do you need milk or sugar?"

"Just milk," she answered, and pulled open the refrigerator that was now stocked with supplies. The guards had obviously gone shopping yesterday for her. After she added a dash to hers, she put the milk back in the refrigerator and looked up almost shyly at him. "Good morning. I...I hope you don't mind that I used the kitchen."

"No," he shook his head. "I don't care what you do as long as you don't blow it up."

With a laugh she grabbed her breakfast and looked around, "Where exactly do you eat?"

"I often just eat on the couch," he answered and turned for the living room. He could hear her following along behind him.

Normally he would have sat down at his desk and gone over files, but he decided to sit on the couch with her as she sank down into the leather cushions and curled her feet up beside her. "So I take it you're not really a breakfast person?"

"No," Jason answered with a shake of his head. "Most of the time I just have coffee."

"I like that you eat on the couch. That's where I eat most of the time, too, unless it's something that you have to cut into like a steak or something. But then, if I'm going to eat steak, I usually eat that in a restaurant and they've got a table so I'm not balancing it on my lap."

He felt the corners of his lips quirk when she paused to cut a piece of roll and eat it. Apparently Beth rambled. He didn't know if it was from nerves, or a normal trait, but he found it oddly endearing and entertaining. He'd dated people who talked just to hear themselves speak, or to act like they had wonderful, insightful, coming straight from Deity things to say, and he hated that mindless, self-important chatter. But his bride's rambles didn't bother him. Maybe it was because he felt the same way. When he remembered to eat, he fixed something simple and it was easy enough to eat that while sitting on his couch or standing at the sink in the kitchen. Other meals he ate at a restaurant, so what did he need to worry about balancing the plate on his lap for?

When she'd swallowed her roll and then a sip of coffee, Beth looked at him slightly uneasy and asked, "Would it be possible to get a small table for the kitchen, though? It doesn't have to be expensive; it could even be a folding card table and a couple of chairs. I'd just like to have something there in case I actually do want to sit at a table."

"Uh, yeah," he said, startled by her request. Not that she'd asked for something, but that he actually believed she'd be fine with a folding table. She wasn't faking it; she genuinely didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that was just going to be around for a short time. "I...I can have the guards get something. I'd let you pick something out..."

"But with what happened to Malcolm," she said with a slight shudder, "No, I understand. I understand that I need to stay here."

"Yeah," he nodded again.

He and Johnny had told her what happened to the man that was supposed to be her guard when they got back from the warehouse last night. She had been stunned, and for a moment he thought she was going to pass out, or throw up, but she'd handled the news well. She'd asked Johnny if the man had any family they should contact and her brother assured her he would take care of it. She'd asked if there was something she could do for them since he had come to Port Charles to guard her, but when Johnny told her that Malcolm didn't have a wife or a girlfriend and his mother had died several years ago she seemed to be appeased. He contrasted it to how Carly reacted to the guards, treating them like glorified slaves there to do her every whim, and was impressed by Beth's caring.

He knew after she found out about the guard's death that Beth would understand why she needed to stay in the penthouse. And so he was glad that he'd had Richie get her art supplies last night. There hadn't been a chance to give them to before, or after, the wedding, but Jason figured that now would be a good time. He stood and headed for the closet where the guard had placed the bag while Beth was getting dressed and said, "I got something for you last night; actually one of the guards did."

Beth tipped her head to the side in question and surprise and watched him as he opened the door. "I figured that since you were going to have to stay in the penthouse, that you might like something to do."

She stared at the bag after he set it down and then looked up at him. "You bought me art supplies?"

A bit trepidatiously she reached into the bag and he watched her face soften with pleasure and awe as she pulled out sketchbooks, pencils and other things that he didn't know what they were, but clearly impressed her. "Jason," she smiled up at him, "these are...amazing. Your guard either knows his stuff, or he just asked for the most expensive items and hoped they were the best. I...I'll be able to do a lot of sketches. Thank you."

The corners of his mouth turned up and he tugged his ear with his free hand. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like them."

"I do," she said unnecessarily. Her broad smile conveyed her happiness better than anything she could say. "I think I might actually go make some sketches of the view out my window. You're right; I can see the harbor from there."

Putting his hand in his pocket he took another sip of his coffee. "Alright. Johnny and Sonny will probably be coming soon and I don't know what time your father will get here. Then we'll have the meeting later. Do...do you want me to say anything to your father?"

"About what?" she asked.

"I..." he shrugged. He didn't know, he just thought she might want him to pass a message along.

"I guess if he wants to come over, that's fine," said with a shrug that indicated her feelings towards her father. She was not comfortable around him, and Jason didn't know if it was because of this situation, or the whole of her history with him. "Johnny said he'd asked him to bring some more of clothes up, so I guess just see if he brought those and bring those back if you can."

"I will," Jason told her.

She shifted, her hands flexing around the handles of the bag and gave him a lopsided grin. "I guess I'll go, then."

She'd started for the stairs and he turned to collect her plate and cup from the table when Carly's strident voice carried through the door. She was upset about something and letting everyone on the floor know. Beth stopped at the base of the stairs and looked at Jason over her shoulder, then looked back at the door. With a sigh, he set the dishes down and crossed the room, opening the door to come face to face with a very irate Carly.

"What is wrong with you?" she yelled and he didn't know if she meant him, Sonny or Richie who had been blocking her way. "Why is everyone trying to keep me out of Jason's penthouse?"

"Maybe because it's his and Beth's penthouse now," Sonny chided her, "and you can't just go barging in whenever you feel like it. Decent people knock, Carly."

"Jason doesn't mind," she said dismissively, attempting to push her way past Richie who was still standing between her and the penthouse.

Jason placed a hand on his shoulder and said quietly, "Thank you, Richie, you can let her come in now."

She flashed him a triumphant look and sauntered into the penthouse, a frown crossing her features when she saw Beth. "Jason, why would Richie stop me from coming in?"

"Because I told him, and the rest of the guards, that you can't just walk in whenever you feel like it," he answered her. "They'll announce you from now on. And I'm changing the locks, Carly, so that you can't come in here when we're gone."

She frowned at him, and then looked over at Beth. "Is this because of the little waif? What did she tell you about last night? Did you know that she's claiming you gave her your bedroom? I tried to set her straight but she kicked me out."

Jason looked at Sonny over Carly's shoulder, a look of regret crossing his face. He had wanted to tell his friend about this without Carly being present, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen now. Walking over to stand beside Beth, Jason crossed his arms over his chest and said, "This isn't because of Beth; not entirely. This is my house, Carly, and I'm tired of you walking in without knocking all the time. Besides, this is Beth's house as well, and she shouldn't have to put up with you coming in whenever you feel like it."

"Look," the blonde huffed, "she'll just have to get used to it. You and I have been friends long before this whole engagement took place and we'll be friends long after this wedding that hasn't even happened yet gets annulled."

Jason saw the look of triumph that infused Sonny's face and he looked down, wishing that Sonny wouldn't do what Jason knew he was about to. He didn't understand why his friend took such delight in these moments of cruelty to his wife. He agreed with Beth that Sonny could find better ways of dealing with her, because treating her like this only made her continue to lash out.

"Actually," Sonny drawled as he slipped his hands in his pants pockets, "they're no longer engaged."

"Really?" she gasped in excitement. "You're not? You finally realized that you don't have to wreck your life to take care of this little nobody because her daddy isn't capable? I mean, clearly she's not that important, if he didn't even marry her mother."

The bag slipped out of Beth's hand and Jason looked over to see a look of pure fury cross his wife's face. He placed his hand on her arm and shook his head, instead turning his own furious glare on Carly. "That's enough! You won't talk like that about Beth again, ever. Do you understand me, Carly?"

She looked at him in shock and he pressed forward. "I don't ever want to hear that you've called her illegitimate, or a bastard, or any of the other things you said last night about her or her father. Don't forget about your background, Carly, before you start slinging stones. Besides, Patrick O'Brian is an associate and you don't insult them, anymore than you insult my wife. Do I make myself clear?"

"Your...your wife?"

"Yes," Sonny smiled brightly as he rocked forward on his feet. "Jason and Beth got married last night"

Then Sonny took hold of his wife's arm and spun her around to face him, and leaned forward as he said, "And it appears that you and I need to have a little chat, sweetheart."

Beth Morgan thought she just might, the odds were slight, but possibly could be losing her mind. She'd decided that the proof would be the day she was certain the walls were talking to her and she received messages from her Rice Krispies. That would be the defining moment, everything up until that point would simply be a toss up.

She was pretty sure she had a husband. Yes, it was in name only, but she was pretty sure she hadn't imagined the whole ceremony. But she'd never know it given the fact that she never saw him. She was pretty sure she had an older brother; could remember having meals with him in a far off place called Long Island. Now, though, she never saw or heard from him. Same for the father she was pretty sure had spawned her and then sucked her into this vortex because of who he was and what he did for a living. She vaguely remembered these people, but given that she hadn't had any contact with them in three weeks, it was getting hard to remember.

The only people she did see were the guards. Francis, Richie, Enzo and a couple of others...they were her only human contact. She talked to them when they came in to replenish the food in the kitchen, or let the contractors in who were renovating the guest bedroom upstairs into the art studio Jason had promised her. They delivered her take out, and indulged her when she grew so bored that she opened the door and talked to them as she sat at Jason's desk. She'd met a techno geek by the name of Damian Spinelli who seemed an odd person to get along with Jason, but was a wizard with computers and television systems. He arrived one day saying he had come on orders from Stone Cold to give her the latest and greatest entertainment system that she could enjoy when she was tired of sketching. He was a bit odd, but he was genuinely nice and he made her laugh and she was about ready to start tampering with the flawless entertainment system just so she'd have an excuse to have him come back and keep her company.

She knew why things were happening like they were. Jason was trying to keep her safe from Manny Ruiz and his family. The Miami based family was causing an inordinate amount of problems for Sonny, Jason and her father, and everybody was tense and on edge. Shipments were disappearing. Cops were getting dangerously close. Manny was taunting them with more messages arriving at the warehouse. And even though the guards thought she hadn't heard them, she knew that packages meant to terrorize her were being intercepted at the front desk of the building. Jason and the rest of them were doing everything in their power to protect her and find Manny Ruiz so they could neutralize the man. The one good thing that had come from her wedding and Malcolm's death was that the rest of the families had finally agreed they could no longer sit back and try to reason with the Ruiz family. They had thrown their full support and manpower behind Jason and Johnny's quest to find the youngest Ruiz son and bring him down.

So Beth tried not to complain. She sketched until her hand cramped. She taught herself to play pool. She watched the copious amount of movies Spinelli had provided her with, she even took a chance one day and played one of the video games he insisted was the best on the market. Sure the point of view made her slightly ill and she was trounced horribly by a microchip, but it was a diversion and she was grateful for any that she could find. Because she knew that things could be much worse; she could be in hell masquerading as a tropical island with Carly Corinthos.

The day after her wedding to Jason when Carly blew into their house loud and obnoxious and insulting, had seen her and her two sons packed up and shipped off to a private island Sonny owned. Even though Sonny had taken his wife out into the hallway before he began yelling at her, Beth and Jason were able to hear every word he said. A fact that made both of them uncomfortable given what the older mobster was saying. He told her that Jason was never going to agree to have an affair with her, even if Carly divorced Sonny. She could not keep interfering in Jason's life, or one day the younger man may just decide he'd had enough and forever shut her out. She couldn't go around pushing people out of her way like a spoiled brat and trying to run, or ruin, everyone's lives. And most especially, she had to keep her nose out of his business because he never wanted to hear that she was insulting his associates again, even if the people might deserve her judgments. If she couldn't pull herself together and act like she should, Sonny would leave her down on the island forever, and if she was lucky, he'd leave their children down there to keep her company. Beth had been embarrassed at the manner the lecture had been delivered, but she found she couldn't entirely fault the message. It appeared it was long overdue by both men, and at least this way she didn't have to deal with the harpy.

So mind-numbing, talk out loud just to use her vocal chords boredom was infinitely preferable to the thought of being stuck down on an island with Carly Corinthos. It's why Beth tried not to complain to the guards. She didn't want them to pass it along to her husband and have him think that the island might be better than the penthouse.

Today, though, she was finding it hard to keep a cheerful attitude. She had no inspiration for art; she'd sketched everything in Jason's house she could contemplate grouping for a still life and she'd drawn every view out of every window and she didn't feel like doing it any more. Her eyes burned from the reading she'd tried as an alternative. Her head ached. But she couldn't go to sleep because she'd already gotten too much sleep lately. She didn't feel like watching any of the movies stacked by the TV, nothing on TV interested her, and she knew better than to attempt to play a video game. She wasn't hungry, except for sweets and she'd already indulged so much that even if she hadn't already woken up bloated from water weight gain this morning, she'd barely be able to slip on her First Day Sweats. It was actually the first time she hadn't wished that Jason were here, because she didn't want to have to deal with him, or anybody, right now. Today she just wanted to be cranky and miserable and hate her father, her husband and Manny Ruiz.

She rolled onto her side, drew her knees up and tightened the blanket around her shoulders. The sun was on the opposite side of the building now and it was gradually growing darker inside the penthouse. She could just be ensconced on the couch and lay there motionless.

So when she heard keys jingling in the locks, she scowled. She'd told the guards she just wanted to be left alone today, why were they coming in to check on her. Usually they knocked first, and then if she didn't answer they used their keys. The handle twisted and then the door swung open noiselessly. Footsteps walked in assuredly, and then paused as keys slipped onto the desk.

"Beth?"

Her eyebrow went up, but she didn't move her head. Jason? What was he doing home in the middle of the afternoon?

His footsteps came towards the couch and she sensed, more than saw, that he stopped at the side and was looking down at her. He was silent for a moment and then his voice, which was softer than it had initially been, shattered the air once more. "Beth? Are you okay?"

She blinked, but still didn't look at him, even when he came closer and sat down on the coffee table in front of her. "Are you sick? Why didn't you say anything to the guards? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine," she said listlessly, her eyes flicking towards him briefly before fixing once again on the spot on the wall to the right of him.

He reached out his hand and brushed it over her forehead, obviously checking for signs of fever. She looked up at him, annoyed that he would touch her, that he wouldn't believe her, but when she saw his clearly concerned countenance, she felt her pique fade away. Clearly her throat, she shifted slightly so she could look at him more directly.

"I'm okay," she said, her voice more sincere this time. "I'm just...I'm just feeling bored today. I didn't want to do anything; I just wanted to hide on the couch."

Jason sighed and his look of concern morphed into regret. "I'm sorry."

"Jason," she shook her head. "Don't. I'm...I'm not mad at you, and I don't need you to apologize for being concerned. When Johnny or my father would tell me things, tell me I needed to do something for my safety, they never were as caring as you've been. You don't even know me...they're my family, and Johnny tried, but my father never did half the things you've done for me. You're remodeling a room in your house, you've made sure I have all the art supplies I could want, you put in a TV system when you don't even watch it, and you did all these things to try and make this easier on me. It's just..."

She trailed off and shrugged, not wanting to say anything more because she didn't want to sound like she was complaining. It wasn't Jason's fault she was PMSing right now, and she didn't want to have to explain that to him. They did not have a normal marriage, and she didn't know how to say anything more without getting into a conversation she really wanted to avoid.

"I'm just feeling bored today, and I just intended to spend the day laying on the couch and spacing out. Tomorrow I'm sure I'll feel better."

"I know this hasn't been easy on you," he said. "That's why I came home. That, and we think we may have a lead on Manny and his possible contact in the organizations. Sonny was getting burnt out as well, and he's flying down to the island to see his family. Your brother went home to Long Island for the weekend and said he'd see you when he got back but he wanted to sleep in his own bed for the first time in a month."

"You're probably tired too," she said. It made sense. He was probably just checking on her so he could go upstairs to his room and sleep with a clear conscience.

"I don't need much sleep," he shook his head. "I actually thought that you might want to do something."

She looked at him in confusion, "Do something?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I thought you might want to get out of the penthouse for a little while."

The next time he took Beth out, he wanted to take her out on his bike. As they drove along the cliffs up to Vista Point, she would laugh in delight every time he accelerated out of a curve in the sports car borrowed from Sonny. She didn't cringe, she asked him what was the fastest he'd ever taken the corners. When he answered that he'd taken them faster on his motorcycle, her eyes had sparkled and he sensed that she would love the speed as much as he did. It just wasn't safe at this time to go out on the bike, so he'd settled for one of Sonny's reinforced Roadsters. He wasn't going to take a chance with Beth's safety, even though they thought they might have found a lead on the mole and were getting closer to Manny.

All too soon they were pulling into the parking lot at Vista Point and Jason got as close to the lookout as he could in the parking lot. He left the engine idling and checked the surrounding area, but Beth didn't seem to be aware of his diligence. Or at least she didn't let it affect her enjoyment of the view as she leaned forward and stared out the windshield.

"Oh, wow," she breathed out. "It's beautiful up here; you can see the whole city."

"It's the highest point," he told her.

"I love how the lights of the city rush right up the water's edge and then there's this band of black as if the sea's telling the city it has to stay back." Her fingers danced over the dashboard and she studied the view intently.

Jason was startled to find himself studying her with the same raptness. He watched the moonlight play over her face, throwing parts of it into shadow as she turned her head on occasion to take in the whole view. Her face was serene, her eyes glowed, and she seemed to be lit from within with happiness. It made Jason glad that he was the one to give it to her. That after all the emotions she had displayed and carried with her for the past two months, the first time he had truly seen her happy had been because of something he'd done. Not her father or her brother, but him.

He was a bit frightened by that realization, because he told himself he shouldn't be feeling that way. He and Beth might one day become friends, but friends didn't feel like this. They didn't feel like puffing out their chests with satisfaction because they'd made the other one smile, and they didn't immediately start thinking of other ways to keep that smile on their friend's face. That was something he'd done with the women he'd dated. He liked giving them things that made them happy; didn't wait for birthdays or special occasions, just gave them presents or did things for them because he felt like it. And that's what he'd done tonight with Beth.

He'd come home to find the house dark and quiet and Beth lying on the couch. She looked miserable and depressed and even though he was tired and had been looking forward to a hot shower and a long rest, he couldn't walk upstairs and leave her down in the living room by herself. Not when he was able to leave the house, but she had been locked up inside for weeks. It wasn't fair to her, and even though she didn't complain to the guards or demand things, he wasn't going to just ignore her and how she was feeling.

"Thank you, Jason." Beth's quiet voice broke the stillness of the car and he blinked, bringing her back into focus. She tilted her head to the side and the smile she bestowed on him made him want to do anything he had to see that grace her face again. "Maybe when this is all over and things go back to normal I could come up here again. I'd really like to spend some time up here sketching before I leave. Then I could have some inspiration for some paintings when I get back to my studio."

Leave.

Jason found that he didn't like the thought of that, and to ignore the feelings that word and her smile were provoking in him, he once again glanced around the parking lot and then said, "We should probably go."

"Alright." She leaned back on the seat, her happiness deflating like a punctured tire.

"The cops start patrolling this area after dark," he found himself explaining to her. "Vista Point is a teen make out spot and I don't want to have to deal with the cops."

She nodded immediately. "Right. I don't blame you. Johnny tries to avoid situations where the cops can harass him. No sense in provoking them or giving them an excuse to bother you."

"We don't have to go back to the penthouse, though." The words popped out before he was really even aware of saying them. But now that they were out there, he found he couldn't, and wouldn't, take them back. Not when she'd tilted her head to the side in curious anticipation.

"We could keep driving," he told her. "Maybe stop and get some dinner."

"I...I'd like that," she smiled at him. "What's good around here?"

"Well, that depends," he said. "Do you want to go to Carly's favorite place?"

Her nose wrinkled up at the thought and she shook her head, causing him to laugh. "I didn't think so. What about Sonny's?"

"I think I'd be intimidated by the seventeen pieces of silverware they'd probably have beside the plate," she smirked. "Where do you like to go?"

As he pulled out of the parking lot and headed back towards town Jason couldn't stop himself from continuing to tease her. "I'm not sure you'd like where I go. It's not exactly first class. I'm not even sure it qualifies as second class."

"It's a dive?"

"Some people would consider it a dump. It's certainly not the Lady Luck."

"Good," she stated firmly. "The last thing I want to do right now is be reminded of my father."

"I know that he's upset you," Jason said a bit hesitantly, "but I'm sure he tried to do the best for you."

"Really?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "So that's why he called himself my uncle until I was nearly a teenager? That's why he was never there? Never came to parent/teacher conferences, never came to my school plays, never came to my ballet recitals or my art shows? Because he loved me so much and wanted to do what was best for me? That's why he married one woman and turned my mother into a tramp? I just...I can't get over what he did to her and what he did to me. I'm supposed to just accept it because it was business and my mother didn't bring power and territory?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I don't think I'd accept it either. I don't agree with men who barter their sons and daughters off simply to hold onto their position or gain new holdings. It's archaic, and it's unfair. But Sonny's tried to teach me that there are men who are firmly stuck in that kind of lifestyle and I can't just insult them even if I don't agree with what they do."

"Sonny," she huffed. "I... Don't get me wrong, Jason, I am very grateful to Sonny for agreeing to go along with this marriage and for being so kind to me and doing everything he can to get the Families to deal with Manny Ruiz. But...I'd heard some of my father's men talking about him and the affairs he's had. And I doubt I will ever be friends with Carly and I'm forever grateful that you didn't send me down to the island with her, but I feel sorry for her when Sonny begins to yell at her and tell her she's embarrassing him and treats her like a child. Just like I feel sorry for Johnny's mother, who I don't think knew about my mother. Or if she did, then I feel even sorrier for her, to know that her husband loved another woman and would have married her if only he could have. It just seems so unfair to everyone, and so messed up."

"I know," he agreed softly. "This life is hard on the women, and I've never liked that."

"Growing up with my mother and my father as my examples, I...I told myself that love was stupid. I don't know that I will ever find it, living in this world. Everyone seems to have motives and agendas. And if that's what I have to look forward to, then I don't think I ever want to."

As they neared Jake's, Jason silently sighed. Beth had been hardened and jaded by this world, more than some men he'd encountered. She wasn't very trusting of people and their motivations, and he couldn't entirely blame her given her childhood. In many ways, the families could be likened to his own. Manipulations, plots, deceptions, and blackmail. He'd walked away from the Quartermaines because he didn't want to put up with them, and Beth would probably gladly walk away from Patrick O'Brian if only there wasn't the danger. Jason had found someone who believed in him, who trusted him, and gave him a purpose in life; Beth didn't have that. Women weren't as valued in the mob; they were supposed to be silent extensions of the man, either as his child or his wife. And given her dislike of her father, it colored her views of Sonny. She saw them as being the same, and he didn't know how he could change her mind. Not when he himself saw some of the same things she did.

It made Jason wonder what he could do to help her. To help her see that there were people who could be trusted, who weren't going to deliberately hurt her and try to use her for their own gain. He decided that all he could do was be that kind of person for her, to help her begin to trust others by coming to trust him.

And that brought him right back to the place he'd been up at Vista Point. He wanted to do these things for Beth because he didn't want to see her jaded and hurt. He didn't want to see her close herself off from life and trusting people. Most especially, he never wanted her to not trust him. She had at first, believing that he would have a mistress, that he would shame her like her father had shamed the women in his life - including her. Now that he felt she trusted him in that regard, he wanted her to trust him more. He wanted her to believe that she could find a man that she could fall in love with who wouldn't treat her with disrespect, but instead treat her like she deserved to be treated.

However, Jason knew he was in trouble when as soon as he thought that, the thought followed that he wanted to be that man. He knew he was entering dangerous territory with those thoughts. This marriage wasn't about love; it wasn't about building a deeper bond between the two of them. It was about protecting Beth, and when the danger of the Ruiz family was eliminated he was expected to let her go. He just wasn't sure how he was supposed to do that.

"Jason."

Jason ran a hand over his face and stood up, turning to face the man in his office. "Johnny. I wasn't expecting you here."

The other man shrugged casually and slipped his hands into his pockets. "My father wants someone here because of Beth, and I'm not adverse to being the man on the spot."

"You want to come over for dinner tonight?" he asked, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. "I know that Beth wouldn't mind seeing you again. She liked having you over last week."

Johnny peered at him in question for a moment and then nodded. "Sure."

"Alright," he replied, bringing up his cell phone to dial. "I'll just call her."

"That's alright," Johnny shook his head. "I called her on my way up here. She invited me already."

"Oh," Jason sighed, and slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Alright. So, do you have anything new?"

"I do," his brother-in-law nodded. "But I wanted to talk to you first. What's going on with Beth?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Johnny paused and licked his lips, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "Look, I don't mean to pry, 'cause you are married, even though it's not actually a real marriage."

"Johnny," Jason arched his brow pointedly. "Get on with it. You've never hesitated before."

"Okay," he sighed. "I know that when you and Beth got married, she wasn't happy. I didn't like it, but I knew why. She thought you had a girlfriend, that you were going to have a mistress. Now," he held up his hands, "Beth didn't give me any details but when I came over last week and I noticed such a change in her, when I saw her looking so happy with her art and around you, I wondered what happened. She told me she was mistaken, that I was right when I'd told her on your wedding day I didn't think you had a mistress and that she wouldn't, at least, have to deal with people talking behind her back."

"You two talked about me?" Jason asked slowly.

"I love my sister," Johnny said unapologetically. "I know that my father's behavior, to my mother and hers, hurt her. I didn't want to see her hurt further than she already was, or be unhappier than she already was by the marriage. I was trying to help out if I could. But she...she was convinced you had a mistress and she was resigned to allowing you to sneak off to see the other woman and I just, I hated to see her spirit broken like that."

"I know," he murmured low as he sat down. "I knew she wasn't happy, and she was acting so quiet. I figured your father had talked to her."

"He had," the other man confirmed as they sat down.

"Carly had also talked to her," Jason informed Johnny. "Told Beth she was lucky I was doing this, and said a few things about your father. Sonny and I have talked to Carly, and we hope it never happens again."

"No offense, but given that it's Carly..."

"Yeah," he laughed humorlessly. "I know. I'm sorry she said things to Beth and I told Carly I wouldn't put up with her insulting my wife or my associates."

"Thank you."

"Beth and I talked that night after everyone left. I told her I didn't have a mistress, and she told me what Carly had said. I told her I didn't expect her to be quiet and hide in the background; I want her to be comfortable and happy."

"I think she'll be happiest when this is all over and you guys can get an annulment and she can move some place and focus on her art."

Those words killed Jason, but he expected them and swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded. "I know. That's why I gave her the studio. I knew she'd be forced to stay inside and I wanted..."

"Jason," Johnny said in all seriousness as he leaned forward, "You are a good man. One of the most decent ones I know in this world of amoral beliefs and actions. That's why I asked you to step in and help my sister. I knew you would treat her well, and you would help her.

"You know," he said, leaning back against his chair. "Under different circumstances, you'd be exactly the kind of man I hope Beth would date, possibly even marry."

Jason blinked and looked away before finally saying, "The circumstances aren't different, and we all know that."

"I know," Johnny agreed with what almost sounded like a sigh. "It's just...this is the happiest I've seen Beth since I found out I had a sister. And the big brother in me wants to see her continue to be happy, and I know you. I don't have to worry about running a background check on you or wondering if you're using my sister to get close to my father, or if you're going to start beating on her as soon as the honeymoon's over; a part of me likes that. But I also know that that isn't what you signed up for, and so does Beth."

"Yeah."

Johnny peered at Jason as he spoke quietly and studied him. "Jason? What...what's going on? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Shaking his head resolutely, Jason leaned forward. "No. Now, what did you find out? Since Beth knows you're in town, she'll be anxious for us to get home sooner and I don't want to disappoint her."

Johnny once again peered at him in question, but thankfully didn't press Jason any further. He was glad for that because he didn't know how he would explain the feelings he had in regards towards Beth. He liked her, felt they had become friends, and Jason knew that he wanted her to be happy. He liked being the one to make her happy and wanted to help her trust him and others. But beyond that...it got more complicated. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. She was kind, considerate, easy to talk to and he found himself telling her things he hadn't shared with other people, or had only done so after knowing them for much longer. He felt the stirrings of something more when he was with her, but knew that given the circumstances he couldn't just tell her that or show her.

She gave no indication she felt anything more for him than a grudging acceptance of the situation. Maybe that was a bit unfair, she didn't seem to hate him. She smiled at him, made an effort to help him where she could by making sure he ate when he was home or staying out of his way when she sensed he was busy with the Ruiz situation. Sometimes she anticipated his needs, and he was grateful for the things that she did. Since she didn't ignore him, or look at him with the same disregard that she still exhibited towards Sonny, he knew she didn't completely loathe him. But not loathing him and having feelings that could burgeon into a romance were two completely different things. And he didn't think she was anywhere close to the latter.

Because of that, he couldn't act on his feelings, or give any indication of them, because he didn't want to make things uncomfortable for either of them. He didn't know how long this arrangement was going to last and he didn't want Beth to feel uncomfortable in the house. He knew she hadn't been happy with the situation she experienced under her father's care, and she seemed more relaxed now. How could he take that away from her by revealing feelings she didn't return? She would hide out in her room or convey her unease so clearly that the situation would be untenable. The thing she needed most right now, was what he was determined to give her, a comfortable, safe place.

And because he didn't feel like living in torture, Jason knew that the sooner they found and dealt with Manny Ruiz, the better it was for everyone. So, he needed to get Johnny's information so that they could make their plans. Because Jason wanted Manny Ruiz taken out. Beth would be safe then and could return to her life. Away from him.

"Manny went to ground shortly after he appeared at my father's house," Johnny unnecessarily surmised. Jason knew all that, had been kept informed by not only the O'Brian's research people but his own. The few leads they'd had went completely dry after the wedding and the meeting with the family heads. The Ruiz family had been censured, and with language such as the head of Boston laid down, even Hector and Javier couldn't pretend they didn't understand it. Nobody expected the two men to hand Manny over, but the Ruiz family had definitely been put on notice.

"A lot of the sightings we got wind of were nothing more than misinformation by his brother and father. But," Johnny drawled out, "we think we got a real lead last night. I had our fact checker call Stan and Benny and he gave them each a different piece of the puzzle, but both men came back with the same information. We're pretty sure we know where Manny Ruiz is."

Jason's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as we can be. I've got some of my men on the way there, and I thought you might want to send some of your own. I wasn't going to order them, and I didn't want to tell you about this over the phone since we don't know who the mole is that's giving out our information. I didn't feel this was safe to convey any other way than face to face."

"No, no, I agree. Let me get some men in here."

In a short time, the guards that he trusted most to send on this assignment were gathered into his office and Johnny laid out the information they'd come up with. Jason didn't have to tell them how important this assignment was, each man knew. Beth may not have met any of these men, but the fact that she was Jason's wife was enough to impress on them the seriousness of the task. Jason knew that they would do everything they could to find out if the person in hiding really was Manny Ruiz, and then they'd report back to Jason.

If this was true, then they could eliminate Manny Ruiz. The Families had authorized Sonny and Jason to use whatever means, and force, necessary to deal with the man. They'd have to deal with the other Ruiz men, but the Escobar family in Miami was ready, and anxious, to step into the vacuum the elimination of the Ruiz family would create. It would still take a few weeks, or possibly months, to clean up the fallout from the death of Manny Ruiz, but the biggest threat to Beth would finally be eliminated. Then she'd have more freedom and might actually be able to leave the penthouse. The Ruiz family would be focused on maintaining their power to be a true threat to his wife, though Jason and the guards would not be negligent with her safety. The death of Ruiz would also make it easier to smoke out the mole inside the organizations.

Jason was anxious for all that to happen because Beth deserved it. She deserved to go outside for more than a few minutes at a time on her way from a guarded limo to a secure building. Maybe he could finally take her for a ride on his bike and share that experience with her before he lost her from his life. In the meanwhile, he could at least share the pleasure of his wife's company at dinner, even if it had to be under the pretense of bringing his brother-in-law with him.

Beth Morgan sat in a corner booth at an obscenely overpriced Italian restaurant called The No Name and wondered how any of the made men in the room ever thought they were fooling anyone. Did they really think that the dimly lit tables, the private rooms, and the fact that nobody blinked at the bodyguards who stood sentry at patrons' tables wouldn't scream mafia? It was like a scene from a Hollywood movie, right down to the red-checked tablecloths and the candles set in wine bottles ensconced in straw at the bottom. She thought one should try to be inconspicuous when one was engaged in illegal activities. But then again, her father ran a social club which just screamed 'I'm in the mob'.

She watched her husband as he crossed the room and made his way back to their table, and suddenly found herself grateful for the dim lighting in the room. It was only the third time she'd ever seen Jason in a suit and she couldn't stop herself from thinking that while she liked him in jeans and t-shirts, he wore a suit very well. Or maybe it was just that he had money enough to have a nicely tailored suit. Whatever the reason, her husband cleaned up nicely. But he was clearly uncomfortable with the attire. He didn't wear a tie, which only added to the rugged elegance he presented, but she knew he didn't do it to present that image. He did it because he hated to wear ties. Only wore them when he absolutely had to. And tonight wasn't an occasion where he was required to wear one. The No Name had a coat policy, they didn't have a tie policy. And if they did, they'd certainly waive it for Jason Morgan.

"I'm sorry," Jason said as he slid back into his seat across from her. "I couldn't ignore Joseph Romero."

"No," she waved her hand at him. "I understand. It's business."

He took a sip of his beer in his chilled glass and sighed wearily. "Yeah."

"He sent a nice vintage of wine," she commented absently. She didn't want to talk about business; she knew Jason wouldn't talk about it, even though it was the reason they were here. "What's the protocol for that? Should I send him a note, or will you talking to him be sufficient?"

"I..." Jason paused and then shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'll ask Sonny when I talk to him later tonight."

Beth pressed the linen napkin to her lips to muffle her own sigh and then nodded her head. "Alright. Just let me know."

She placed her napkin back in her lap and picked up her fork, but the delicious meal held no appeal for her any longer. Not after Jason had returned and brought the tension back with him. One simple dinner shouldn't be this uncomfortable, but this wasn't any ordinary occasion. They were here tonight to be seen by society. Because tonight, someone, somewhere, was about to execute Manny Ruiz. And all the major players had to be lined up precisely. Sonny was down at his island visiting his family. The flight plan would be public knowledge and the staff at Michael and Morgan's favorite restaurant would acknowledge the family that had come in to dine, before the kids went off to bed and Mom and Dad locked themselves in their room to catch up. Beth's father was at the opera tonight, sitting where everyone could see him in his private box. And Johnny was with a couple of thousand of his closest friends at a sporting event that was being broadcast on live TV. The position of his seat, and the reputation of his family, would ensure that he was captured on screen a couple of times. Which left her and Jason to create their own alibis. And a dinner out as a couple, a nice romantic evening, was the perfect cover.

It's just too bad both of them would rather be anywhere else but here.

Beth liked the penthouse and could always find some art project to interest herself in, or a movie. She had first thought that the marriage would be unbearable and Jason's penthouse a tortuous prison, but she'd found herself comfortable in the minimal furnishings and open space. The art studio was a retreat where she could escape whatever was happening around her, and the guards posted outside the door were much friendlier and more respectful than any of the goons working for her father. She liked her home. And when this was all over and she and Jason got back to their own, separate, lives, she was going to be sad to miss them.

The one thing she felt bad about was that Jason acted like that day couldn't come fast enough for him. He stayed away from the penthouse unless he could no longer avoid it. Like when her brother came into town and called her up and said he wanted to get together with the two of them. She wouldn't mind just having dinner with her brother, but he always wanted Jason around. So she was forced to invite him to a nice family dinner and then watch her husband retreat into himself and look unhappy and miserable in his own home. The one time she'd tried to put off Johnny and say that perhaps they could do dinner some other time, he'd made some joke she was sure he thought was funny, but completely wasn't, about how maybe the newlyweds wanted a little alone time to get to know each other. Maybe a little dinner in bed that would lead to breakfast in bed. She was glad Johnny had been on the other end of the line instead of in the room with her because she had turned beet red.

So Beth knew that Jason would rather be anywhere but with his wife out in public, but they had to keep up appearances. So, here they were. Sitting across from each other, in a back booth that was supposed to be romantic, not talking to each other. They didn't speak when the waiters delivered the different courses of dinner, they didn't speak about their days, they didn't talk about the reason they were here, and if it hadn't been for Joseph Romero temporarily calling Jason away, they probably wouldn't have spoken at all. Some dinner.

"Is everything alright?"

Her head snapped up as she looked at Jason, her mouth hanging open indelicately. "What?"

"Is everything alright?" he repeated, a frown turning down the corners of his mouth. "Do you not like the dish? The chef can cook it longer if you want them to, or fix you a new one."

"No," she shook her head. "It's fine."

"Then why aren't you eating it?" he asked, the frown deepening. "You've been pushing the food around on your plate for the past five minutes."

"Sorry," she said, her shoulders and spine stiffening in indignation. "I'm sorry I'm wasting your money on the food, Dad."

Jason's own shoulders stiffened and he clenched his hand so tightly she thought the fork he was holding was going to bend. With careful, meticulous precision that she suspected belied his mounting fury, he placed his fork down, then wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed it on his plate. He didn't look at her, he looked over her shoulder at the booth behind her and said, in a tight voice, "Let's go."

Beth swallowed, her throat hurting from the sudden lump that had grown there. He was upset. She had only seen that fury in him a couple of times before, his jaw clenched tightly and his shoulders rigid as he struggled to keep his temper. The first time had been when Manny and the rest of the Ruiz family crashed their engagement party, and the second had been the morning after their wedding when Carly had blown into the penthouse. She didn't like seeing it again, and knowing that she was the reason for it. Her fork slipped out of her hand, but she couldn't make any voluntary movement.

"Let's go." Jason repeated the words in a quiet tone that she strained to hear them, and yet they sounded like a gunshot in the night. She still couldn't move, but she also couldn't make her mouth work.

It was only when Jason slid out of the booth and looked at her, holding out his hand in quiet command, that she acted. It wasn't so much a conscious effort on her part, but an automatic response. Her husband commanded and she obeyed, even if she was absolutely terrified.

They were silent as they walked out of the restaurant, only pausing long enough to get their coats. The meal would be put on Jason's tab, or the owner would send him the bill later, but they never stopped to pay. Jason merely escorted her outside and into the waiting limo at the curb. It was only when they were inside and moving along the street that Beth could no longer take it.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to compare you...you aren't my father, Jason, and you don't treat me like my father, and I didn't meant to insult you..."

"Beth," he sighed heavily. "I'm not mad."

When she looked at him disbelievingly, he sighed once more and clarified, "I'm not mad about that. I know you weren't...I just want you to be happy, Beth."

"I am," she immediately stated. And she was. She was happier living with Jason than she had been since she found out who her father was.

"You weren't happy at the restaurant."

"I..." she stammered to a pause. "I just felt awkward. I know that's not really your scene."

"I thought you might like it. I...I hate moments like this when I have to be seen to create an alibi, and I didn't want to use you to do so, but I thought..." He rolled his shoulders and rubbed his temples with his thumbs. "I know you've been stuck in the penthouse, and I just thought you might like to get out."

"I would have been happy at Jake's," she said softly.

"A husband doesn't take his wife out on a date to Jake's," he shook his head.

"Says who?" she demanded. "Sonny and Carly? My father? I liked Jake's when we went there. You like Jake's. Who says that we have to fit anyone's rules of what a husband and wife can and can't do? We're a Jake's couple, not a No Name couple."

Jason suddenly stood, crouched in the interior and moved from the seat across from her to the seat next to her. The move startled her and she shrank back in her seat, wondering why he'd moved so hastily. The passing lights outside the car illuminated his face and she was surprised by the intensity of his gaze as it fell on her. "A couple?"

Her eyes widened and she licked her lips in nervousness, swallowing a couple of times to wet her suddenly dry throat. "I...I mean...that's what everyone thinks we are, right? I...I mean, I know people like Joseph Romero know what this marriage really is, but to everyone else in town, li-like the cops, they don't know that. And the cops were who we were worried about tonight, right? So...so they have to know you, do you normally hang out at The No Name, or do you-"

He silenced her with his finger against her mouth. "I go to Jake's," he confirmed. "But I just thought they might not believe I took my wife there."

"They haven't met me," she smiled around his finger. "Trust me, if I had to choose, I'd pick Jake's over The No Name."

His finger no longer was her lips because it was now cradling her jaw tenderly as Jason had shifted his hand. Beth's eyes widened once more, but this time in a different kind of surprise. The kind accompanied by a wild dip in her stomach before it fluttered with strange, questioning awareness. "I'll keep that in mind for next time," he murmured and moved closer on the seat.

She swallowed, and prayed with everything inside her that this was what she thought it was. That her husband was going to kiss her. The thought thrilled and frightened her, but she wanted it with everything inside her.

"Yes," she breathed out, signaling her receptivity by leaning towards him.

They almost touched, their lips were only a breath apart, and then it all went horribly wrong. The car suddenly lurched to a screeching stop and they were thrown from the seat to sprawl on the floor.

"What?" she began to ask, but Jason silenced her immediately by rolling on top of her and shielding her body, as gunfire erupted outside the car.

Beth Morgan now understood why Jason and Sonny didn't worry so much about the cops in Port Charles. After meeting them, she realized that compared to the men in Port Charles Blue, the Keystone Cops were certified geniuses.

It was amazing the manpower that was present all because of one little shooting. The D.A. and his assistant were present, the police commissioner, and not one, but five detectives were milling around along with crime scene techs and a couple of flatfoots. One would think that an armored car carrying all the gold from Fort Knox had been ambushed in the middle of the city, instead of a limo being shot up. But Beth was quickly learning that because it was her husband, all the big cheese had come out tonight in the hopes of finding something to arrest him for.

"Mrs. Morgan?"

Beth looked up into the eyes of a tall African-American cop and pushed her hair out of her face. The sky was clouding up and a light mist had begun to fall, but so far, nobody thought about getting umbrellas for anybody. "Yes?"

"Can you tell me what happened tonight, Mrs. Morgan?"

If he sneered her last name once more she was going to poke baldy's eyes out with her finger. "Well, Detective...?"

"Taggert," he supplied. "Marcus Taggert."

"Well, Detective Taggert, as I already explained to Detectives Spencer, Cappelli, and Rodriguez, not to mention the Commissioner Scorpio and D.A. Baldwin, I. Don't. Know. My husband and I left The No Name where we went for dinner. We were on our way home. Suddenly the limo stopped, we were thrown to the floor, Jason covered me when we heard what sounded like gunfire and he wouldn't let me up until the shooting stopped. I don't know how many people there were, I don't know how many cars there were, I don't know where the people went after they were done shooting at me, and I don't even know why they were shooting at me."

"Really?"

"You think I'm lying?" she challenged, one eyebrow arching up dangerously.

"You're married to Jason Morgan," he stated as if that explained everything.

"Yes, I am," she smiled pleasantly. "And I don't know why someone would be shooting at him either."

"He's in the mob."

"Really?" she questioned. "I thought he sold coffee. I've seen the warehouse, I've tasted the blends he imports, why do you say he's in the mob?"

"Everybody knows that he is," the cop growled angrily.

"Well, if by everybody," she said and looked around the crime scene, "you mean you and your fellow cops, then I can understand why we've been here for the past three hours and I've been asked the same questions no less than six times. Apparently the city of Port Charles doesn't have to worry about losing their police force to Mensa. I'm sure we can all rest so much easier. Tell me, do you normally interrogate the victims like this in other crimes?"

"When the victim is Jason Morgan, usually there's another victim somewhere. Your driver was carrying a gun."

"He's got a permit to carry a concealed weapon," she pointed out sweetly. "I don't know if he fired it, though, since I was in the back and all. Have you asked him about it?"

"Yes," Detective Taggert said tersely.

Beth shrugged, "Well, there you go. Since I don't know what happened after I was thrown to the floor, I couldn't answer any of your questions. Now, Detective, I have a question for you."

"What?"

"Can my husband and I go? It's starting to rain, you see, and I'd like to get home."

"We haven't cleared the scene yet," the cop shook his head, clearly ready to start in on a power trip.

"Mac just did," Jason informed the man as he appeared at Beth's side. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her slightly closer to him while he glared at the cop. "Justus showed up and said there's no reason to keep us here. You've already asked your questions, you're keeping my car, and my driver has answered your questions. If you have any more you know Justus' number, you can call him and set up an appointment."

He took a step back, bringing Beth with him and turned them both in the opposite direction.

"One more thing, Morgan," the cop called out.

They both paused and looked over their shoulders at the detective, and then turned back to face him.

"Why were you at The No Name?"

"I took my wife out for dinner," Jason stated simply.

"Why?"

"Do I need a reason?" he asked. "She's my wife; I wanted to take her out."

"Nobody's seen you or your wife since your alleged marriage weeks ago. Why did you suddenly go out tonight?"

"Do I need a reason?" Jason repeated, and Beth could hear the edge creeping into Jason's voice, as well as the tension filling his body.

"Seems awfully suspicious that you suddenly emerge tonight, and then your car gets shot at."

"We've been to Jake's," Beth spoke up. "Been there a couple of times in fact. We've gone for drives, but we're more homebodies, Detective. Besides, since we did only get married a little over a month ago...we're still kinda in that honeymoon phase."

She stepped even closer to Jason and tightened her arm around his waist. She raised her free hand, her left hand with her engagement and wedding bands, and brought it to rest on Jason's stomach, playing with his shirt buttons coyly. "I'm sure you know how that is. No reason to go out."

The cop looked like he'd swallowed something sour and shook his head before dismissing them with a brusque wave. Jason and Beth turned back around and headed for the waiting car that had been brought from the garage. A guard opened the door and Jason helped Beth inside, and then slid into the seat beside her. As the car pulled away from the curb, Jason leaned his head back against the seat and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"Are they always like that?" she asked.

"The cops?" he sighed. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"For what?" she shook her head.

"Them asking you questions."

She couldn't help it, she laughed. Maybe it was nervous tension, maybe it was just the ridiculousness of Jason apologizing for someone else, especially the police. "Don't worry about it. It's not the first time I've been questioned; I doubt it will be the last. Don't forget, Jason, my own father isn't exactly a cop's best friend."

He looked like he was going to say something more, but instead gave a little shake of his head. "You're right. They just annoy me."

"You don't show it."

"Not to them," he agreed. "Because it annoys them when I don't respond how they want me to."

"Yeah, they don't seem like the sharpest Crayons in the box," she agreed. "We were the ones shot at, but you'd think instead we had opened fire in the middle of the street. Do...do you think this was related to Manny?"

Jason swallowed and looked away and Beth wondered if she'd overstepped with her question. She knew her father would certainly think so, but she didn't think Jason would. Or if he did, he'd say so kinder than her father would. Jason might not think she should know about the business, and she didn't want to know all the details, but since Manny had come after her, she felt she had a right to ask about him at least.

"I don't know," Jason shrugged finally. "It could be, or it could be something else. We won't know until the men do some digging."

He shifted on the seat, turning to look at her and asked, "Are you alright?"

The conversation she wanted to have was definitely over, and now she was going to have to deal with one she didn't. "I'm fine," she told him.

"Are you sure?"

"I didn't get hit with any of the glass from the interior," she shook her head. "You were shielding me. Did you get hurt by any of the glass?"

He shook his head, but didn't answer right away. A street lamp they passed illuminated the car's interior just enough for her to catch the stormy look in Jason's eye and she was surprised for a minute until she remembered. Remembered the way he had covered her body on the floor of the car, his strong body pressed fully against her back. Moments before they had almost kissed, their faces close enough for their breaths to mingle, and then they were on the floor. Jason's large hands had sheltered her head, his face on the side of hers as she'd turned it to be able to breathe. As glass shattered around them from the bullets that pierced the car, he had whispered in her ear, telling her that it would be alright, that the guards would protect them and get them out of there soon. She wondered if he was aware of the words he'd whispered, or the husky tenor of his voice, but she had been acutely aware of each puff of air against her cheek, of the occasional brush of his lips over her skin. She was reminded of how she'd wanted to feel those lips against hers, and how she almost had; the positioning of their bodies brought to mind images of other positions they could share.

Her skin was flushed, she could feel it, and she hoped the interior was dark enough to hide it. But as they passed another light and she saw Jason's eyes had darkened even further, she didn't think her wish had been granted. Or maybe he was affected by his own memories; after all, he had attempted to kiss her.

"I'm fine," he said, his voice now a soft note in the car.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he assured her, and in a move mirroring one only a few hours ago, he slid closer to her on the seat. She once again found herself licking her dry lips and swallowing nervous anticipation. "Are you sure you're alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She shook her head, unable to speak as Jason moved closer still. His hands came up, but they didn't cradle her face this time in preparation for a kiss. They slid over her face, into her hair, and she shivered from the gentle sensuousness of his touch. He wasn't just caressing her, she realized, as his hands moved gently into her hair and ran over her scalp, he was searching for himself to see if she was hurt. His fingers danced over her skin and her breath came out on shallow gasps which she was sure he could hear. Once he had assured himself, Jason's touch once again changed. His hands returned to her face, and ignited a delicious friction across her skin.

"Beth," he said softly, as he leaned closer once more. She could see a struggle washing over his face that she didn't entirely understand, but knew she couldn't let him decide against this.

"Jason, please," she whispered, and that was all he needed.

His lips met hers, gently at first, as they were gingerly exploring new territory. This was all so new, and unexpected, and she was surprised it was happening but wouldn't change for a second that it was. Soon, however, the gentle kiss became more insistent, more challenging, more demanding. It scared her and thrilled her, and she grabbed hold of Jason's jacket to both ground her and keep him where he was.

"Mr. Morgan?"

The driver's disembodied voice drifted out of the intercom speaker in the back of the limo and they stilled, their breathing hard as they sought to identify the source and the reason for the interruption.

"Mr. Morgan? We're...we're here, sir."

The car, Beth realized, was stopped, and Jason pulled away, running a hand over his face. He wouldn't look at her, but apology filled his voice when he said, "We're at the penthouse."

"Oh."

"I...I need to go to the warehouse," he continued on. Finally he turned to face her and once again, there were warring emotions on his face, but business won out. "Max will take you upstairs and make sure the apartment is clear. I need you to stay inside, okay?"

She nodded her agreement. She was disappointed, but she knew, especially tonight, that business had to come first. Besides, she knew that just because she'd kissed Jason, she wasn't sure what it meant, or what she wanted it to mean. So tonight...it was probably for the best that her husband left her with a guard and didn't come home with her.

"What do we know?"

Jason's voice came out on an angry bark and the guards that were gathered in the upstairs conference room looked up as he stormed into the meeting, but they didn't react beyond brief flickers of surprise. After all, it wasn't their wife that been in the car and shot at, it had been his. And each man had sworn to protect her like they protected Carly.

"We're still getting reports, Mr. Morgan," Benny said, being the first to step forward. In his normal half-apologetic way, he was probably the best candidate. Or the only one who wanted to step into the fray.

"Was it Manny?" Jason demanded, his hands set firmly on his hips in fists.

"No," the accountant and fact-finder shook his head.

"We got word before the shooting even occurred that Manny Ruiz is dead," Max stated in his soft voice. "While you were in the restaurant. I was going to tell you once we got back to the penthouse."

"He's dead?" Jason asked, skepticism in his voice. "You're sure?"

The guard didn't take offense, at least not outwardly, and instead nodded. "Yes. The shooter confirmed it. An anonymous 911 call was made shortly after he wiped down the room, the police arrived while you were dealing with the PCPD, and preliminary pictures are already splashed across police sites looking for a hit on who the unidentified, but highly distinguishable, victim is. It's Manny. There's no doubt."

Jason sighed and his hands dropped down, brushing limply against his thighs. "Okay. So if Manny's dead, was it the Ruizes?"

Benny shook his head, taking up the narrative once more. "No. Hector and Javier Ruiz were at a local hot spot in Miami, we've had men watching them. They don't even know Manny's dead yet. The head of Boston is already in Miami, and will show up after the police inform them. He's going to issue a warning to the Ruiz family; retaliation would not be wise."

"Like they'll listen to that," Max snorted softly under his breath.

Jason looked at him, but didn't reprimand the guard. He shared the sentiment.

"The Boston head says he'll handle this, Jason," Benny told him, his voice gentling. "The Families are going to make sure that the Ruizes know that it wasn't just us and the O'Brian's acting. That Hector and his boys have gone too far this time, and nobody is going to tolerate it anymore."

That had been the plan all along, but everyone expected Hector Ruiz and his son Javier to lash out. The men were rogues, acting without thinking, and they'd set out for blood to avenge Manny. But with the support of the Families behind them, Sonny, Jason and the O'Brians were better insulated. The Corinthos and O'Brian guards were on high alert, and Jason planned on keeping Beth inside the penthouse for a while until he felt they had a better handle on what the Ruiz family would do in response. With men from all the major crime families around the Eastern Seabord in Miami watching the Ruiz organization, they would be able to step in and act before trouble spread northward. Hopefully.

It very likely could turn into a bloodbath. But hopefully it would be contained in Miami and not make it all the way up to Port Charles. Let the Miami-Dade Police Department worry about the bodies lining the streets. Jason didn't want to have to deal with Taggert and his bumbling cronies any more than absolutely necessary. Tonight had filled his quota for a while; he'd be quite content to not have to deal with the cops regarding a major war breaking out in the city.

"So if it wasn't Manny and it wasn't the Ruizes, then who shot up my car?"

"We don't know, Jason," Benny said, his voice filled with regret. "There have been no rumors or rumblings about anybody coming into town, or any of the Families who are trying to use the Ruiz situation as a cover to expand their territory."

"What about the Alcazars?" Jason pressed.

The accountant shook his head. "They're in Chile right now. Have been for the past month. I've contacted everyone I could in the past two hours, called in markers and favors, and this isn't the Alcazars."

"Anyone holding a grudge from Moreno? Sorrel? Roscoe?"

The guards all shook their heads. "We've hit the streets," Max told him. "There aren't any pockets or resistance or holdouts. You've absorbed their territory and eliminated those who didn't like you taking over; we can't find anyone that seems a likely candidate."

"So it was the mole," Jason sighed and ran a hand over his face wearily. "It was the mole in our organization or the O'Brian's."

Benny let out a slow breath and then nodded slowly. "It would appear so."

Jason swore darkly and viciously before turning and sweeping the items on top of a filing cabinet off onto the floor. The mole was responsible for this. Responsible for his car being shot, responsible for his wife being put in danger, responsible for ruining his evening.

"I thought we kept this outing quiet," Jason said, his voice razor sharp with fury. He rounded on the guards. "Right? There were only a few people who knew Beth and I were going out tonight and even fewer who knew we went to The No Name. Right?!"

"Yes," Max nodded slowly. "That's what we thought."

"You thought?!" he demanded. "I don't pay you to think, I pay you to know. Especially when it comes to my wife. I will not accept laziness or inefficiency when it comes to her. Never with her!"

"We know, Mr. Morgan," Benny said in an attempt to calm him. "We're looking into it. Trying to remember if anyone might have overheard something, said something inadvertently to someone else. I've already called John O'Brian and he's going to look into their guards as well."

Jason swallowed raggedly and nodded. He should have figured someone had already called the O'Brians. He should have done that already, but he hadn't. He'd been stuck dealing with the PCPD and then making sure Beth was alright. He hadn't seen any visible bruises, but he also wanted to make sure she hadn't been hurt when they'd fallen in the car and he'd shielded her from the gunfire. Unfortunately, that whole line of questioning had caused memories to course through him, distracting him and causing him to think of only her.

He'd always known Beth was a small woman, slight of build. Anytime he stood next to her, he was always aware of how petite she was, of how he dwarfed and towered over her. But in the limo, his senses already heightened and aware of her after nearly kissing her and feeling her breath against his lips, he'd been caught off guard at the feeling of her body under his on the floor. Immediately other thoughts, thoughts not related to the danger they were had flooded through him and there had been no hiding his reaction. He wondered if Beth had realized that; she hadn't said anything. But then, somehow he didn't think that would be something she would bring up on her own.

Once they were finally free of the PCPD and on their way again, he was determined to make sure she wasn't hurt. And as he pressed her for answers, and touched her for reassurance, his body had once again taken over, relegating his brain to be its subordinate. Jason was mesmerized by the feel of her skin under his hands, enthralled by the way her eyes had changed and shifted in the faint light coming into the car, and all he could do was respond to the siren call her lips were sending out. The kiss had been everything he'd ever wanted, but instead of slaking his desires, it had only fed the flames. He wanted more, he wanted everything, and that frightened him. Because it was too fast, and it was too much and he didn't want it to be just a response to the moment, a physical reaction they'd regret making.

He didn't want Beth to regret it most of all. He'd seen no response in her that suggested she might have feelings for him beyond friendship. She'd kissed him, but that could have just been the moment. She had grabbed his suit coat, pulling him closer, and just before the driver interrupted them to say they were in the building's garage, it seemed like her intentions had changed. She was no longer holding onto his jacket, she was trying to push it off. But what would have happened? Would they have done something that in the cold reality of the next moment they'd declare shouldn't have happened? Even Jason couldn't be certain himself that he wouldn't have said it had been too much. So he couldn't entirely blame Beth for her uncertain feelings.

All Jason knew was that the memory of the kiss haunted him, and he wasn't sure it should, or that it was healthy. Could he let himself fall for Beth, even further than he already had? Could he risk changing the rules of the game and not losing everything?

He sighed and rubbed his hand over his forehead. He couldn't think about that now. It just wasn't the right time. He had to talk to Johnny, he had to investigate the men in his organization, he had to tell Sonny that the snake might be closer than either of them ever suspected, and most of all, he had to keep Beth safe. The threat wasn't from outside anymore. It was someone inside. Something they all thought they could trust, someone they'd taken in and welcomed into their family, who was now seeking to harm them. He'd promised Beth he'd keep her safe from Manny Ruiz, but now he had to keep her safe from an unknown enemy, an enemy that was even more dangerous than the twisted, tattooed freak who'd met his end tonight.

Now was not the time to get distracted by personal feelings. He had to stay focused, or he could screw this all up and then all his ruminations would be for nothing. Beth could die before he ever made up his mind about what he wanted and what he should do. He would not let that happen. And so a kiss like tonight could never happen again. It was too dangerous, too risky, because it made him too vulnerable. And if he was vulnerable, then Beth was in greater danger and he would not do that to her.

"Where is he?"

The men in the room looked up, surprised by the sudden voice outside, but when the door burst open and Johnny O'Brian stepped inside, they relaxed slightly. Men that had been reaching for their weapons moved their coats back into place and the high alert was stood down. But Jason saw none of that. All he saw was an angry man with his sights set on him.

"You and I need to talk, Morgan."

Jason nodded and waved his hand, indicating the rest of the men should clear the room. John waited until they were alone and then strode forward.

"What happened tonight?"

"The mole," Jason said succinctly. "I don't know if it was him personally, but he's responsible for Beth and me getting shot at."

"You promised to take care of my sister," the other man shouted. "You promised me!"

Jason understood the brother's panic, because he'd felt it as well until he'd assured himself that Beth was fine.

"I know," he said quietly. "And I will. We're looking into who in the organization might have heard anything. I kept this quiet, John. I wouldn't take any chances with Beth."

The other man ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I...I know. Is she alright? She wasn't hurt?"

Jason shook his head. "No. I made sure. I shielded her in the car and asked her afterwards."

"Beth would hardly admit-"

"I know, which is why I made sure. I can have a doctor examine her if it would make you feel better."

John tipped his head to the side and pondered a moment before asking, "Would it make you feel better?"

Jason swallowed and looked down briefly. "No, I...I believe her. But I'll keep an eye on her and make sure something doesn't appear that we missed."

"You examined her?" he pressed.

"I looked for any cuts and obvious bruises," he admitted. Just not the manner in which he had. "I didn't find any."

"How close?"

Peering at the other man, he felt impatient and frustrated with the questions. "I'm sure Beth isn't obviously hurt. What more do you want me to say?"

"Was she scared?"

Jason nodded, "But she hid it well. Actually, she handled it well. When we were questioned by the police, she dealt with that without any problems. It won't make things easier on her with the police, I'm afraid, but just being my wife won't help that."

"Or my sister, or our father's daughter," John shook his head. "Beth doesn't have any lost love for the cops."

"But you're sure, right?"

"John," he sighed. "What do you want me to say? Do you want to come see Beth for yourself? Make sure she's fine? Do you want to stay the night? I answered your questions as best I could. It was crazy, you know how shootouts are. I did the best I could to protect her, to keep her safe; I tried to make sure she was alright afterwards. What more do you want me to say, O'Brian?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "I guess...I guess I just want you to tell me how long you've been in love with my sister and if she has any idea."

Jason Morgan was a killer. That's what he did for Sonny. If there was a problem, Jason eliminated it. Permanently. He went out and broke the law every day simply by being involved in the business. Living a lifestyle like that necessitated, by definition, he'd have to lie. He lied to the police when he told them he was just a coffee importer. He lied to other mobsters' faces so as to not give away a deal, or tip off a rival that had been marked for death. By nature of who he was and what he did for a living, he was not a virtuous man.

Yet, oddly enough, people called him an honest man. At least in his personal life. And they never expected him to lie to them. A supposed byproduct of the accident that had changed him from Jason Quartermaine to Jason Morgan had left him with the inability to tell a direct lie. It was a misconception he'd never bothered to correct. People believed they were dealing with a noble man because of his brain damage.

That was how he was able to stare Johnny straight in the face over two weeks ago and lie and John O'Brian believed every word he said. He didn't like it and had nearly hit Jason for it, but he'd believed him. And that was what Jason had wanted then as he'd panicked at the question.

"I don't know," John sighed. "I guess...I guess I just want you to tell me how long you've been in love with my sister and if she has any idea."

Jason had stared at him, and then shook his head, almost angrily as if he couldn't believe John had asked the question. "No, I'm not in love with your sister. What gave you that idea?"

"Maybe it's because when you talk about her you become a completely different person."

Annoyed that the other man wouldn't let it go, Jason had snapped, "What's that supposed to mean?"

John had been happy to go into great detail what he meant. Jason watched Beth closely. His face softened when he was looking at her, or even when he spoke of her. Jason wasn't, Johnny claimed, just upset that someone had taken a shot at the two of them, he was upset that Beth could have gotten hurt and he could have lost her. The other man had continued on, and Jason just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and stared.

But his mind wouldn't be still. Maybe it all hadn't been a lie; maybe Jason wasn't in love with Beth. He wasn't sure, because he'd never sat down to analyze it and label it. He liked her. He cared about her. He enjoyed being around her. He was certainly attracted to her and didn't like the thought of her leaving and divorcing him when the danger was over. But was that love? Couldn't that just be a byproduct of them living together and cohabitating? Couldn't he just be looking for some action?

Even as those thoughts crossed his mind, Jason quickly discarded them. This wasn't about chasing some tail and getting a piece. He would never disrespect Beth that way. If he was lucky enough to share anything physical with her, it wouldn't be cheap. It would be meaningful and profound. And that's when Jason knew that if he wasn't already in love with Beth, he was in a fair way to being so. It wouldn't be that much longer until he was. She had already threaded her way into his life, without even trying. He felt content, and complete, when she was with him.

But that was also why he couldn't say anything about that to John. Because that wasn't what this marriage was about. Johnny had brokered this arrangement to keep his sister safe, not marry her into another mob family. Just because the other had once commented to Jason that he would be the kind of man he hoped his sister would find and marry didn't mean that John, or his father, would actually approve of this becoming a long-term situation. So that was why Jason had ensured that John O'Brian would stop questioning him and believe him.

"Alright," he sighed as he looked away. "So I look at Beth. Why shouldn't I look at her? She's a beautiful woman, after all."

That had made O'Brian pause. "What's that supposed to mean, Morgan?"

"You're sister's a beautiful woman," he repeated. "I'd be a blind man not to notice my wife, since we are living together."

He paused and then shifted, stuffing his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders carelessly, "In fact, if the circumstances were different, I'd be doing everything in my power to spend some time with her. Wine her, dine her, take her away for the weekend. Maybe down to the island...I'd love to see her in a bathing suit. Preferably a bikini."

"You're a pig," John had spit out. "And I get your point. So get mine, Morgan. Stay away from my sister."

That's when his brother-in-law had insisted on coming home with Jason to see for himself that Beth was alright. And that's when he declared he was moving in with them so that he could be close at hand to monitor the situation. Beth simply had no idea that the situation wasn't the search for the mole, but her marriage.

She wasn't entirely happy with her brother living indefinitely with them, but Jason was actually finding something to be thankful for in it. Because it kept him in line. It kept him at a distance from Beth and with her at a distance; he didn't have to think too deeply about the hornet's nest John had stirred up with his questions. He didn't have to think about what his feelings were or try to label them and find out if he might actually love his wife. Attracted physically and emotionally, that he knew; but was it love already? It felt too soon, but he also knew there wasn't a timeline on love. People waited years to get married and divorced within six months, and people married three months after they met and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren around them in a loving environment.

With John around, Jason could focus on finding the mole. He could concentrate all his energy on singling out the person who was feeding information to the Ruiz family and betraying them all. He could zero in unimpeded on finding the snake responsible for putting his wife in danger. And he didn't have to feel quite so guilty about the time away from home if he knew that Beth's brother was there to look out for her and keep her company. He could oversee the weeding out process with Benny and the handful of guards that were cleared and committed to keeping everyone safe.

With Sonny back from the island, Jason had even more excuses to stay away from Beth. There was business, in addition to the mole, that had to be handled, and Jason was throwing himself into it. If Sonny suspected any reason behind it, or why John O'Brian had moved into his penthouse, he kept it to himself. For that, Jason was grateful. Sonny was committed to finding the mole as well, and so he was, for once, too focused to comment on Jason's life. He missed his family, and he wanted the mole found and the situation dealt with so that they could come home. While Jason understood that, and wanted the boys to come back and be with their father, he had to admit he wasn't anxious for Carly's return.

Her return would more than likely coincide with Beth's departure. He still hated the thought of Beth leaving, but he knew he couldn't stop it. And he wouldn't do anything about it. Yes, they had kissed, but so what? Did it really mean anything? Couldn't it just be written off as the aftermath of the shooting? Emotions were high, they were nervous, tense, scared and they'd...turned to each other to relieve it. While he certainly found Beth attractive, it had surprised him a bit to find that she hadn't protested when he'd kissed her. In fact, she'd been a willing participant. But what did that mean? Did she want more out of their marriage, or did she just want a night with him in her bed?

With a sigh, Jason shook his head and stepped off the elevator, turning for his penthouse. It was late, he was tired, and he wanted to grab whatever leftovers Beth had left in the refrigerator and eat before going up to get a few hours of sleep. They were close, everyone could feel it, everyone said so, and soon they'd find the mole. Then this would all be over.

But when he turned the key in the lock and opened his door, he paused and was taken aback. The penthouse wasn't dark, soft candlelight filled the air, casting a golden glow and making shadows dance. The table he'd purchased at Beth's request for the kitchen sat in the living room, a tablecloth covering it. A tablecloth he had no idea he owned. With the table set for two, the candles scattered around, Jason felt distinctly out of place in his home. This looked like the set-up for a romantic interlude, not a home where his wife of convenience usually ate dinner with her brother while he avoided her.

"Hello?" he said cautiously.

Beth stepped out of the kitchen and smiled at him while Jason's tongue froze in his mouth. She was wearing a simple, but beautiful, dress, her hair piled up on top of her head. Careless tendrils he was sure took hours to arrange just right teased at her neck and the whole look just begged for his fingers to bury themselves in her hair and pull the whole thing loose. To prevent such a catastrophe, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and curled his hands into fists.

"You're home," she smiled at him. "Have a seat."

He stood rooted to the floor, not moving at all. Something was definitely off here, and he was half-tempted to turn right around and leave. It would have been the smart thing to do. Probably would have been the right thing to do. Yet, he remained where he was and listened to his wife moving around the kitchen.

A few moments later she appeared, a bottle of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. She frowned at him slightly as she moved to the table. "Have a seat, Jason," she repeated. "I brought you a beer."

He hesitantly moved towards her and took the offered drink, noting appreciatively that it was chilled, but didn't sit. "Where's John?" he asked.

"My brother has returned to his home," she said easily, almost with a note of pleasure in her voice. "I love my brother and all, but it was time for him to go."

"He said that?" Jason pondered as Beth returned to the kitchen.

"No," she called out. "I told him to go."

His hand clenched around the bottle, his stomach twisting into a knot at the news. This was definitely not a good thing. He had counted on John's presence to maintain a proper amount of distance between him and Beth, and he was certain after his comments to the O'Brian son that he wouldn't leave the two of them alone. So how had his wife managed to get her brother to leave?

"You told him to leave?" he could only repeat as she returned to the living room, carrying two plates with her. Delicious smells wafted towards him from the dishes and his stomach betrayed the situation by signaling its delight.

"Jason," she smiled at him as she set the plates down, "I promise you that you won't get food poisoning or anything like that. So come sit down and have dinner with me."

With a detached feeling, he complied. Even though he told himself he shouldn't. Nothing good could come of this whole set-up, and he should just leave before things got out of hand. But Beth looked up at him from beneath her lashes and smiled at him so invitingly, so flirtatiously, that he pulled out the chair and sat across from her.

"What's going on, Beth?" he asked, his hands in his lap.

"Do I have to have a reason to want to have dinner with my husband?"

He swallowed. "Why did you tell John to leave?"

"Because I think that it's a bit ridiculous for my older brother to living with my husband and I like he's our chaperone."

She'd noticed that; Jason had hoped she wouldn't.

"He didn't want to leave," she continued on, picking up her fork and knife and cutting into the steak on her plate. "But I was firm. I love Johnny, but I was tired of him constantly being under foot. I...I knew that even if you were busy most of the time...I just wanted some time alone with you. Like how it was before...before the shooting."

His hands curled into fists under the table. Before the shooting. Things had been good before the shooting. But if they continued on down that path...it was better not to think about that. Pushing back his chair, he startled Beth and caused her to look up at him in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "You...you haven't touched your steak."

"I...I should go," he told her, his voice coming out tight and hard. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"What?" she asked.

"This," he gestured towards the table and the space between them. "This...us. It's not a good idea."

When Beth Morgan set out tonight with her plans, she had hoped the candlelight would create a soft, romantic atmosphere, reminiscent of the dinner all those weeks ago at The No Name. Now, she was hoping that the light in the room was weak enough to hide the blush on her cheeks; a combination of hurt, humiliation, shame and anger. After thinking she might have finally found her niche in this male run world, she was being soundly rejected. Again.

Only this time it wasn't by a father who couldn't be bothered to claim her as his own until it was convenient for him, now it was by a man who had kissed her unlike anyone else before only mere weeks earlier. She could still remember the taste of Jason's lips, the feel of his hands gliding over her skin, the smell of him, how he felt as her hands danced over his flesh...it was all still imprinted on her mind. It stayed with her, woke her up at night, made her crave for more. That was why she'd sent her brother home; how could she get closer to Jason if Johnny was constantly under foot? And now that she'd done all that, Jason was telling her it wasn't a good idea.

That made her angry. She apparently was good enough to kiss on his terms, but if she tried to initiate anything it wasn't going to happen. Did the kiss mean nothing to him? She hadn't thought so. She could remember the feel of him pressed against her, and she was pretty sure she'd felt the stirrings of his passion. He certainly hadn't been pushing her away in the limo when they arrived at the Towers' garage; he'd all but had her in his lap. So he could kiss her then, but he didn't want to now. And he didn't want to sleep with her.

"I see," she said in a clipped tone, responding to Jason's declaration that they weren't a good idea. With careful, precise, fury-laced actions, she wiped the corners of her mouth and set her napkin on top of her food that had lost all its appeal. She pushed back her chair and stood, her mouth twisting bitterly when Jason immediately rose to his feet. Always the chivalrous jerk.

She raised her eyes to meet his and hoped he died from the daggers she was flinging at him. "I see."

"Beth," he began, looking tired and weary and she hardened herself against his appearance. It was clear he was doing all that he could to find the mole in the organizations, to find the person responsible for them getting shot at. He'd been staying out late, hardly eating, and she doubted he was getting enough sleep. But she told herself to ignore the impulse to want to take care of him. She'd tried that, and this is where it got her. "Let me explain."

"Explain?" she asked, her voice icy and hard. "I think I understand you perfectly. You don't have a mistress, but you certainly don't want your own wife."

He shifted and swallowed, ran a hand over his jaw and looked down.

"You kissed me. Twice. And I kissed you back. I thought...I thought you might want more. Like I did. But I see now that I was wrong."

Jason looked at her, surprise crossing his features. "More?"

"Please try to contain your disgust," she requested of him. She wasn't sure how she could survive this if he acted like he was repulsed by her.

"That's not-"

"I understand that this isn't what you signed up for, but I thought that...that maybe things had changed. I...I like you." She wanted to look away, but she wouldn't. She wouldn't be embarrassed and flustered like a school girl. "You're kind, and you treated me well. I'm not ashamed to admit that I find you attractive. I thought...after our kiss, that maybe..."

She swallowed and took a deep breath, forced the tears back that were threatening her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of her tears. "I made a mistake. I make a lot of those. You're not the first one I've made in this world; misjudging the people around me. I thought my father was my uncle, and then I thought he was actually honoring me and loving me when he didn't give me his name and snuck around with my mother. Don't worry, though, I disabused myself of that notion pretty quickly. I'll get over this disappointment as well."

"Beth," he tried again, taking a step forward. He immediately stopped when she took one step back. "Elizabeth, please. That's not...I-"

"Please stop trying to find ways to let me down gently. You don't want me. Don't worry, you're not the first, I doubt you'll be the last. I can't really seem to find anybody who wants me for me...I just let myself be tricked into thinking you might be the first. But you don't." She shrugged. It was painful, but she hoped she passed it off as casual. "No big deal. So don't worry. I'm not going to try to sneak into your bed and seduce you, I won't prance around in skimpy little outfits or accidentally step out of the bathroom in my towel when you're around. I have some pride, and I don't need to throw myself after someone who clearly isn't interested."

"Elizabeth, stop." Jason's voice was soft and pained, but she wasn't going to listen to him.

She'd believed he was different, that he wasn't actually like other mobsters, that he was a good man. And he still was, but it hurt that he didn't want her. Nobody wanted her, unless they could gain something from their connection to her. She thought that Jason liked her, but apparently she was just...she didn't know what she was to him. She hoped he wouldn't try to tell her he thought of her like a kid sister. She already had one big brother, she didn't need another. Especially not him.

"What, Jason?" she asked, crossing her arms under her chest. "Why should I? It's the truth, right? You kissed me, and now you've decided you don't want to sleep with me. I guess I'm not as experienced as you are, because a kiss like that, I thought it meant you wanted more like I did. Next time I'll know better and I won't have to make this embarrassing mistake."

"I want you," he said, frustration bleeding into his voice. His words stopped her cold and her mouth hung open. "I shouldn't, but I want you. But I can't...Beth, you need to understand."

She liked Elizabeth better; at least from his lips. But she doubted she'd ever hear him say it again, or in the manner she hoped he would. It would never be a whisper in the darkness as his lips skimmed across her skin.

"I understand," she cut him off. She didn't want to hear anything more from him. She apparently hadn't been entirely wrong, but the fact remained the same. "This is a business transaction, and you told my brother and my father you'd look out for me. Your nobility prevents you from taking advantage of me. Look, do us both a favor and just stop talking, okay? Tell me you think of me like a little sister, or you could never go for Johnny's kid sister. Just stop."

"Beth." He stopped when his phone rang and she took the opportunity to make her escape. Whatever the phone call was about, it was undoubtedly business, and she didn't fit anywhere in that world. She never had, she never would, and she'd only been fooling herself to think she might have found a place with Jason.

"Yeah?" Jason's angry voice carried up the stairs and into her bedroom. The room was a punch in the gut; she'd hoped that Jason would once again inhabit this room. Or at least be willing to visit.

As she was busy erasing the evidence of her hopes and dreams, she heard the front door slam shut. Her eyes closed, and she took a deep breath. It was probably better this way, but it still hurt that Jason had left without saying good-bye. As she looked around the room, she wondered if she shouldn't take a page from his book.

Beth woke the next morning, tired, achy and heart-broken, but after a long, warm shower she managed to fix two of the three problems. The hurt and pain of finding out that while Jason might want her, he still wouldn't sleep with her wasn't much better than thinking he didn't want her at all. And her head threatened to start throbbing again if she thought about it too long, so she merely stopped. Once she was dressed and put together, she stood in the middle of her bedroom and looked around. Last night she'd been convinced she couldn't stay here, but this morning, she no longer felt that way. The call last night that took Jason away was most likely about the mole, and if that was the case, then this could all be over soon. So all she had to do was avoid Jason for a little while longer and things would be golden.

Making her way downstairs, she opened the door and was surprised to see a man from her father's organization standing there along with Richie. "Pete," she said, covering her surprise and shock. "What...what are you doing here?"

"Your brother and Mr. Morgan thought you might feel more comfortable with a few of us that you knew from Long Island," he explained to her. "Considering what happened with...well, a couple of us were promoted to guard detail."

She smiled at the man and nodded. "Alright. I...as long as Jason knows about this."

"He does, Mrs. Morgan," Richie assured her.

Well, if Jason knew, then that was good enough for her. How nice of him to let her know, but considering the events of last night, she wasn't entirely surprised. "I wanted to head to Kelly's this morning," she told them, and reached for her jacket and purse.

"I'll call down and get the car," Pete said, and then moved towards the elevator. Richie waited for her to get her things, and lock the penthouse, and then pressed the button to call the car. Pete fell into step beside her, and together, the trio boarded the elevator.

She had the entire day planned out, starting with breakfast at Kelly's and ending with pool at Jake's. She did not want to see the inside of the penthouse until it was time to go to sleep. Hopefully, whatever Jason was doing would be successful, and then she could pack up the rest of her belongings and get out of Port Charles for good.

He'd never really thought that his wife was a coward, but as Jason woke up - on the couch - and realized that he'd never been woken up by the door, he began to think Beth was hiding from him. Sadly, he couldn't find it in himself to really blame her. After all, she'd put herself out there two nights ago and he'd reduced her to near tears with his rejection. When the phone rang and Max informed him that they'd grabbed the guy they suspected was the mole in the organizations, he'd seized the opportunity to leave the penthouse. With relief. Now he wouldn't have to be around her and possibly do something foolish, like go upstairs, beg Beth's forgiveness and then pick up where she'd left off. So he'd left and it wasn't until he was halfway to the safe house the guards had taken the mole to that he realized he hadn't told her he was going or even left her a note. Just another thing she could add to her list against him and hate him for.

The ironic thing was, he did want more from Beth...more than she was offering him. He had no doubt that she'd welcome him into her bed; her kiss had been warm and inviting and she was promising him more of the same. But he hadn't sensed a greater level of commitment from her, and that - combined with his promise to John that he'd stay away - had kept Jason back. He knew that if he slept with her, there would be no way to deny that he was in love with her. And he doubted she felt the same way, and she'd leave when the threat was gone, and he'd be left wanting her and not being able to hold her back because that's what they'd promised each other at the beginning. So it was better to not have a taste of the forbidden fruit, then take a bite and be left wanting more.

During a break in the interrogation of Dominic Hindley, Jason had checked his voice mail to discover an update from Richie. He and Pete Warden had accompanied Beth on some errands. He didn't know whether to be pleased that she trusted the words of the guards, or annoyed that she had accepted it without word from him. Of course, given the last communication they'd had with each other, she probably hadn't been eager to talk to him and verify the veracity of the guards' claims. There was danger in being too trusting, and yet Jason knew that when she came home he wouldn't lecture her on it. She was entitled to some time away.

However, he hadn't thought that time away would include staying out all night.

He'd been restless and unable to sleep when he came home and discovered she was still gone. Hindley wasn't talking and Sonny had suggested they leave the man, tied to the chair, alone in the safe house overnight to help persuade him to be more forthcoming when they returned the next day. He hadn't been looking forward to dealing with Beth, and had been a bit relieved when she wasn't there. A call to her Richie had informed him that Beth was currently getting drunk in a corner booth at Jake's, and Jason had for a brief moment contemplated going down there, but dismissed it as insanity. Nothing would be gained by his presence, and if he was honest with himself, he wasn't ready to face her yet.

Now, however, after he'd made a sweep of the house just to make sure she hadn't somehow slipped by him, he pulled out his phone and called her guards. Staying out late was one thing; not coming home was something else. He needed to make sure she was alright before he headed back out to interrogate Hindley once more.

When Richie's phone went to voicemail, he quickly hung up and dialed Pete's number. The guard picked up on the second ring.

"Warden."

"Pete, it's Jason Morgan. I'm calling about my wife."

"Yes, Mr. Morgan. Mrs. Morgan is well...she's sleeping off her hangover at Jake's, sir." The guard paused and his next words were a knife into Jason's heart. "She refused to go home last night, and when Richie got your call, she got a key from the bar owner and locked herself in a room upstairs; said we couldn't force her to go home."

Jason swallowed roughly. Beth didn't want to come home...to him. "Okay," he let out a breath. "Why didn't Richie answer his phone when I called earlier?"

"Dead," Pete answered. "His battery died last night. Said it's been losing power this last week and he needs to get a new one."

Jason sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Alright, Pete. Just...look out for my wife."

"I will, Mr. Morgan," the guard assured him. "Richie and I will keep her safe."

And with that question answered, Jason headed upstairs to shower before heading back to the safe house to find out why Dominic Hindley had turned on the organization.

When Jason returned to the penthouse that night, after another wasted day questioning Hindley, the penthouse was quiet and he knew immediately that Beth wasn't home. He looked for a note, checked his cell phone for messages and then saw the flashing red light on the phone sitting on his desk. He pressed the play button and Elizabeth's terse voice filled the room.

"Jason, I'm going to my mother's. I'll call you later."

There was a muffled sound, and then Pete's voice carried through, "I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan. She didn't want to come back and I told her she should call you and let you know where she was going so she didn't worry. Richie picked up another battery and an extra charger, so you can reach either of us if you need to. We'll take care of Mrs. Morgan."

Jason sighed and ran his hand over his face. He'd really fouled this one up. He'd upset his wife so much that she'd taken off to her mother's house. Apparently she'd rather be with the woman who had destroyed her childhood than be anywhere near him.

It made him want to follow after her and tell her that she was wrong. She had found a place where she fit in. She fit with him. He wanted her, and not just sexually. He wanted her in his life. He hated coming home and discovering she wasn't there. Maybe she didn't feel exactly the same, but he hoped he could convince her to give them a chance, to see if she could.

Instead, he headed upstairs, took a shower, and drifted into an unrestful sleep. He kept startling awake, certain he heard the door and would discover she'd come home. But each time he got out of bed and searched the house, he was left disappointed to discover it was still empty.

"I don't think Hindley's our guy."

Jason rubbed his temples and then dragged a weary hand down his jaw, his hand catching on the four day's worth of stubble. It killed him to agree with Sonny's pronouncement, but his friend was right. After three days of increasingly painful and violent interrogations of Dominic Hindley, they'd discovered that the man was skimming from the till, but he hadn't fallen into league with the Ruiz family.

The man had been dealt with for his theft from the organization, and now they were facing a brick wall. If it wasn't him, then who was the person responsible? All this time wasted, and the man was still out there.

It made Jason worry for Beth. He'd let her head to her mother's both for the fact that he knew he'd hurt her and didn't want to push her, but also because he was convinced they had the man responsible for everything. Now, they didn't.

"Someone needs to call John," he sighed, and really hoped Sonny would offer to do that. He didn't want to call his brother-in-law, who by now had to know that Beth had left him.

"I have to meet the principal at Michael's school," Sonny said with a shake of his head. "They're threatening to tell the state my son's not enrolled anywhere, despite me telling them I hired a tutor for Michael down on the island and he's keeping up with his school work. I swear, the principal is an idiot and I keep telling Carly we should put him in a different school, but she says that's the best place."

"Probably because it's the most expensive," Jason pointed out, trying not to sound bitter. He was going to have to call John and wasn't looking forward to the experience.

"O'Brian."

"John, it's Jason," he said when his brother-in-law answered the phone. "Hindley wasn't the guy."

John swore darkly and asked, "You're sure."

"I handled the interrogation myself. The guy isn't the mole. So..." he paused and then forged ahead. "So I need you to call Beth and tell her she should come home. It's...it's not safe at her mother's."

There was a moment of silence on the other end and then John asked, "What do you mean? Beth isn't at her mother's."

"Yes, she is," he answered. "She went there several days ago with two guards."

"Jason, her mother isn't in the country. She and my father had a huge fight after Beth's wedding. It was a major blow-up. She accused him of keeping her from her child's wedding, of shoving her out of her child's life, claimed he only wanted Beth as a status symbol. She came to the club, we had to send the girls and the workers home because everyone could hear them even though they were in the back office. She was livid."

Jason gripped the phone tightly, "When was this?"

"Right after the wedding."

"You mean she's been gone for weeks?

"Almost a couple of months," John corrected. "What happened, Jason? Why would you send Beth to her mother's without knowing that?"

"John, I...I can't explain right now. I have to go.

He hung up before the other man could protest and then punched in Richie's number. It rang unanswered, and he ended up dumped in the voicemail. Anger, tinged with panic, was creeping up on Jason, and he quickly dialed Pete's number. John was going to kill him for this, and it would be justified. Jason should have done more checking, assigned more guards, or called John sooner. But he hadn't wanted to tell the other man what had caused Beth to run, hadn't wanted to admit the depth of his feelings for her, or that he'd hurt her by rejecting her, so he'd stayed silent. If he'd checked sooner, he would have known something was wrong.

"Mr. Morgan."

Pete's voice finally came through the receiver, and Jason was relieved, and wary, that the other man had picked up. "Pete."

"Tsk, tsk, Mr. Morgan," the guard chided him in a mocking voice, "you really must not care about your wife very much if it took you several days to finally call me. I guess I was wrong about you, I thought you really did like her. But I take her away, and you just accept it, don't check on her, don't look for her. She's missed you, Morgan. All these tears for a man who didn't even bother to call."

"You have her?" Jason asked, his throat not wanting to work well. "What do you want, Warden? You don't need to bring Beth into this."

"That's where you're wrong, Morgan," the other man answered. "Because, you see...Beth is right in the middle of this, and she doesn't even know it. And now that I've got her, I hold all the power. So I'll call you tomorrow...and we'll talk then."

Then he hung up, and Jason stared blankly at the phone. His fingers were stiff as he fumbled over the keypad, having to hang up once before finally getting the correct buttons.

"Sonny," he spoke when his friend finally answered. "We have a problem. Beth's...Beth's been taken."

Back when Beth was planning on spending a day in Port Charles, angrily staying away from the penthouse and her absentee husband, her black, high-heeled boots had seemed like such a good idea. They were her angry shoes. The ones she wore when her temper was flared, when she planned on strutting her way through stores and restaurants and wanted to hear the furious staccato of the pencil-thin heels tattooing across the floor. When she put on those shoes, she could imagine grinding out her frustration; it had been very convenient to imagine her stepping on Jason's face, or other parts of his body, with each step she'd taken. Let her husband reject her, leave her alone and not send word to her; she'd show him with each step she took around town.

Now, she was regretting her shoes.

When she'd tried to run away from Pete Warden, after he killed Richie right in front of her and told her she'd be next, she twisted her ankle. The heels, while fabulous to walk off her frustration in, were definitely not suited for running through the dark, wooded area they'd ended up in after she hightailed it out of Jake's once Richie hung up the phone after talking to Jason. She'd been buzzed and hadn't realized where they were, but Richie had sensed something was wrong. Especially once they stopped in a remote area. Before he could even get the words out questioning the location, Pete had shot the other guard in the head, splattering blood, hair, skin and bits of brain on Beth. Instinct and self-preservation had kicked in and she'd thrown open the door, and ran for it.

When Pete caught her, that was the first time he slapped her.

They'd passed the night in a small, cold, dingy cabin more filled with bugs than any provisions. She'd heard his phone call the next morning with Jason, and because of the gag her captor had stuffed in her mouth she'd been unable to refute his claims that she was sleeping off the night at Jake's. She'd hoped Jason would check on her and find out they'd left, that Pete's story didn't check out, but apparently he hadn't.

Because her dear, sweet husband hadn't realized she was missing until she'd already been gone several days.

By the time he called again, she was tired, cold, hungry, her ankle was throbbing and sore, and she knew she'd have to cut the boot off her foot if she ever got the chance for someone to look at it. Pete didn't seem too concerned with her pain, or her well-being. He was angry, but cold, calculating and shrewd, and nothing she said, begged, bribed or offered made any difference to him. He said he had a plan, and she believed him. Because he deviated for nothing and nobody. She was merely being dragged along for his purposes, even if she had no idea of what they were.

She'd learned to stop fighting at her bonds, because he only made them tighter, and she'd stopped talking once he'd hit her so hard half her mouth was swollen and she'd honestly feared for several hours he might have broken her jaw. But she wasn't going to give up. She was merely biding her time, watching, waiting and observing. She had to be ready to go at a moment's notice whenever any opportunity presented itself. And if one didn't, then she had to hang on until Jason or her brother somehow found a way to recover her. And if she ever got a chance to talk to him, she had to be knowledgeable enough to give them information even if it earned her another slap or punch.

"It's no use."

She didn't react to Pete's voice. She didn't look at him, she didn't acknowledge him, she didn't do anything that suggested she'd heard him. It would make him angry, but he got more pleasure from her fear and her responses, and she refused to give those to him.

He walked over to where she was sitting on the floor, her handcuffed hands secured by a chain to the solid oak footboard she was seated beside, and stopped in front of her. With a sadistic, feral grin, he lifted his foot and then brought it down on her bad ankle, rotating the joint and sending thousands of jolts of pain up through her leg and body. Tears sprang to her eyes and she bit her lip so hard in an effort not to cry out that blood seeped into her mouth.

She couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her once he ceased his torture and knelt down in front of her. Once he was sure he had her undivided attention, he spoke again. "It's no use, Beth. There won't be any escape. Morgan obviously doesn't care, or he would have called about you sooner. But I guess that doesn't really surprise me. You're nothing more than an illegitimate child he was saddled with, and once out of sight, you're out of mind. He must have finally gotten lonely and looked for a way to scratch his itch again and wondered where his little whore of a wife was."

She swallowed her blood; she wouldn't give him the knowledge that she'd injured herself by spitting it out on the floor. Looking at him blankly, she didn't react to his words. They were obviously meant to hurt her, and on some level they did. But she'd never let him, or Jason, know that.

Jason clearly didn't care about her. He'd merely accepted her absence, her lame, forced excuse that she was off to her mother's, and it was only once she'd been gone for days, that he called her guard. Clearly, he was relieved by her absence. After all, he'd made it quite clear that while he may lust for her, he didn't really want her. Not for anything more than a tumble in the sheets. He didn't desire her in his life, he didn't miss her or want her around, he didn't love her.

That was the bitter realization Beth had come to yesterday. He didn't love her. Not like she loved him. At first, she hadn't seen it. She'd been so busy fighting against the marriage, hating her father, fearing that Jason would shame her by having a mistress, that she'd been blinded. Then she believed that their friendship that seemed to be forming was merely due to the fact that they were cohabitating. They shared a few similar interests, they were no longer suspicious and fighting with each other, it seemed only natural that they'd talk and start to get to know one another. And the physical attraction that seemed to be developing between them was just a by-product of that. Close proximity, near constant interaction, not a lot of outside interference, awareness would naturally begin. So when she'd set up their last evening together, Beth merely thought she was acting on that.

She'd never realized that her feelings for her husband went so much deeper. She had no clue that the reason why she was so willing, and eager, to act on her desires was because she loved him. It wasn't just a physical reaction based on an odd set of circumstances; she had genuinely come to love her husband. She looked forward to his return when he was gone. It wasn't because she was lonely and she just wanted someone to talk to, because she didn't want to talk to her brother or any of the guards. She only wanted to talk to Jason. Her feelings weren't just because he'd treated her kind; it was because he made her feel cherished. He made her feel like she'd never felt before, and as she sat in a miserable, filthy warehouse yesterday fearing that she may actually die due to the actions of a madman, she was hit with overwhelming despair that the last time she'd seen Jason it had been while they were fighting.

She did not want their last interaction to be that way. It would have been nice if it had ended with the two of them upstairs together, but even if they'd just ended up sitting on the couch talking about places they'd traveled to and she fell asleep on the couch and woke up in her bed knowing that he'd carried her upstairs and watched over her, she would have been happy. Not a fight. Not angry, horrible, spite-filled words flung at each other. She didn't want that. She hated that the last time she'd looked at him, he'd been angry and yelling. She hated that the last time she'd said anything to him had been shrewish, awful words. She wished she'd seen it sooner and could have told him she loved him. She wished she could have had just one more kiss.

"It's time for us to call your dear, sweet hubby," Pete said as he reached out and grabbed her face roughly, pressing on the bruises and split skin. "And before you get any brilliant ideas like trying to tell him where we are, or not to come after you or anything noble and sentimental like that, just remember this. I will hurt you. I won't kill you, although you may prefer it if it I did. No, I need you alive, Beth, so alive you'll remain. But I will hurt you."

Her skin crawled, her mind going to terrible places with his threat. He constantly called her a slut and a whore and said she was exactly like her mother, and had obviously been sleeping with Jason this entire time. The man seemed preoccupied with hers and Jason's sex life, and she feared that he would try to extract some personal pleasure for himself, or just extract further revenge on Jason by defiling his wife and affronting his honor. The fear was enough to freeze her and make her cautious.

Pete dialed the phone and grinned at her malevolently when he didn't have to wait long to hear Jason's voice. "Ah, Morgan. Waiting by the phone for my call, I see."

Pacing away from her, he spoke, giving instructions about meeting places, who was to be there, what was to happen, but no requests were made for money. She found it odd, until she realized that this wasn't about money, it was about power. Pete wanted more power than he had in the organization, and figured the way to get it was to kidnap her. After all, she was Patrick O'Brian's daughter and Jason Morgan's wife. She was the perfect pawn.

"Do you understand, Morgan?" Pete demanded, anger filling his words as he turned back to face Beth. With a roll of his eyes he stalked over to her and fairly spat on her. "Assure your husband that you're fine so that he'll listen to my instructions. He's being annoyingly obstinate."

He shoved the phone up to her ear, the one that had smacked against the edge of the car door several days ago when he'd shoved her inside the vehicle. "Say hello."

She licked her cracked, swollen and bruised lips and said, "Jason?"

"Elizabeth."

It was so good to hear his voice, and the sound of her full name slipping past his lips was such a balm to her. Unbidden, tears pricked at her eyes and she closed them so Pete wouldn't see the evidence of her relief.

"Are you alright?" Jason asked. "Has he hurt you?"

She didn't want to make the situation worse, she wanted Jason to focus, and she knew he wouldn't if she answered the questions truthfully. So she said, "I'm holding on. I'm waiting for you."

"How touching," Pete sneered as he yanked the phone away. Once it was back at his ear he spoke curtly. "You see, Morgan, your precious, little wife is alive. Now listen to my instructions. I want to see you, your boss, and your in-laws, and only the four of you, tomorrow. Head to Niagra Falls. I'll call you tomorrow morning at 10 AM and tell you where to go next."

He paused and looked over at Elizabeth. "Only the four of you," he repeated. "Any more than that and you won't like what happens to your wife."

Jason clearly asked a question, because Pete cocked his head to the side and rolled his eyes in sarcastic exasperation. "Yes, yes, Morgan. Your precious Beth will be joining us tomorrow. But not because you asked. I have reasons of my own. Until tomorrow."

Then he hung up the phone and once again crouched down in front of Beth. "Well, it looks like tomorrow we see dear ol' Dad once again."

Ever since Jason knew that Pete Warden had taken Beth, something hadn't set well with Jason. The man had made no demands. Except for wanting to meet him, Sonny, John and Patrick O'Brian. Why? Where were the demands for power? Where were the demands for money? Where was anything that made sense? Nothing did in this scenario.

Warden had kidnapped his wife, but didn't call. He waited for Jason to realize she was missing. Once they knew Pete was the captor, he didn't give them any clue as to his motives; he just asked to meet with the top four men in the organization.

Which meant that this wasn't a power grab, and it wasn't a snatch for money, this was personal. This was something for revenge. And that made the situation a powder keg waiting to explode. Because Jason could understand and think through other situations, but people out for personal revenge were unpredictable. And he had too much at stake to take chances. He'd already told Sonny and his in-laws that they were going to have to step up and make sure Warden didn't get away. Because Jason wanted the man to pay for taking his wife, but he was going to do everything in his power to rescue Elizabeth first.

"Maybe we should call Stan again," Jason murmured low in his throat as they sat in a car near an old abandoned building. They'd been scurrying around like mice all morning, running from the U.S. side of Niagra Falls into Canada and from place to place as Warden toyed with them. They were now sitting outside what was hopefully the final meeting place, just waiting for Beth's guard to call them and tell them where to go next.

"He's not going to be able to dig anything up if you keep calling him and interrupting him," Sonny shook his head.

"I knew I should have asked Spinelli to look into this," he grumbled.

"I told you, that computer geek doesn't get anywhere near our organization. It's fine if you want him to wire your penthouse for the latest techno gadgets and sure, he streamlined the coffee shop's invoice system, but that's all I'm letting him do." Sonny shook his head, "He's not getting near the rest of our business. Kid's too squirrelly and I can never understand what he's saying. He's not becoming our researcher."

Jason looked away out the window, and bit back his retorts. Sonny's wife hadn't been taken, and Jason knew that Spinelli could have broken into Warden's past faster than Stan was. But Jason was hampered by orders. But if this wasn't the place where his wife was being held at, Jason would call Spinelli anyways. Regardless of what Sonny said.

The phone in his pocket trilled and Jason pulled it out, flipping it open. "Morgan."

"It's nice to know that you men can follow orders as well as you give them," Warden said in his mocking tone he'd used since this day began. "On the south side of the warehouse is a small door by a dumpster. Come in through there and head towards the back."

Jason hung up when he heard the dial tone and looked up to find the others watching him intently. "There's a door on the south side we're supposed to go through."

"My daughter is inside?" Patrick demanded.

"I hope so," Jason said. "All I know is what Warden said. He told us to go inside, so we're going inside."

"If you had taken better care of her, Morgan," Patrick hissed at him as the four men climbed out of the car. "Then Beth wouldn't have been in this mess."

"Dad," John tried to mediate. "This isn't the time."

"And when is, Johnny?" his father demanded. "He married your sister and promised he'd keep her safe."

"I did," Jason snapped, rounding on his father-in-law. As an associate of Sonny's he would respect the man. But as the father of his wife, Jason had no use or patience for him. "I kept her safe from the Manny Ruiz and the rest of his family. She didn't marry him and become subjected to the sadistic cruelties of that man. But Warden was in your organization. You ran the background check on him. You sent him to be part of Beth's detail. You knew there was a leak in the organization and you didn't check hard enough, just like you never took care of her when she was a child."

"Don't you presume to lecture me on my relationship with my daughter," Patrick spat at him.

"What relationship?" Jason challenged. "You lied to her and then only acknowledged her when it was convenient to you. Don't make yourself out to be father of the year here when you hurt her far worse than I ever have. I accepted your guard out respect for you and to help make Beth feel more comfortable. But I won't ever do that again. My men will protect her from now on and if you don't like it, then you'll just have to get over it."

By now they were at the south door and Patrick O'Brian grabbed a handful of Jason's jacket and spun him around to the wall. "My daughter will be divorcing you once this is all over and you and your men will never be anywhere near her again."

"I think we'll ask Beth what she wants," Jason broke free from the hold and shoved the older man back. "But I can promise you this; I love her more than you ever have and more than you're capable of. And unlike you, I'll show her that every day, not just when it's convenient for me."

"You love her," Patrick scoffed. "I highly doubt you're capable of such an emotion."

"Enough," Sonny intervened, planting a hand on Jason's chest and pushing him back. John stepped in front of his father and restrained him again.

The O'Brian son looked over at Jason questioningly, and Jason knew he was wondering about the truth of his statement. Jason had earlier claimed he didn't love Beth, he just wanted to sleep with her. He had been trying to protect himself, but he wasn't going to lie about it anymore. He just wanted the chance to tell Elizabeth he loved her, and that he did want to make their marriage more than it was if she could just find it in her heart to forgive him for hurting her so deeply. That's all Jason wanted, and he let it show to John. The younger man gave a slight nod and turned to handle his father.

"Come on, Pop," he said. "This isn't doing us any good. We need to be united for Beth's sake and to make sure that Warden doesn't get away. Everything else can wait."

"John's right," Sonny quickly agreed. "Let's get inside and make this bastard pay for taking Beth."

Tempers calmed slightly, and truce temporarily called, the four men composed themselves and pulled open the rusting door, the hinges groaning loudly and announcing their arrival, and stepped into the warehouse. They were cautious as they walked towards the back, each man holding his weapon and alert for any signs of an ambush or other trouble. Jason was tense and on edge, anxious for a sign of Elizabeth so he could know how she was, let her know he was there.

"You won't be needing those."

The quartet halted at the words, and already tense demeanors turned to granite when Warden came into view, dragging a bound, gagged, and obviously bruised Beth beside him.

"There's no need for violence," he tsked. "We have things to discuss and there's need to tempt fate by someone getting an overly happy trigger finger."

"Let her go," Jason growled low in his throat.

Warden just laughed and shook his head. "No, Morgan, that's your M.O. I prefer to keep Beth close by. It suits my purposes better."

"What do you want?" Patrick demanded. "Whatever you want, we can talk about it. Just let my daughter go."

"Your daughter," Pete sneered. "How touching. Funny how you're so concerned with your little illegitimate brat. It would be almost touching, if it hadn't messed up everything. I didn't figure you would care when the Ruiz family came to you with a proposition, a merger in exchange for a marriage. But you had to go all noble and act like you cared about your tramp's worthless little daughter and come running to Corinthos and Morgan here. I had everything arranged, and you messed it up."

"Why would you want to marry her off to Manny Ruiz?" Sonny asked. He was the one least involved in the situation and he had apparently decided to step in and handle the questions since Patrick looked ready to burst and John and Jason weren't far behind him.

"Why not?" he answered with a careless shrug. "She's a nothing. A nobody. After all, her mother was nothing but a stripper who became a mistress. She's the daughter of a whore and therefore not of much value. Isn't that right, Dad?"

Patrick's head snapped up sharply. "Dad? I'm not your father."

"You said that to my mother when she came and told you she was pregnant. She was just another dancer in a club and someone you were all too happy to use for your personal pleasure. You would use her when Beth's mother wasn't available and when you were angry your father arranged your marriage to Johnny's mother. When she told you she was pregnant, you didn't believe her. Said it could be anybody's baby; after all, she was just a stripper.

"Then your father came to see my mother and paid her ten thousand dollars to go away. Said if she went away and stayed quiet, he'd pay her a thousand dollars for every year she stayed quiet. My mother was too stupid to hold out for more money, and a thousand bucks doesn't go very far, so she had to keep working. But of course, everyone knew she'd been used and thrown away by the great Patrick O'Brian, so she didn't get much work."

"So this is revenge?" Sonny asked, interjecting another calm question when Warden grew agitated.

"This is me getting what should have been mine." Warden's smile was wide and feral. "I should have been my father's heir apparent," he declared. "Not Johnny over there. I was the first born son. But because I was just the son of a stripper, I wasn't good enough. So why was Beth? Her mother was a stripper. Why did she get put up in a house and receive an allowance? My grandfather died when I was ten, and the money dried up. I should be where Johnny's at."

Jason's slow bubbling anger towards Patrick O'Brian was reaching a critical point, but he knew that now was not the place for a reaction. He hadn't done a good enough background check on Warden, and the old man was probably too arrogant to think that the stripper's claims were true. He'd allowed someone inside the organization who targeted Beth, and if he ever accused Jason of neglect towards his daughter again, Jason wouldn't hesitate to shove this mistake down the old man's throat.

There was no point to further talking, in his mind. They knew why Warden had done what he'd done, and Jason knew that there was only one way this would end if Pete had his way. Patrick's precious child, his favored one would die in revenge and intentionally inflicted harm as a way to make up for all the perceived wrongs of Warden's childhood and existence. Jason was not going to let that happen. She'd already been beaten by the man, he was not going to stand by talking about how 'Daddy didn't love me enough' and become distracted to the real purpose of this meeting.

"Look," he spoke up. "You got issues with O'Brian, then deal with him. Beth doesn't have anything to do with this."

"She has everything to do with it," Warden insisted. "She got to grow up with him, she got to know him, she got his love."

"She hated him," Jason stated and Patrick looked over at him in barely controlled anger. "She thought he was her uncle for years, then realized that he was her father and he'd turned her mother into a high-paid hooker. There's no love for him on her part, so why make her suffer?"

"Because it makes him suffer."

"No, it just means you're too much of a coward to face him on your own. You have to hide behind a woman, hit her instead of the person you're angry at. You couldn't confront your father, you had to get someone else to do your dirty work. And you think that you could do what John does," Jason scoffed. "John's a man. You're nothing but a little boy hiding behind a woman's skirts. Let her go and face your father on your own. Deal with him."

"I know what you're trying to do," Warden shouted. "You're trying to get me angry, trying to distract me."

"No," Jason shook his head. "I've already done it."

When he nodded his head, John's gun echoed through the warehouse, and Warden's scream erupted. Jason was already rushing forward, his gun at his side, until he grabbed Elizabeth from the injured man's arm and spun her around, placing her behind him. Sonny had his own gun drawn, and trained it on the man who was now on the floor. He kicked the gun away from Warden's slack hand, and then stepped onto the gunshot wound in his shoulder, eliciting a cry from the coward.

He was alive and would hopefully remain that way until Jason could deal with him, but now that he was neutralized, Jason's focus shifted to his wife. He dropped his gun to the ground, and brought his hand to touch her, sweep her hair away so he could assess her injuries. But Patrick O'Brian caught his arm, grasping it in a hold that surprised Jason with its strength and glared at him with furious brown eyes.

"Let go of my daughter, Morgan."

"Let me go."

"Let go of my daughter, Morgan."

"Father," Beth said, her throat rusty and her jaw sore. He turned to look at her, a triumphant look in his eye, no doubt certain she was picking him over Jason. "Shut up."

His head snapped back in disbelief. "Let Jason go."

"Beth," he said softly, talking to her like she was five and he was telling her she couldn't have an ice cream cone right before dinner. Of course, he had always bought her an ice cream cone whenever they were out somewhere together, even if it was right before dinner. Because, she realized now, he was trying to placate his guilt over not telling her she was his child and not being there as she was growing up. If you can't love 'em, bribe 'em. "Darling, you need to come home with us. We're your family."

"John is," she shook her head. "You're not. Jason's my family; he's my husband. And I want to go home."

Apparently, that was all Jason needed to hear. He bent down and swooped her up into his arms and turned towards Patrick. "You heard her. She's made her choice and you are not going to stop me from making sure she gets the care she needs."

"The care she needs?" the old man demanded. "Where was the care she needed when she was in your house? Why did she leave and you didn't think to look for her for days? I'm her father and she needs me."

"She's my wife," Jason stated simply, "and I love her. And unless she decides she wants to move back to Staten Island with you, you can't force her. She'll go where she wants to."

"Home," Beth stated through her tears as she leaned her exhausted head against Jason's shoulder. "I want to go home."

"Father," John came up and placed his hand on the elder O'Brian's shoulder. "Let them go. Jason will take care of her, and that's what she needs right now. She's made her choice."

"Fine," Patrick huffed as he spun around and stalked away. "Fine. You've made your choice."

"Let's go," Sonny said softly, and Elizabeth closed her eyes and held on tighter to Jason as the world slowly rocked into oblivion.

She awoke on soft sheets and heard a steady beep to the side of her. Her body was sore and her head throbbed and she tried hard to think where she was. It wasn't the cabin, it wasn't the warehouse, she didn't think it was the penthouse; it might have been a hospital. But no hospital she'd ever been in had sheets this soft or a bed this nice.

Her eyes fluttered open and she was relieved to find that the room didn't spin. But it was unfamiliar and sterile, despite attempts to make it look less clinical. Turning her head to the side, she saw an IV stand and a machine that displayed her vitals. The other side of the room revealed an amazing sight; Jason was asleep in a chair, his feet propped on an ottoman. His jaw was shadowed and his eyes had dark circles under them, but she was never so relieved to see him.

"Ja-" Her voice broke and the rest of his name was lost. Swallowing painfully, she licked her dried lips and tried again. "Jason."

He stirred and his eyes opened. The moment they locked with hers his feet fell to the floor and he was closing the space between them to perch on the chair next to her bed.

"Beth." His hand hovered for a moment and then gently feathered over her hair as he bowed his head. "Elizabeth."

Her small smile tugged at the scabs on her lips, but she couldn't have stopped it if she tried. She had longed to hear Jason's voice and she'd longed to hear him say her name. It was what had kept her going while Pete Warden had her, and it was such a miracle to hear it again.

"Nobody calls me Elizabeth," she whispered.

Quickly his head snapped up and his eyes were filled with regret. "I'm sorry. I'll stop."

She moved her hand, seeking for his and was relieved when he helped her, twining their fingers together. "I like it when you say it."

The regret disappeared and something almost hopeful entered Jason's eyes. "You do?"

"Yeah," she said. "My mother only said it when I was in trouble, and my...Patrick always called me Beth. Princess Beth when I was younger. Will you call me Elizabeth?"

"I'll call you whatever you want me to," he assured her, as his eyes softened even further and shimmered with unshed emotion.

"Will you call me your wife?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Good," she smiled as her eyelids drooped. She'd barely woken up and she felt so tired. "Because I want to be her."

"Get some rest, Elizabeth," he said softly and she smiled through her exhaustion.

"Will you stay?"

"Always."

They left the private clinic a couple of days later.

The doctor said her concussion was healed and she could recuperate just as well at home as she could in her hospital room. Jason, she had learned, was relieved to go because he hated hospitals. Didn't like doctors. The one attending her said he'd treated her husband on many occasions and it wasn't just because he'd received wounds they didn't want a regular hospital to deal with and inform the cops about. It was because he didn't trust doctors and hospitals reminded him of the one he'd been stuck in for months following his accident.

Yet, he'd stayed by her side from the moment he and Sonny arrived with her. The doctor had winked at her and said it only proved that her husband loved her very much. Elizabeth had been both pleased and disturbed by that fact.

"Elizabeth?"

She looked up to find Jason standing in the doorway to her room, a slight frown on his face. He hesitated, not sure if he should enter. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"You're sure," he pressed as he stepped closer, bringing a tray of food over to sit on her beside table. "You're not in pain, are you?"

"No," she shook her head. "I was remembering something."

He paused and then swallowed. "Something about Warden?"

She shook her head no. She'd had incoherent dreams, fragments of memories mixed with nightmares of her captor returning to torment her more. The doctor had prescribed her a sleeping pill, but she tried to make due without it if she could. She knew that Jason and Sonny needed to know what had happened to her, and she couldn't tell them if she couldn't remember. They told her to not to rush, that Pete Warden was alive and secure, and they'd deal with him when they were sure she was fine and they had all the information. He'd been patched up well enough to remain alive...for now.

He sat down on the bed beside her, careful not to crowd her and looked like he was about to place his hand on her leg, but then changed his mind and dropped it into his lap. "About what?"

"Something the doctor said," she told him. "About you."

"Me?"

"And then I was remembering what you said in the warehouse to my father...and how that didn't fit with what you said to me...the night before I was taken." She took a deep breath and swallowed her heart. "Jason, I...please don't pretend that you love me just because you feel like you have to make something up to me for Pete."

He sighed and rubbed his hand over his forehead, and Elizabeth looked away. Once she woke up again in the clinic and felt more coherent, she was afraid that Jason was just acting the way he was - kind, loving, tender, taking every opportunity to touch her - because he felt guilty. They'd had a fight, he stormed out, she left the house and Pete kidnapped her, and he didn't bother to call and check on her for several days. She didn't want his pity.

"It's not pity, Elizabeth," he finally said, reaching out to touch her face and turn her gaze back towards him. "I know what I said that night...and I know that it hurt you. If I could go back and change it, I would. I loved you then, Elizabeth...I just didn't want to tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because I had promised that I would keep you safe and then when it was over, we'd get a divorce. I fell in love with you, but it wouldn't have been fair to tell you." He paused and ran his hand over his thigh, in almost a nervous way. "I...you were offering me everything I wanted that night, except your heart. I had to say no because if I'd loved you...if I'd taken you to my bed, I wouldn't have wanted to let you go. And I couldn't force you to stay in a situation you didn't want, I couldn't be selfish."

Reaching out, she covered his hand and squeezed it. "Oh, Jason. I...I was attracted to you, and I liked being here, and being with you. I felt more loved, more protected, more wanted and appreciated here than I ever did with my father and my mother. I had finally found a family."

She felt such regret as she said, "But you're right. I didn't know that I loved you that night. I wanted to be with you, and who knows, I may have finally admitted it...but you were probably right to say no."

"When you were gone..." He broke off and sighed, seemed unsure of how to say what she knew he meant.

"When I was gone," she interrupted softly. "That's when I realized I loved you."

His surprised gaze swung to hers.

"I was tied up and Pete was taunting me, tormenting me, and all I could think about was I didn't want to die knowing the last words we'd said to each other were angry, hurtful words. I wanted to go back to that night and tell you that I loved you, so that you would know. That you would know what you'd given me...that you had given me the best gift I'd ever had. Unconditional love."

Further words were cut off by the hard press of his mouth. She was startled at first by the action, but very quickly recovered. This was what she had missed while she was gone. His smell, his presence, his taste. She wanted to stay like this forever, or die right now in a state of bliss.

Jason pulled back, much too soon for her preference and looked down at her with a mixture of tenderness and turbulence. "Do you mean it?"

"I love you, Jason," she smiled up at him.

"I love you, Elizabeth," he pulled her to him, wrapping her tightly in his arms. "I love you."

"Jason," she gasped as tears sprang to her eyes. "My ribs."

Immediately he released her, regret swamping his face. "I'm sorry."

Her finger on his lips stemmed his words and she shook her head. "It's alright. I like being in your arms."

His eyes flared with a look she found unmistakable.

"Just not so tight right now," she continued on.

He pulled back and stood and she pouted at the action. "Where are you going?"

"I should let you get some rest."

"Alone?"

With a groan he scrubbed his hand over his face. "Elizabeth...you're recovering...and I am just a man."

"I know," she sighed. "I just...I don't want to be alone. I like knowing you're here, that you're close. We've spent so much time apart and uncertain and on different pages and now that we're finally on the same one and we know how we feel, I just...I don't want it to feel like before. Me in my room, you in yours...a huge divide between us."

"Oh man," he whispered as he dropped his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I...let me lock up downstairs and change and then...then I'll come back."

Her smile wasn't triumphant, she wasn't trying to manipulate him, but love and gratitude filled her. "Thank you, Jason."

His grin was lopsided as he shrugged. "What doesn't kill me will only make me stronger, right?"

The tension and the lust were broken and she found herself giving a tiny laugh. "Yeah. But Jason?"

He stopped in the doorway and turned to look at her. "We're going to have to talk about our living arrangements."

A hopeful gleam entered his eye and he dipped his head just once. "I know. I'm looking forward to it."

Elizabeth Morgan was happy; which meant that at any moment her life was bound to fall apart. Happiness and love wasn't something she was used to, and she was afraid that now that she'd found it, it would be snatched from her hands. When Pete had kidnapped her, she thought that was it. She finally realized what she had and would forever be taunted with the knowledge that she'd lost it. Her only consolation then, was that she figured she would die soon and she wouldn't have to live years with the regret.

But that hadn't happened. Jason had found her, he'd rescued her, and both of them had finally taken the leap of faith to admit they loved each other. This marriage wouldn't be ending any time soon, and both of them were looking forward to seeing where it went.

There were only a few lose ends that had to be tied up, and her recuperation to be complete, before they really begin their lives together. As husband and wife. Not just a man and a woman living together. But joined in all ways.

With a groan, she dropped her head back against the couch and fanned herself. She had to stop letting her thoughts go down that road. Her concussion had healed and her ribs no longer ached every time she moved, her bruises had faded and the cuts had almost healed, but her ankle still gave her fits. She couldn't walk on it too long, and she certainly couldn't wear heels. She could walk on level surfaces, but the stairs were murder on the joint and so she was carried up and down them in her husband's arms whenever she wanted.

Sometimes she made up excuses just to get him to carry her. She had a feeling he knew, but since he didn't mind holding her close, he went along with it. But he wasn't here today, and she didn't really think she would have asked him to carry her even if he had been home. Telling him she needed to take a cold shower would have been too embarrassing.

Sleeping beside him every night was bliss and torture all combined. Waking up with the solid press of his arm around her waist and his breath on her neck left her with a decidedly goofy grin all day long. But it was also killing her, and them, that an embrace was the sum total of their closeness. A series of circumstances seemed to be conspiring against them, plus they seemed to have agreed by unspoken communication that they didn't want their first time to be in Port Charles, in his penthouse, with guards outside the door.

As if summoning one simply by thinking of him, the guard on the door knocked and then opened it after she called out to him. "Mrs. Morgan?"

"Yes, Francis?"

"Mrs. Corinthos is here to see you."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. Of course Carly would be here. Ever since Sonny had finally relented and let her and the boys come back from the island, she had been pestering them night and day. Michael and Morgan missed their uncle and wanted to see him. Their aunt was not mentioned, and probably wouldn't have even met the boys had Jason not insisted he wasn't going to leave her alone and the boys could come over to see him. They really were sweet children, despite their mother, and Elizabeth could understand why Jason loved them so much and would do anything for them.

It made distant thoughts of children of her own dance in her mind's eye. Far off in the distance after she and Jason had talked about them and had some time to just be a couple.

"Let her in, Francis," she said and tried to not sound like she was facing a firing squad.

Carly breezed into the room and her nose wrinkled at the simple décor that Elizabeth hadn't changed because she found that it fit her just as it fit Jason. When the blonde saw she was sitting on the couch, she looked scornfully at her. "Still lounging about and milking your injury?"

"Yes, Carly," Elizabeth nodded. "Because I like eating bon-bons and spending my husband's money on ridiculous items from an overpriced catalogue. Wait, that's you. I wish the doctors would release me from modified bed rest, but I can't really complain too much because it just gives Jason an excuse to carry me around all the time."

Carly's complexion heightened slightly, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Speaking of Jason, where is he?"

"With your husband," Elizabeth informed her. But she knew the blonde was aware of that fact already. It was the only reason Carly would dare show up here, because she knew Jason wasn't going to give into her selfish demands that Jason divorce Elizabeth now that the danger was over. It was incomprehensible to her, and infuriated her to no end, when Jason told her he fell in love with Elizabeth and there would be no divorce. And then proceeded to lay down some new rules for their relationship and was actually sticking by them. He finally pushed back, and was much happier, not to mention had a lot more peace in his life, because of it.

"But you already knew that," she sighed. "So why are you really here?"

Carly looked like she was sucking on a lemon when she finally dropped her arms and said in a rush, "Morgan liked the modeling clay you gave him and wanted some more but I don't know where you get it."

She wouldn't laugh, and she wouldn't smile. At least, not in front of Carly. When Jason came home, she'd share the information with him and both of them would be able to appreciate the fact that Elizabeth had found a friend, and an unknowing ally, in the youngest Corinthos child. Morgan loved art and asked to go over to Aunt Elizabeth's studio all the time. She answered whatever questions the little boy had, let him use tools and supplies that were appropriate for him and that he could handle, and Carly was finding no other alternative than to encourage her son's budding artistry. Even though she didn't like it because it meant she had to deal with Jason's wife.

"Sure," she said simply, turning to a new page on her sketch book and writing down the name of the store she got all her supplies, and the brand of clay she had got the last time for Morgan. "Let me give you the information."

A knock on the door had both women looking over at it curiously. What Carly didn't know, but maybe suspected, is that the guards always found excuses to interrupt when she was visiting the Morgans. Elizabeth wondered what reason Francis would come with this time, since they were stocked on groceries and couldn't use the old stand-by of getting the grocery list from Elizabeth so they could send a guard down to replenish their supplies.

"Mrs. Morgan," he said with a bit of hesitancy and genuine nervousness after he opened the door, "your father is here to see you."

"Let...let him in," she told Francis and sat up straighter on the couch. She tore the page out of the sketchbook, a loud rip sounding in the room as the paper rent in two jagged pieces and held it out at Carly impatiently. "Here. This is the store and the brand."

The blonde woman thankfully just took the paper and then made to leave quietly as Patrick O'Brian stepped into the penthouse. It was the first time Elizabeth had seen him since the day she was rescued at the warehouse in Canada and she was surprised to see him. And more than just a bit fearful. He hadn't been pleased when she wouldn't leave with him and when she said that Jason was her family along with John, but not him.

He didn't spare a glance at Carly as she left the penthouse and Francis closed the door after her. Instead, he strode into the room, looking regal and furious. Suddenly, she felt like a child about to be scolded and stood up, hiding her wince when she put her foot down too sharply.

"Where's your husband?" he asked, almost demanded.

"He's with Sonny," informed him. "He said he had something to follow up on in regards to Pete Warden and would be gone for a while. I didn't ask any questions. I'm sure if you called Bernie he could help you more than I could."

Her father tipped his head to the side and studied her. "Already have the standard pat answers down like a dutiful wife."

It was said almost as a sneer and Elizabeth didn't like the feeling behind the words. "John's mother was like that. Perfect in every way."

"Yes, I'm sure it worked out great for you," she found herself saying. "She turned a blind eye to your affairs and you treated her like a toy only to be taken out on special occasions. Jason and I aren't like that. He would never cheat on me the way you did to John's mother, and I trust him to keep me safe and taken care of. If he's dealing with something regarding Pete, that's all I want to know."

"Pete's dead," her father spat contemptuously. "Your husband killed him for what he did to you. Your brother wanted to help, but noble Jason Morgan didn't think John should participate in the murder of his own half-brother."

"Are you upset that your son is dead?" she asked him. "Is that what this is about? Because if you expect me to feel sympathy for Pete, I don't, and I won't. Not after what he did to me. And don't expect me to feel sorry for you, not after the despicable way you've treated all your children."

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me, Beth," Patrick warned her. "I am still your father."

"And I am Jason Morgan's wife, and before I'm done shouting there will be two guards in this room escorting you out." She wasn't intimidated by him and she was tired of him playing the father card whenever it was convenient for him. "So why are you here?"

"Your brother's shoving me out of the business," he growled. "And your husband and his boss are helping him."

Elizabeth looked at the older man and raised her eyebrows. "What do you think I can do about it? I'm a woman, remember? I'm supposed to stay out of the business. Do you really think Jason discusses this with me? Or am I supposed to intervene on your behalf?"

"Beth," he said in placation. "Surely you don't think this is right."

She scoffed at him. Outright scoffed at him; which clearly angered him given the dark glint which entered his eye. "You've got to be kidding me, right? You really think I'm going to go to Jason and John and tell them to stop whatever it is they're doing?"

"I'm your father," he thundered. "I built up that territory and I won't have someone take it away from me, even if it is my son."

"I can't help you," she shrugged. "I don't get involved in my husband's business."

"You mean you won't help me," he shouted. "You ungrateful-"

"You really don't want to finish that sentence."

Patrick spun around in shock and Elizabeth blinked in grateful relief to see Jason framed in the doorway. Until she saw the murderous look on his face this was directed solely at her father.

"Stay out of this, Morgan," he growled, taking a step towards her husband. "This is between me and my daughter."

"Elizabeth is my wife and you will not yell at her."

The instruction was said in a soft, but lethal tone. He walked across the penthouse and came to stand beside her, and faced her father. Feet braced against the floor, arms crossed across his chest, he looked every inch the enforcer nobody messed with. And Elizabeth, already anxious to have everything cleared up so they could get away from here, found the look incredibly attractive. But then again, she found just about everything attractive in regards to Jason these days.

"Do you understand me?"

"What will you do? Kill me? You've already taken my territory."

"No, I did, Father," John said, stepping into the penthouse. "And it has nothing to do with Beth."

"It has everything to do with her. You're mad she got hurt by your brother."

"Pete Warden was not my brother," John shook his head. "He was just someone you happened to father. And clearly, you're unable to handle the business any longer. Not doing a thorough background check on the guards, the Feds raided the Lady Luck, and you're getting sloppy in your personal dealings which is threatening the organization and every man who works for you. I think it's time you retired to a nice island with no extradition treaty with the United States and let someone else take over."

"I won't," the older man insisted.

"I suggest you do it," John said, "because that's the only option you'll have if you want to stay alive. The rest of the family heads aren't going to support you anymore."

Jason surreptitiously tugged at her elbow and wrapped his arm around her waist to guide her to the balcony doors and outside. "I think it's better that your brother and father deal with this alone."

She nodded mutely, her head spinning with everything she'd heard today. "I...I don't know what to say. I would never interfere in your business, Jason, I'm just surprised. I thought that taking out a mob boss wasn't an easy thing to do."

"It's not," he sighed heavily. "But John doesn't want-"

She put her finger over his mouth and stopped his words. "I...I don't want to talk about this. Not now. Maybe not ever. I don't want him dead, but I...I don't want to..."

"Okay," he said when she trailed off. "We won't. We'll talk about something else."

"Oh?" she grinned. "Like what?"

"Like where we're going to go."

"Go?" she echoed. "You mean..."

"I mean, I've finished everything here that I need to. We'll be careful of your ankle, but the doctor said we can leave town. Whenever you want."

"Really?" When he nodded, she smiled, "Then what are we waiting for? How soon can you get us plane tickets?"

"I can do one better," he said, a slow, seductive quirk of his lips teasing his face. "Sonny's private jet is already being fueled."

Jason collapsed back onto the bed exhausted and wearily lifted his arm to wrap around his wife when she snuggled up to his side. A soft kiss whispered against his chest and he smiled in contentment, even if Elizabeth couldn't see it.

"I'm worn out," she complained, her voice getting lost in the fabric of his shirt. "Can't we just stay in tomorrow?"

He chuckled. "We didn't leave the hotel room for the first week we were here, Elizabeth. You can't come to Italy and not see the place."

She groaned and rolled away, sprawling on her back. He shifted slightly and raised himself up on his elbow to look at her. Her light colored shorts and sage green camisole contrasted against the rich wine colored duvet and her hair was spread like a halo around her. It never ceased to amaze him that she loved him and that he could see visions of beauty like this every day, that he had her love and warmth beside him every night.

Oblivious to where his thoughts were turning, she whined low in her throat as she turned towards him, "So does that mean we're going to try to see every sight there is in Italy? My feet are killing me, Jason."

"I'm sure you could get a massage in the spa downstairs."

Her bottom lip stuck out slightly, "You wouldn't offer to give me one?"

He bit his lips to keep from laughing, "I'm not really the kind of guy who gives massages or takes bubble baths."

"I never said anything about a bubble bath," she wrinkled her nose at him. "I asked about a massage. Your hands, which I know are strong, yet gentle, rubbing the tired ache out of my muscles."

Awareness stirred in his blood and he wondered if the little minx knew what she doing to him. As she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and he saw the saw the familiar darkening of them, he realized she did. Like a moth to a flame, he found himself drowning in her depths. "Well," he said, leaning forward until he could feel her cool breath on his face, "maybe I can make an exception just this once."

"I promise I won't tell a soul," she vowed.

When their lips finally met, he knew she wouldn't, but found himself not caring if she did.

"See," Elizabeth purred as she sat up on the bed and pulled the sheet around her. "Wasn't today a good day?"

Jason parked the room service cart near the table and lifted the silver covers off the plates. When he turned around, Elizabeth was slipping a hotel robe on, her skin disappearing beneath the black silk. "Yeah," he smiled. "Today was good."

When she sat down at the table near the balcony that overlooked the Italian countryside he seated himself as well. "Of course, yesterday was good as well."

"It was," she smiled with a lift of her brows. "And now that my feet and legs no longer hurt, you can drag me out tomorrow to as many places as your heart desires."

He leaned back, a smile teasing his own face. "Oh? How generous of you."

Her laugh was clear and happy as she leaned forward, the silk tempting him. "Jason, Italy's not going to go anywhere. It's not going to disappear into the sea like Atlantis; so there's no reason to rush through everything on our very first trip. It's not very fun. Plus, if we see it all now, why would we want to come back?"

"You want to come back?"

"You don't?" She leaned back and lifted a brow. He couldn't tell if she was hurt or surprised.

"Of course I want to come back. But there are other places I want to take you as well."

Her voice was certain as she said, "And you will. I know you don't have a typical nine to five job, but I have to believe that Sonny will let you get away from time to time. And we'll get to see other places besides Port Charles."

He was already making a list in his mind of places he was certain she would love. She seemed to like the history of a country like he did. The runes, the local flavor, and while she did like the shopping, she didn't plan an entire day - or vacation - around it. He imagined taking her to his favorite locations, as well as discovering new ones with her.

"We can go to the really exotic places I know you have in mind, first," she quirked her lips at him. "Because some day we might have children, and we probably don't want to be floating down the Amazon in a wooden canoe with a two month old."

His breath caught in his throat and he stared at her. "You want children?"

"Uh..." her voice trailed off and her eyes drifted away, gazing steadfastly out the window. "I said we might. Obviously it's something we have to discuss."

Jason leaned forward and placed his hand on her knee, rubbing it soothingly through the dark fabric. "Elizabeth? Look at me."

Slowly her gaze returned to his.

"Do you want children?"

"I see you with Sonny's children and I...I imagine some day, that could be you with our child. But I'm not trying to rush into that, and I...I won't pressure you if it's not what you want."

"I never really thought about children," Jason told her, rubbing his hand across his jaw. "I mean, I took care of Michael when he was a baby, but that was because Carly wasn't able to and I didn't really have a choice. He was already here and he needed someone and I was the only person available. But I've never thought about...about making a conscious choice."

"Jason." Now Elizabeth leaned forward, and her hand rested on his knee. "This isn't something we need to discuss now, or even make a decision. In fact, we probably shouldn't. Having children isn't something I would take lightly. I want to be a better parent than mine were. I don't want to have a child think he was an accident or that he was an inconvenience who messed up his parents' lives."

"I would love any child in our lives, I just...I don't know if I can make a conscious choice to bring one into the danger that surrounds me."

Somehow he didn't think he'd disappointed Elizabeth, it was a feeling more that he was lacking something in his own life. He'd helped Carly raise Michael, and he looked out for Michael and Morgan, but the thought of having his own child, of being responsible for it and exposing it to the people who might us it as a means of getting at him...he now understood the pressure that weighed on Sonny sometimes. Jason had never counted on getting married and so he never thought he'd be faced with this decision.

"Hey," Elizabeth said, touching his cheek gently and turning his head to face her as she now stood before him. She lowered herself into his lap and leaned her forehead against his. "Stop worrying about it. Like I said, I don't think we should make a decision like this now. We're on our honeymoon, and you're supposed to be telling me where we're going tomorrow."

Her breath fanned across his cheek before moist kisses peppered his skin. His hands drifted up from his sides to rest on her back, securing her where she was. "If you keep doing that, Elizabeth," he warned, "we may not leave the hotel tomorrow."

"Big words, Jason," she murmured as her lips moved down to his neck. "But you don't scare me. Besides...Italy will always be there. Whenever we leave the hotel."

He smelled her as she approached him. Her perfume, a warm vanilla smell broke through the haze of thoughts he was lost in and he welcomed her arrival. Soft, delicate arms came down over his chest and her chin rested on his shoulder as she stood behind him on the balcony. He turned his head enough to request and receive a kiss and then felt contentment course through him when she let her cheek remain against his.

"What did Sonny have to say?" she asked.

"Not much," he told her. "Just checking in. John called and said that your father has decided to retire."

"Oh," she said softly. Her hands stilled for just a moment, until her fingers resumed the lazy pattern they were tracing over his shirt. "I'm glad it didn't turn into a battle."

Jason was as well. Along with Sonny and John. It would have been ugly if Patrick had put up a bigger fight, but the old man had seen the writing on the wall. The O'Brians would still retain control of Long Island, and with Jason's marriage to Elizabeth the territory would be backed and protected by Sonny. The other families were willing to work with John, but they would have withdrawn their support completely from the family if Patrick had stubbornly tried to remain in control.

"Did he say anything else?" she asked.

"No," Jason shook his head slightly. There had been a little about business, but she didn't need to know that. And what she was really questioning was something she would never ask. "He said there's no need to come home any time soon. Carly's still trying to redecorate the place as a gift to us, but he won't let her. Instead, she's redecorating the boys' rooms."

"She just really doesn't understand you, does she?" It wasn't said with malice, just clear curiosity. "You're happy with the penthouse the way it is, and we've added a few things, but I feel more at home in our place than over at Sonny's. Sometimes their home doesn't even look like little kids live there."

"I know," he shrugged, her arms moving with him. "But that's just Sonny and Carly. We won't be like that."

A soft intake of breath was her only reaction to his statement, and Jason wished he could see her. So he reached up one hand to grab hold of her arm and tug her around so he could draw her down onto his lap. Her face was neutral, but her eyes gave her away. They were the only thing that showed her surprise that he had brought up them having kids. After their conversation a couple of weeks ago, she had stuck to her promise and hadn't mentioned it again.

She wasn't doing it in the passive aggressive way Carly did things. Not directly bringing something up, but dropping enough hints. Elizabeth wasn't pushing this, she might not even be thinking about it at all. But Jason was. He found himself thinking more and more about the two of them one day becoming three, or even four. Of having children of their own to raise and love.

"You're not going to ask, are you?"

"I don't know what you want me to say, Jason," she said honestly. "I told you that it was something we'd discuss later. And I meant that. And if later is a year from now, or two years from now...I meant that. I like that it's just the two of us. I like the thought of going to Egypt next winter and Machu Pichu in the spring. I'm happy, right now to just be your wife."

He leaned forward and kissed her, then pulled back and smiled at her. "I like being your husband. Maybe one day I'll be the father to your children. I have to admit...I've been thinking about it and the idea is starting to grow on me."

She laughed and wrinkled her nose, "You make it sound like a fungus."

"No," he shook his head and reached up to brush a tendril of hair behind her ear. "It'd be a blessing. And maybe one day I'll be ready for it. But for now..."

She rested her head against his shoulder and laced their hands together. "For now, Jason, let's just enjoy Italy."

The End