"Elizabeth? Your two o'clock is here."

Elizabeth Webber looked up and slipped off her reading glasses, while she rolled her eyes at her assistant Elton. With a groan she said, "Can't you make up some excuse for me and handle this yourself? Tell her that my cat died, or that my appendix burst, or that...that aliens from outer space came down and are currently harvesting my ovaries to repopulate the world. Something...anything, Elton. I don't think that I can take another meeting with Bridezilla 2007."

Her assistant tutted as he stepped into her office and crossed the room to her desk. "Now, darling, you're a professional. You can do this."

"No," she said, sounding suspiciously petulant and definitely unprofessional. "I can't. Her voice makes my ears bleed. I want to stick my pen into my ear in the hopes of rupturing my eardrum so I don't have to listen to her. Please, you've got to spare me."

"Elizabeth Webber."

She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at her assistant, but mimicked his pose and crossed her arms over her chest in a huff. "Elton. Who's the boss around here? And don't say Tony Danza. Need I remind you that I sign your paychecks? I simply cannot handle a meeting with that woman today."

"Well, then it's a good thing that she's not here."

Peering suspiciously up at her assistant as he straightened the pens in the holder on her desk she said, "I thought you said she was here."

"No, I said your two o'clock was here. The Morgan-Dashnell Wedding. It just so happens that it's only the groom this time, with his friend. The bride-to-be was apparently unable to make it."

"Something about throat surgery," a blonde in the doorway said. "I think she was going to see if she could get her voice fixed so that she could shatter glass with just a whisper. Or maybe it was the vocal equivalent of nails on a chalk board. I forget."

Elizabeth gulped even as she cringed and stood hastily. The groom, one Jason Morgan, was scowling and she knew he'd overheard her tirade. Elton should have closed the door behind him, but Elizabeth also knew she should have never said anything about a client. It was rude and unprofessional and she needed to apologize.

But before she could, Jason turned his scowl on the woman next to him and said, "Her dog is sick."

"Oh please," the blonde waved airily. "No, it's not. It faked coughing up a hairball so it could get a little reprieve time at the vet. You know that's the reason the dog's tried to run away so many times. It's trying to escape Reilly's voice. Admit it, Jason. You do the same thing sometimes."

"Mr. Morgan," Elizabeth cut in. "I apologize for what you overheard. I should have never said such a thing. I hope that you-"

"Relax," the woman said with a shake of her head. "He's not going to fire you. Jason wouldn't do that to anybody. But he especially won't fire you because you are the best wedding planner in Port Charles and Reilly wants you to plan her wedding. And what Reilly Dashnell wants, Reilly Dashnell gets. Right, Jason?"

He remained stoic and silent, but it didn't seem to faze the woman beside him. She walked towards Elizabeth and held out her hand. "I'm Carly Corinthos, Jason's best friend. I promised Reilly I'd come along so that Jason didn't mess things up. Although personally, I think things could stand a little bit of messing. Have you seen some of the things she's picked out? What am I saying? Of course you have, you're helping to plan this."

"Can we just get on with this?" Jason asked, tugging at the collar of his shirt.

"Yes, of course," Elizabeth nodded, slipping immediately into her professional mode and reaching for the file on her desk. "Why don't we have a seat at the table and we can go over the latest things I've talked with Ms. Dashnell about and show you some samples."

When Elizabeth placed them on the table Carly Corinthos cast an appraising gaze over them and then sounded like she was suppressing a dry heave. "Good grief," she exclaimed. "What is this crap?"

"I picked out the finest samples," Elizabeth hurriedly said. "I always do. Ms. Dashnell said that money was no object and that she wanted the finest."

"Of course money's no object," Carly shook her head witheringly. "Jason's paying for it so Reilly has no qualms about spending his hard earned cash. What I mean is what is this crap she's got us looking at? This is ridiculous and it's not Jason."

The groom-to-be was silent. As he was during most of the meetings Elizabeth had with him and his fiancée. He usually just sat back, let Reilly Dashnell, an over-the-top fake Southern Belle if Elizabeth had ever seen one (and she'd seen plenty in her years as a wedding planner) - pick out whatever she wanted and then wrote out a hefty check without batting an eye. It made Elizabeth wonder what the Morgan-Dashnell marriage would be like. But then she stopped herself because her job was only to get these poor suckers married off, not to worry about the marriage counseling or divorce lawyers they might hire in the future.

"Why are you letting her order this stuff?" Carly demanded, turning to accuse her best friend.

"Because she wants it," Jason said simply.

It caused the blonde to huff. "Jason, could you please grow a backbone where this woman is concerned? I mean, I know you rescued her when her car went off the road, but I still say that you should have let the twit freeze to death. If she was too stupid to pull over and put snow chains on, and then if she couldn't even bother to remember that you're not supposed to wear a mini skirt and sleeveless blouse in December, then she should have gotten what she deserved."

Elizabeth looked down, flipping unnecessarily through her notebook. She'd let the best friend handle this argument. Just because Elizabeth had a sense that Jason Morgan would be hiring a divorce attorney before they could pull the top layer of the seven tier cake with raspberry filling and butter cream icing out of the freezer to eat on their first anniversary, didn't mean she needed to get involved in this particular conversation. She had contemplated handing him one of the cards for the innumerable divorce attorneys that she knew - planning their weddings had earned her free legal counsel whenever she needed it - but she suspected he would be affronted by the suggestion. But she was usually right about which marriages would last and which ones wouldn't, and she had that niggling feeling that Jason Morgan's, unfortunately, wouldn't.

It had nothing to do with the fact that they were a mismatched couple. She'd planned ceremonies for couples before that seemed to be even more different than Jason and Reilly and they were still together, it had to do with how they treated each other. Reilly looked at Jason Morgan and saw dollar signs and a laid back man who would let her do whatever she wanted, and unless the two of them had an iron clad pre-nup, she was going to take that laissez faire attitude for half of his net worth. And there would be quite a few zeros attached to that check.

"Now, see, this," Carly said as she shifted through the samples and pulled out the ones on the bottom that Elizabeth had added, but knew would never be picked. "This is what you should be ordering for your wedding."

"Reilly wouldn't like it," he said, looking over.

"But do you like it?" his friend pressed.

Elizabeth peeked up from studying her fingers that were folded together and waited for Jason Morgan's answer. She always picked out samples that she thought he would like. Something that seemed to fit the kind of man she suspected he was. Someone who wasn't interested in this overblown Cinderella claptrap. But Reilly Dashnell would dismiss those samples with barely a glance and focus back on her first choice and Jason Morgan never said a word.

He sighed and leaned closer, then nodded. Just once. It made Elizabeth beam inside. She hadn't lost her touch.

"See," Carly declared brightly. "This is the kind of things you should be having at your wedding. It is, after all, your big day too. Although why you would want to be attached to a soul-sucking succubus like her, I'll never know."

"Carly," he sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why do you always do this?"

"Because she's all wrong for you, Jason," she said beseechingly.

"You told me I should settle down," he pointed out to her.

"But not with the first bimbo to bat her big brown eyes at you," the blonde said with a slap on his arm. "If you were looking for someone, you should have told me. I could have set you up with someone."

"No offense," he drawled, "but I don't know that I would trust your judgment. You were married to Jasper Jacks after all."

Carly waived the statement away with a breathy laugh. "I also ended up in Shadybrook after that, so that doesn't count."

"My point exactly."

"Look, what I'm saying is that Reilly is not the woman you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with. She's not right for you. Don't you agree, Elizabeth?"

Her blue eyes widening, Elizabeth shook her head. "Oh, no. I...I don't think that I should say anything about his choice of fiancée."

"Why not?" Carly pressed. "Clearly you don't like her. We heard that much."

"But that doesn't automatically mean she's wrong for Mr. Morgan here," she tried to quickly put an end to the conversation by reaching for the next batch of samples. "Now, if you'll take a look at these-"

"No, we won't," the other woman said. "It's a simple question, and I want to know. Because I imagine you have a pretty good idea about these things. Do you think that they're a good match? Will the marriage last?"

Elizabeth kept her mouth closed and looked away. "I don't speculate on my clients' chances. That's not what they pay me to do."

"Look, you're married," Carly said, waving at the rings on Elizabeth's left hand. "As one married woman to another, tell me the truth."

"I don't-"

"Carly," Jason sighed wearily, "let it go. Please?"

"I can't," his friend replied. "Because I want you happy, Jason. And Reilly won't make you happy. Your wedding planner probably understands you better than your fiancée does if she added these options to your samples. What does that say?"

"That Ms. Webber is a true professional," Elton said breezily as he floated into the office.

"Elton," she scowled at him. "What are you doing?"

"Relax, Elizabeth, I'm just getting some petty cash because I found an amazing tulle-"

"Okay," she interrupted him, knowing that if she didn't he would wax poetic about it for many long minutes. The sooner he got the money, the sooner he'd be gone.

"It's too bad you're married," Carly said to Elizabeth and caused her to gape mutely at the blonde who was bulldozing through the entire meeting. "Because if I had to pick someone out of a dating pool for Jason, I'd pick you. You're exactly his type. Short, petite, blue-eyed. Almost the complete opposite of Reilly. Any chance you and your husband are on the rocks?"

She was so startled by Jason's friend's line of questioning that Elizabeth could only stare at her like a landed fish and open and close her mouth uselessly.

"Oh, Elizabeth isn't married," Elton interjected himself into the conversation. "She just wears a fake set of rings because after J.Lo's movie came out a lot of brides-to-be got nervous that their fiancés would dump them and run off with our Miss Webber here."

"Elton," Elizabeth hissed at him.

"Well now," Carly drawled with an amused smile, looking over at Jason who was paying more attention than the wedding planner had ever seen him do in all the meetings he'd attended, and then back to Elizabeth. "Isn't that interesting?"

Carly watched in quiet displeasure as Jason stripped off his tie and tossed the offending article over the chair mere seconds before his suit coat followed. Her best friend was miserable and unhappy, and she hated it. She hated it because she felt guilty, and she hated it because she didn't know how to fix it.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Carly had loads of ideas. She always had ideas. Coming up with ideas was her specialty. The problem was, Jason and Sonny were right; her ideas weren't always that good. She didn't like admitting that, but she knew that for this particular problem, she needed a phenomenal plan.

The downside to the problem was that it was usually Jason who came up with the plans in a clinch that actually worked. And she knew that Jason wasn't going to assist her on this venture. Not when what she was trying to come up with a solution to the problem of Reilly Dashnell and more specifically, how to get the woman out of Jason's life. There was no way her best friend was going to help her destroy his relationship with his fiancée.

The wedding planner, Elizabeth Webber, wasn't any help at all either. Carly had thought that maybe the woman might be the answer to her problems; she hadn't counted on the other woman's tenacity. Elizabeth Webber told her point blank that she wasn't going to ruin Jason and Reilly's relationship, simply for Carly's benefit. She was a professional, and she wasn't going to hit on her client, she wasn't going sabotage the bride, she wasn't going to tank the wedding. Carly would have to find another way to extricate her friend, or she could just learn to accept that this was Jason's decision and let him live his own life.

While Carly loved Jason and would gladly do anything for him, she couldn't do that. She couldn't accept Reilly Dashnell. She couldn't let Jason make a colossal mistake. She couldn't let her best friend be miserable with a shrew of a wife who didn't suit him at all. She especially couldn't let any of those things happen because it was her fault Jason was in this mess in the first place.

She and her stupid always needing to meddle ways. Sonny would have a field day if she went to him and told him what she was trying to do. Her husband, whom she loved - except when he was being smug and right, had told her not to try to fix Jason up. Their best friend wasn't like them, he didn't need to have his life a certain way in order to be happy, and when, or if, Jason was ready to love again, he would find someone. Carly, however, hadn't listened.

She watched Jason as he floated on the periphery of their lives. She observed him as he came over to family gatherings and played with the boys, drank a beer with them before always coming up with some excuse to leave early and take a long, solitary ride on his motorcycle. Her heart would break as he protected her children, knowing that he should be playing with his own and making a model airplane with them, instead of merely doing it as his duties as godfather because their father happened to be mechanically inept.

All she'd wanted was for Jason to find someone who could make him happy again. Someone that he could love, who would love him in return, and that he could start a family with. A family that grow up along side hers and they could still all be together, but that Jason could go home with at the end of the day instead of returning to an empty penthouse. She didn't think that it was wrong for her to want something like that for her best friend. Jason had done so much for her, she wanted him to have the same happiness, love and contentment that she had.

Maybe she had pushed him a little bit, but she only did it out of love. She knew, that if left to his own devices, he would sit forever in his penthouse. He would mourn, turn in towards himself, retreat from everyone and everything except for the most perfunctory of occurrences, and Jason would become a shell of a man. She couldn't stand by and watch that happen, she refused to; so she'd pushed. Encouraged him to go with her to Jake's, begged him to come to business functions, downright tricked him into meeting women. And he'd ignored each and every female she placed in his path.

She was finally ready to give up and admit defeat when Jason met Reilly.

The poor little lost girl gave him a purpose in life. Her car was broken, she'd nearly frozen to death, she didn't know a soul in town, and Jason kindly offered to help her out. Reilly called when a cockroach the size of her fist suddenly appeared on the wall one morning when she came out of the shower, and Jason came over because the maintenance man said an insect didn't fall under his domain. When the neighbor upstairs wouldn't stop playing music at three in the morning and the police didn't do anything besides come over and ask him to turn it down and then refused to come back when exactly fifteen minutes after the police left the volume was once again at ear-bleeding levels, Jason had a quiet talk with the man and three days later he vacated the premises.

Jason felt useful to someone besides his family. Reilly made him dinner as a way of saying thank you, and Jason found himself thinking of her and asking if it was okay if he brought her along to the next party Carly held at The Cellar. Shocked and amazed that her friend was actually bringing a date, Carly readily agreed. She couldn't wait to the meet the woman that Jason had begun to talk more and more about and was responsible for putting a bit of life back into her friend.

Then she met the woman. And Carly couldn't even begin to think of how she would tell Jason she didn't like the woman. Reilly was all flash and no substance. She was beautiful, Carly couldn't deny that. And she could even grudgingly admit that the other woman was smart. After all, one didn't become a doctor merely by stumbling through life. She was a pediatrician, so she must like kids; a definite plus with Jason. But fundamentally, she was all wrong for Carly's best friend.

Reilly like French champagne and Russian caviar. Jason liked domestic beer and nachos from Jake's. Reilly was all about the latest, cutting edge fashion; Jason bought his t-shirts from Wal-Mart when they were on sale 3 for $10. Jason loved a game of pool and a ride up the cliffs. Reilly wanted to fly to Monte Carlo and play at gambling tables where the minimum bet was $1000. Jason had grease under his fingernails and calluses on his hands and wore the same pair of scuffed motorcycle boots unless he was forced to wear a suit and had to put on dress shoes; Reilly had perfectly manicured hands and feet and each week she had a new shade of polish on her toes that she showed to prominence in peep toe pumps and kicky little sandals.

Sonny had just advised her to hold her tongue and let Jason have a little fun. The doctor would make new friends at the hospital and pretty soon, she wouldn't call Jason quite so often. Carly had looked at her husband in disbelief, wondering how he could be so frightfully dumb and clueless. It wasn't just Reilly calling Jason, he was actively seeking her out. And there was no way that Jason was just going to use the woman to scratch and itch and be done with her, Jason didn't do casual flings. Not since Saint Robin the HIV positive doctor died and left her friend heartbroken.

Carly's worst fears were confirmed when Jason came to her one day and asked for her help. He wanted to pick out a ring. So he could ask Reilly to marry him.

Unable to hold her tongue any longer, Carly had pleaded with him to reconsider. Reilly was not Robin; he couldn't replace one woman with another. Just because Reilly was a doctor and Michael and Morgan liked her and no longer feared going to the pediatrician didn't mean that Jason had to marry her. She wasn't the right woman for Jason and she didn't want to see her friend end up stuck in a miserable marriage and regretting his action.

Jason assured her he knew what he was doing, Reilly was her own person and he wasn't searching for a substitute. And why was she so set against this? Hadn't she been pushing him to get back into the dating world? Hadn't she tried to set him up with other women? Carly admitted that yes, she had, but those women had at least some shared interests with Jason. About the only thing Jason and Reilly had in common was that they were human beings and both had blue eyes. Other than that, they were complete opposites. And while opposites might attract, more often than not, they had a few common traits. There were none with the two of them and once the honeymoon phase ended and the sex wasn't happening every night, Jason would wind up married to a woman he could barely hold a conversation with.

She wanted more for her friend than that.

"Jason?"

He sighed and turned towards her, showing his profile which was taut and tense.

"Do you want to talk?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Your fiancée invites you to a dinner where she then proceeds to ignore you and you say there's nothing to talk about?"

"Reilly was talking to her colleagues. I understand."

"Look, it's great that you support her," she told him. "You're always supporting her. But when does she ever support you?"

"Carly," he sighed wearily. "Don't do this. I'm not up for another round of why I shouldn't marry Reilly but should try to ask the wedding planner out on a date."

"I didn't say anything about Elizabeth Webber," she said softly. And filed it away that he had brought her up. Clearly she had made an impact on Jason, even if her friend wasn't aware of it. "But, no, I don't think Reilly is the right woman for you."

"Would you stop?" he asked, nearly pleading with her. Her heart hurt for him, because she hated to be at odds with him and she hated that she couldn't be happy for her friend. But she knew that this would end badly and she wanted to spare him that pain.

"I'm sorry, Jason," she said, her throat burning slightly and it wasn't just because of the liquor she drank tonight. "I wish I could just sit back and smile and tell you I love her and you'll be happy and have two point five kids. But I know, Jason, just like you knew when I married Jax that it would turn out badly. And I just want to prevent you from making a big mistake."

A corner of his mouth twitched up and he lightly huffed out a laugh, "I hardly think I'm gonna end up in Shady Brooke."

"No, probably not," she smiled ruefully. "But she will break your heart."

"It's my choice."

"Did I...did I push you into this?" she asked, twisting her hands together in front of her. "I mean, I kept pushing you when you told me to stop and then you just seemed to rush headfirst into this whole thing with Reilly. Are you...are you afraid of ending up alone?"

"I love her, Carly," he sighed. "I know you think that I'm confusing her with memories of Robin, but I love her."

She knew he believed he did, heck, he might actually really love Reilly. The problem was, she wasn't really sure Reilly loved him. At least as much as he loved her, and in the same manner. Jason was constantly doing what he could to make her happy, but Reilly Dashnell didn't return the favor. She took and took and seldom gave in on anything for Jason. This wedding was a perfect example. It was all what she wanted, and none of the plans fit Jason. A woman who truly knew and got Jason would understand that.

Someone like Elizabeth Webber. She understood Jason's tastes and what fit him and what didn't. Carly had immediately noticed that she put in things that she thought Jason might like. In the other meetings with the coordinator that she'd gone to with Jason, Carly had noticed the same thing happening time and again. Elizabeth Webber always included samples that were very clearly Jason.

It was why Carly knew if she could just contrive a way to get them together, they'd be great. Elizabeth was smart, pretty, funny, outgoing just enough to balance Jason, but also content to stay in; Carly could see the two of them settling down, having a family and hopefully growing old together provided Jason's business rivals didn't get him first. But Elizabeth was professional and would never try to break up a couple, and Jason was a serial monogamist and hardly looked at another woman when she served him coffee, he certainly wouldn't try to ask another woman out.

It was maddening, and Carly knew that it was best to quit trying to get the two of them to act. That didn't mean she was giving up. Oh no. She had set her mind on stopping this wedding before the big day when she'd have to risk losing Jason's friendship forever by standing up in church and objecting. Or sit miserably by and wait for everything to implode. No, she'd stop the wedding, alright. But it looked like she was going to have to work it from a different angle.

If Carly couldn't make Jason change his mind about Reilly, then she was just going to have to make Reilly change her mind about Jason. Carly knew plenty of men, both in Port Charles and out. It was time to pull out her little black book and start inviting men she thought could come sweep Reilly off her feet to meet the hopefully never blushing bride. She already had two candidates in mind, she just had to figure out the logistics of it all.

But despite what anybody said, she could plan when it really mattered. And this time...nothing else mattered but breaking up Reilly and Jason.

"Jason?"

He looked up from the invoice he was going over and blinked in surprise when he saw his fiancée standing in the doorway to his office. She looked out of place, even though she was wearing her scrubs from the hospital. Reilly didn't like coming down to the docks and the warehouse, and frankly Jason didn't blame her. He knew that the fundamentally the men would respect her because she was his fiancée, but he didn't want her to feel like she was being ogled behind her back. So he usually met her for coffee or lunch at Kelly's if she needed to see him during the day. It surprised, and worried, him to see her standing there now.

"Hi," he smiled, as he immediately put the invoice to the side and stood up to greet her. He invited her into the office and closed the door, giving her a kiss before she sat down in his chair. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you," she told him. "Something came up today."

"What?" he asked, feeling like she was shutting herself off from him, not letting him in. He didn't like that feeling, they hadn't kept secrets from each other before and he wondered why she was suddenly pulling back from him.

"I was offered a great opportunity to study at another hospital, under a really renowned doctor in ENT. This could be my chance to move into surgery instead of general pediatrics."

He smiled at her words, knowing how much a chance like this would mean to her. She was a good doctor, caring and gentle with her patients and soothing with parents, but she did want to move into a more specialized field. Pediatric surgery for ears, nose and throat was her desire. And here she was, being offered the chance to study it. He didn't understand why she seemed so skittish about telling him.

"That's great," he told her, genuinely happy for her. "I know you've been looking into this."

"Yeah," she frowned, looking ready to cry. "There's a problem, though."

His brow furrowed as he asked, "What?"

"The position starts next month and lasts six...in Phoenix."

Their wedding was in six weeks. She would only be a few weeks into her new position, in a different city. He could now understand the heavy pall that surrounded her.

"This doctor only takes a few doctors every year to mentor, he's asked me to come study with him," she said, her voice clear in frustration, disappointment and eagerness.

"And you want to go," he said in understanding.

"I do," she admitted.

"Then you should go."

Reilly looked up at him, tears making her eyes seem larger. "Do...do you mean it?"

"Of course," he assured her. "This is a great opportunity for you, a chance to do something you really want to. How could I say no to that?"

"But what about our wedding?" she questioned. "I have to be in Phoenix by the time we were planning to get married."

"Then we'll postpone the wedding," Jason told her simply. "People will understand...it happens all the time."

"Because one of the parties has cold feet," she said distastefully.

"Neither one of us has cold feet; we both want to get married. But this can't be helped; you have a chance to do something to help your career."

"You're sure?" she asked, standing up and walking towards him. "You're not disappointed that I want to do this?"

"I'd be more disappointed if you turned down the opportunity because you thought I'd be upset or hurt. You'll go study with this doctor and when it's over, then we'll get married. We can talk to Elizabeth and have her just move the plans back several months...she is our wedding coordinator after all. It's kinda her job to help us out with all this."

A small smile quirked at the side of her mouth to match the one he'd given her in an attempt to put her at ease. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm sure we're not the first bride and groom to throw her a curve like this."

"Probably not," he agreed.

"I just hope her life doesn't change in the meantime," she frowned slightly. "I'd hate to lose her since she's the best."

Now it was Jason's turn to frown. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the last meeting I had with her I got there a little early and her assistant was talking to her. He was trying to convince her that she could have a life outside of her work, said she should be going out more, having fun, or have a family all of her own. What if she decides she wants to? What if she and her husband decide to have a baby? If she gets pregnant would she still want to do our wedding?"

Jason wanted to tell her that her fears were unfounded. Elizabeth Webber wasn't actually married, there was no husband, and therefore, children were highly unlikely. But Jason hadn't told Reilly that Elizabeth Webber wasn't actually married, because she would be one of those women who didn't like that their wedding planner was quite single. She'd seen the movie, and had been thoroughly determined that such a thing wouldn't happen to her. According to her, what woman in her right mind wouldn't want to try to seduce Jason away from her?

It didn't matter that Jason never looked at these women, he was committed to his fiancée. And even if he could appreciate that a woman was pretty, he certainly wouldn't dishonor his fiancée, or himself, by acting on that. Physical beauty wasn't a basis for a relationship, and Jason wasn't a person who couldn't control his desires. He loved Reilly, he wanted to marry her, and for all intents and purposes he considered himself already married. From the moment he put a ring on her finger, he considered himself bound to her. He would never cheat on her.

So he didn't tell her the information he and Carly had learned, especially since Carly was trying to convince him to dump Reilly and hook up with the woman planning his wedding. Reilly would have a fit if she found out that, and Jason wanted to avoid another fight between his best friend and his fiancée.

While he thought children might be a bit of a stretch between now and when he and Reilly could reschedule their wedding, he did wonder if Elizabeth Webber might not have time to keep them as clients. She was a busy woman, and her services were highly in demand. What if she was already hired to work on a wedding for when they needed to reschedule? Would she be willing to keep them as clients, or would they have to find someone new? If they did, how much time would that set them back? Jason was tired of all the wedding claptrap and just wanted to get to the ceremony and the married part. Why did it have to be such a big event just to formalize what he already felt in his heart?

"Will you talk to her?" Reilly asked him, smiling at him in her manner whenever she was trying to butter him up for something. "Talk to Elizabeth and see if she'll help us reschedule?"

"Sure," he nodded. "I can do that. We should probably figure out what weekend we want to reschedule to so we can give her something to work with."

"Alright," she agreed. "But be sure when you go and talk to her that you tell her she can't go and get pregnant on us."

Jason blinked at his fiancée. "What?"

"Tell her she can't get pregnant until after our wedding. Or at the very least, she can't be showing too much. She also shouldn't be in her first trimester because I'd hate for her to be sick at our reception if she's supposed to be making sure everything's running smoothly."

Jason knew she couldn't be serious. They couldn't tell a woman that she could or couldn't become pregnant; they had no say in her personal life.

Reilly gave him a quick hug and a kiss on his cheek before skirting around him and heading for the door. She called over her shoulder, "I'm serious, Jason. You tell her. Make her sign a contract if you have to, since we'll be paying her salary. I won't have her ruining my wedding because she and her husband have poor timing."

Then she was gone and Jason was left staring dumbfounded at the door. It was nerves, it was excitement, it was stress about her new opportunity, having to change their plans so close to the wedding date, and the prospect of moving. That's all it was. And since he knew that there was very little chance of Elizabeth Webber getting pregnant with her non-existent husband's baby, he wasn't going to say anything to her. This would be another thing he'd just let Reilly think because it made her happy. It wasn't really a lie.

"She's some piece of work, isn't she?"

With a groan and a closing of his eyes, he sank down into his chair and said, "Hello, Carly."

"Hi, Jason," she chirped as she came into his office, and closed his door behind her. "What's all that about with Dr. Kevorkian?"

"Carly," he growled. "Reilly is my fiancée, would you please treat her with a little respect?"

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "I apologize. What was dear Reilly going on about as she blew out of here and nearly knocked down Morgan on the stairs?"

"Morgan's here?"

"He's with Sonny. It's a father/son moment that I'm not invited to; I was merely dropping off my son. Although, thanks to your fiancée and her hurry to get out of the warehouse before it contaminated her, she nearly bowled my son over on the stairs. I'm sure it was just an accident and she didn't see him, she wasn't trying to drum up more business for herself," she said holding up her hands in mock innocence. "But what was she saying about someone having poor timing with their husband?"

"We have to postpone the wedding," he began.

"Are you serious?" she asked gleefully. "But why just a postponement and not an outright cancellation?"

"Carly," he sighed. "She was offered an opportunity to study under a pediatric specialist in Phoenix, a field she's interested in, and so we have to postpone the wedding. She has to be there next month and it's a six month study. She wanted me to tell Elizabeth Webber not to get pregnant before then so as to not mess up her wedding. But," he raised his eyebrows at her, "since you and I know she's not married, that won't be a problem."

"Oh," Carly stated, looking down at her hands. "I thought that maybe... Wait, she wants you to tell your wedding planner that she'd mess up her precious little wedding if she was pregnant? How in the world would that be possible? Elizabeth wouldn't be in the ceremony, she wouldn't be in a gown that had to be picked out six months in advance, she's just coordinating everything."

"Yes, but she has to be there, and handle any problems that might come up...I don't know," he shrugged. "She has to work behind the scenes. I guess Reilly feels if she's pregnant, it might affect her work."

"Which is ridiculous," Carly snorted. "Pregnancy is not a fatal condition. Plenty of women work while they're pregnant. What is Reilly planning to do if, Heaven forbid, the two of you decide to have children? Does she think she couldn't adequately take care of her patients? She'd be insulted if anybody suggested that to her."

"I know," he sighed once more. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "That's why I know she didn't mean it. She's just nervous about having to change the wedding plans, she's excited about this opportunity and she has a lot to take care of before she leaves. That's all. And besides, it's all pointless to talk about this, since we both know Elizabeth isn't actually even married. I don't know about her personal life, it's none of my business what she does, and I'm not even going to mention this to her. So why are we having an argument about this?"

"Because I want to know if you'll support me if Reilly thinks I'm messing up your wedding."

Jason tilted his head to the side and looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about? You're not messing up my wedding. Well...aside from not wanting it to happen."

"Well..." Carly halted and smoothed her hands over her skirt. "I thought Reilly had overheard me at the hospital and that's what she was complaining about."

"Carly?" Now he was concerned and a bit worried at her stalling.

"I saw Doctor Lee today," she smiled at him. "In seven months we're going to give Michael and Morgan what will hopefully be a little sister. Or, they'll get another brother."

Jason smiled as he looked at his best friend. "Congratulations. Does Sonny know?"

Her eyes were watery as she smiled back at him. "Yeah, I told him when I dropped off Morgan. We already knew, we were just getting Doctor Lee to confirm it. But Jason..this means that when you reschedule your wedding, I'm either going to be about to have a baby, or will have just had one. If Reilly didn't like the thought of her behind the scenes wedding coordinator possibly being pregnant, is she going to like your best friend and wife of your best man looking like she's about to pop?"

"Don't worry about it," Jason shook his head, coming around the desk to hug her. "I'll handle it and Reilly won't put up a fuss. She'll be happy for you. After all, you'll be giving her another patient."

Several months later...

Despite her personal feelings regarding Reilly Dashnell, there was no denying the fact that she made a beautiful bride. As Elizabeth sat in her office, flipping through the pictures and letter the bride had sent her, she had to admit that Reilly looked radiant. It was the first time Elizabeth was seeing the pictures; she hadn't done the wedding since it had taken place out of state. The bride had sent them to her, along with a note thanking her politely, and surprisingly sincerely, for all the work Elizabeth had done months earlier. She also asked for her services one last time to cancel the contracts completely since obviously she and Jason wouldn't be getting married in Port Charles in a few months.

Professionally, Elizabeth appraised the pictures. Whoever had put the event together had done a passable job. Elizabeth wouldn't have gone with saguaro cacti decorated in white twinkle lights as a backdrop for pictures, but apparently Reilly had agreed with it. Apparently, her move to Phoenix had changed her. Perhaps softened her. Or maybe her groom had been a little more outspoken than Jason Morgan and that had been one of the things he wanted.

Because while Reilly Dashnell was married, it wasn't to Jason Morgan. Elizabeth wasn't quite sure how that had come about; certainly there was a juicy story that Elton would try to pry out of her. Unfortunately she had nothing to give him. Because this was the first she'd heard of any change of plans.

Elizabeth studied the picture one last time, absently wondering what sort of man Dr. Phillip Kensington was and if his marriage to Reilly Dashnell-Kensington would make him happier than Jason would have been. Then, she gathered the pictures and letter together, put them back into the mailer envelope and set it aside. She had other clients to gather swatches for, locations to scout out, and she'd have to pull the Dashnell-Morgan folder and cancel all the contracts with the various suppliers. There was too much to do to sit around pondering how Jason Morgan had taken the news that his ex-fiancée was married to someone else.

She also certainly didn't have time to sit and think about what this all meant now that Jason Morgan was back on the market. She told herself that it didn't concern her at all. The man was just another client whose wedding was called off; it happened all the time. She didn't wonder how those people had taken the news, usually she knew due to one or the other of the parties actually coming to inform her in person or over the phone. But she didn't wonder about if they were heartbroken, or if they needed someone to talk to.

Jason Morgan wouldn't talk to her, he had a best friend who no doubt was consoling him. Of course, Carly Corinthos hadn't wanted Jason to marry Reilly Dashnell, but Elizabeth had to believe that the woman would be compassionate enough to talk to her friend and not gloat too gleefully. The last time Carly came to the office with Jason she'd happily announced that she was expecting her third child, so maybe pregnancy hormones would help soften her and allow her to be the support Jason needed.

Elizabeth paused for a moment as a thought struck her. Now that Jason was single, Carly wouldn't vocalize her beliefs that Jason should ask Elizabeth out...would she? She'd gotten the hint - actually, it wasn't really a hint, I don't date clients, current or former wasn't really that subtle after all - and she'd realize that Elizabeth had no intention of trying to pursue anything with Jason Morgan just because he was no longer engaged. Knowing what little she did of Carly Corinthos Elizabeth wasn't entirely sure, so she'd be cautious, but also firm, if she ever encountered the other woman.

That decided, Elizabeth ordered herself to stop thinking about Jason Morgan. He was a former client, nothing less, nothing more. She'd perform one last service on his behalf this afternoon, send off the bill and she'd be done with it. She was a professional; she handled situations like this all the time. End of story. Nothing left to say.

"Elizabeth."

Elton's disembodied voice floated through the intercom and Elizabeth dumped the envelope in her hand into a wire basket and punched the talk button. "Yes, Elton?"

"Jason Morgan and Carly Corinthos are here to see you."

Elizabeth was surprised, there was no need for Jason to personally stop by. She could only guess that Carly had come as moral support, as a friend for Jason. She was glad he had someone who could be there for him. Since she couldn't.

"Stop it," she whispered under her breath. "This doesn't concern you."

Clearing her throat and resuming her professional demeanor, she pressed the intercom and told Elton to send them in. She was standing and coming around her desk when Jason and his friend entered her office.

"Hi," she smiled at them. It was sympathetic without being pitiful, it was friendly without being gloating. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"I know we don't have an appointment," Jason said, tugging at his ear.

"Jason just got back into town and I told him that he should first get a haircut," Carly laughed, "and then he should stop by and talk to you."

"O-okay," she said with a little shake of her head. "But you didn't need to stop by personally. I mean...I found out and I'm really sorry, but you could have just called and I would have handled everything."

Carly Corinthos frowned at Elizabeth and asked, "What? Why wouldn't Jason come by to finalize the details?"

"Well, I just..."

"I mean, I know Reilly doesn't pick out anything that Jason actually likes," she scoffed. "But this is still his wedding and before he left town you were giving us new centerpiece options since it was going to be a summer wedding instead of fall."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and her stomach immediately felt ill. They were here to talk about the wedding? Jason still thought he was marrying Reilly Dashnell? Oh no.

Alright, she mentally firmed herself. She could do this. She was a professional. She'd dealt with Bridezillas and grooms who suddenly got cold feet the morning of the wedding. She'd dealt with mothers of the groom who went on a rampage and tried to change seating arrangements the night before the reception and she dealt with fathers of the bride who threatened to send the groom down the aisle with a black eye for having the audacity to marry his little girl. She'd resolved fights among bridesmaids and cowed two hundred pound groomsmen who were being rowdy and laughingly joked it would be fun to moon the congregation. She'd dealt with all of those situations and more, so of course she could handle this one.

Maybe she'd never personally had to tell the groom before that bride had run off and married someone else, but she knew other wedding planners who had. She'd just follow their advice, keep it simple, be kind, be professional. Even though inside her heart was breaking for this man who was about to have his stomped all over the ground by an undeserving cowardly wench who had stupidly walked away from one amazing man.

"I..." She paused and cleared her throat. "I think there's a bit of a problem."

Carly frowned once more. "What do you mean?"

"You said Mr. Morgan had been out of town?" she asked, trying to lead into the reveal gracefully.

"Yes," he answered. "I got home late yesterday."

Crap, why hadn't he gone through his mail? Or listened to his messages? Surely Reilly had sent something to him. She hadn't dumped this all on Elizabeth and expected her to clean up the spoiled woman's mess. Had she? The problem was, Elizabeth could believe it of Reilly, and now she was beginning to seethe inside. How dare this overgrown child expect Elizabeth to deal with this because she didn't have the guts, or the common decency, to tell Jason herself.

"Well," she sighed regretfully. "I'm not sure if you've had a chance to go through your mail or messages, but I received a letter from Reilly today."

Hesitantly she twisted her torso so she could see her desk and picked up the envelope she'd dropped there earlier. Running her fingers along the edges, she looked at Jason and said with genuine feeling, "I'm very sorry to be the one to tell you. But...but Reilly got married in Phoenix. She sent me some pictures and asked me to call the various venders to cancel the contracts. I...when you came I thought you were stopping by to ask me to do the same thing."

She handed him the envelope and then straightened from where she was leaning against her desk. "I'll...I'll let you have a moment."

Then she walked out of her office and closed the door behind her.

"I hate my job."

Elizabeth sighed and rubbed her hand over her forehead as she stood in her den, looking around in disgust. Books and baskets overflowed with scraps of fabric, lace, dried flowers and other odds and ends that she'd picked up while out and about and thought it was a pretty color, or a bold pattern and some client, some day may decide it was just the thing for their wedding. It wasn't just at her office, it had invaded her home.

"Tomorrow, I'm taking all of this to the office, letting Elton sort and catalogue it."

She nodded her head decisively, happy that she only had one more day where her life was ruled by brides and grooms all trying to plan elaborate celebrations and happily ever afters. She wasn't sure she believed in those anymore. Half her clients seemed to end up divorced before the first year, even more by the end of five. If a good, decent man like Jason couldn't find someone to love and cherish him, then what chance did the rest of the suckers have?

"Gahh," she groaned in frustration. "Can I just stop thinking about him?!"

Shaking her head, she walked out of her den and into the living, where even more wedding samples resided. She picked up the container of fish food, flipped on the tank light and lifted the hinged top. All the fish swarmed to the top in a frenzy as the dried flakes drifted onto the surface of the water.

"What do you think?" she asked them. "What should I do?"

She watched as they swam around, fighting over a morsel of food and nodded. "I agree. I need a vacation. Somewhere far away from Port Charles."

Somewhere where she wouldn't be haunted by the memories of a stunned Jason accepting the envelope from her hands, the blank mask that had descended onto his face as he walked out of her office barely acknowledging her soft "I'm sorry" before disappearing down the hallway to the elevator, and the worried, sad and angry visage of his best friend as she stayed behind to ask Elizabeth to take care of the details and send the bill to her so Carly could make sure she got paid because she had no idea if Jason would be in town. And somewhere far enough away so that even if she was plagued by the memories, that she wouldn't be tempted to throw aside all her creeds of conduct and go searching for Jason to offer him sympathy. She couldn't get involved in this. She had fulfilled her contractual obligations; her involvement with Jason Morgan had only been in a business capacity and now it was at an end.

Now it was time to focus on herself.

Elton had been right all those months ago. She had gotten too focused on work. In her effort to make sure her fledging business stayed solvent and she had food on her table, she had completely immersed herself in her job. She didn't go out, she didn't have friends - because the wholesale supplier she sweet talked into a 15% discount didn't exactly count as a friend, and she didn't even know her neighbors. Heck, she was standing here talking to her fish and asking their advice. She needed to get away, have a real vacation and learn to balance her life with something beside simply work.

As she searched for travel deals, she decided to go somewhere warm, but near the ocean. While Phoenix was warm, taking her vacation so she could go chew out her former client and blast her for devastating a man who didn't deserve it, wasn't what she needed. It didn't fit into her leave business behind and forget Jason Morgan game plan she needed to follow.

So she closed her eyes, circled the mouse on the mouse pad and clicked. Whatever she landed on was her destination. It was time to focus on herself, and maybe if she was lucky, she'd find a little island romance to completely clear her mind.

Summer had come early to Port Charles and was hotter than any on record. Or at least that's what it felt like to Carly who was carrying around the extra weight of pregnancy and was feeling every ounce of it. She was hot, she was miserable, and she was cursing the fact that she couldn't travel.

Because if she could have, she would have flown to wherever Jason was still hiding out and licking his wounds and kicked his butt all the way home. She understood her friend was hurt, and it absolutely killed her to know he was, but enough was enough. He'd been gone for months from Port Charles and every time he checked in with them - which was sporadic and short - he made no mention of returning any time soon.

What she had heard from Sonny was enough to make her cringe. Her friend who had in recent years been so steady and conscientious, had apparently returned to the man he'd been when he'd woken up after his coma. He was all about sex, all the time. From the reports Sonny got from the guards on the island until Jason realized what they were doing and took off for parts unknown, Jason had arrived, set up camp in one of the casino bars and only left when he took woman upstairs for the night.

A different night, a different woman, and a whole lot of alcohol. Apparently Jason was attempting to soothe the pain of betrayal and heartache with meaningless, cheap flings. It was reason #293 why Carly hated Reilly Dashnell. Because of that stupid little bimbo, Carly's best friend wasn't in Port Charles, wasn't around his family, and was on a self-destructive course that quite frankly worried Carly to no end. Was he being safe? Would he ever come home? And even if he did return, what shape would he be in? Mentally and physically.

She hated this.

Sonny told her not to worry, that it wasn't good for her or the baby and wouldn't change anything. Jason was a grown man and he needed to deal with things his own way. He just took things to the extreme sometimes.

It was those extremes that worried Carly. She had met Jason shortly after he woke up from his coma and she knew the kind of no-name, wild trysts he'd engaged in. She'd been one of his partners in crime. But she hadn't been the only one; she knew that as much as she'd hated it at the time. She also knew about the recklessness he'd engaged in; the fights, the dangerous rides on his motorcycle, the train surfing.

His desperate abandon had tempered and then stopped when he met Robin Scorpio. At the time Carly had hated the doctor-in-training. When Jason met her and felt things for the little waif that he didn't feel for Carly, the blonde had been jealous. She'd especially been upset when Jason ended their relationship because he said that Robin had told him when two people loved each other and wanted to be together, they shouldn't see other people. Carly had confronted the brunette and told her she didn't love Jason, she just wanted a little experiment to practice her medical and behavioral theories on.

It was only after Robin died that Carly began to admit the possibility that Jason really had been in love with her. Because Jason didn't spiral out of control, he'd turned inward. He didn't leave the penthouse he'd shared with Robin. He lost weight. He lost his tan because the only time he went outside was at night for long rides on his motorcycle. They weren't reckless rides; he didn't speed up the cliff roads so fast he nearly laid his bike down and he didn't drive flat out towards the end of the docks and then see if he could stop in time. The men Sonny sent to watch out for his friend said that they were long, winding, rambling rides that often took him into the woods where he'd just sit for hours and occasionally cry.

Carly hadn't wanted to see him slip away from them, or decide to leave town, so she'd pushed him to get back into the dating game. She'd set him up, fixed him up without his knowledge, and pushed him to find somebody knew. And because of that, he'd ended up with Reilly Dashnell. And because that little tart had broken his heart, Jason had left town. The thing that Carly had feared would happen after Robin, had happened now. Jason was wild, he was careless, and he didn't want to live in Port Charles anymore.

"Hey," Sonny said, walking up behind her and rubbing her shoulder with his strong hand. "Worrying about it won't change anything."

"I know," she sighed. "But it's not going to stop me from doing it anyways. I miss him, Sonny, and I do worry about him. He wasn't like this when Robin died."

"He was sad and depressed when Robin died," her husband said, walking around the couch to sit beside her. He placed a milkshake on the coffee table in front of her, but Carly couldn't even be cheered up by the frothy, creamy concoction. "He's angry this time, and he's hurt."

"This is my fault," she groaned.

"How do you figure that?"

"I was the one pushing him to date again too soon after Robin. He asked me to leave him alone, but I wouldn't. I figured I knew best for him and that was that. And then he met Reilly and I hated her and I tried to tell him, and I think my fighting with him just made it worse. He was determined to stay with her to prove me wrong. He is so stubborn," she huffed and crossed her arms over her swollen stomach.

"So are you," Sonny gave a little laugh and leaned forward to pick up the cool treat. "But you're not to blame. Jason is an adult, and he makes his own decisions, and we just have to let him have his time to deal with this in his own way."

Carly finally took the chilled glass from Sonny and frowned at the world in general. "If I wasn't pregnant, I would fly to Phoenix and beat Reilly Dashnell for this whole mess."

"Then it's a good thing you are pregnant," Sonny smiled. "Because I'd hate to have to bail you out of jail."

"Hey."

"Jason?" Carly's shock carried through the phone and he winced when she squealed. "Jason! Are you okay? Where are you? When are you coming home? Your niece is about to be born and you're nowhere in sight."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, tempted to hang up the phone, but he didn't. "I'm sorry, Carly. I just...I needed to get away. I just wanted to call and tell Sonny that I have one more stop to make and then I'll be home."

"You're not going to see Reilly are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"No," he shook his head. "I...John's getting married in Seattle and I told him I'd be there. I'm going to stop there and then I'll come home. The wedding's next week."

"Jason," Carly said softly. "I'm sorry if I pushed you into this and that you got hurt. I...all I wanted was for you to be happy like I was with Sonny. I promise...next time I'll stay out of your life."

He knew she wouldn't, and he accepted that. Carly wouldn't be who she was if she wasn't trying to tell him what to do in some way.

"Don't worry, Carly," he told her. "You didn't do this. This was me for not seeing who Reilly was, and she's the one who went and got married when she was out in Phoenix. We'll talk when I get home, okay?"

"Okay," she said reluctantly. "I'll let Sonny know you called and we'll see you next week?"

"You will," he promised her. Then he hung up the phone and sighed, his feet propped up on the balcony's railing.

A part of him wanted to just keep traveling, stay away from Port Charles and all the bad memories left behind. But then he realized that they were just memories. And they had no power over him unless he let them. He hadn't moved away when Robin died, despite wanting to, and he wasn't going to let a bad break-up with Reilly keep him away. He knew people would look at him, wonder and talk behind his back about what happened, but the people who would do that did it anyways just because of his connection to Sonny and what he did.

The Quartermaines would lament the fact that he wasn't married, but he didn't care what the old man might say. He'd talked with Lila on the phone and she'd told him that if Reilly had been the right woman for him she wouldn't have left him for another person, and she would have tried to make him happier. That was the first time his grandmother had spoken out against the woman he'd planned to marry, and he knew that she just wanted him to be happy. Monica probably did too, but the rest of them just wanted him to be who he used to be and were probably looking forward to trying to get Reilly to plead their case to him.

Who he was hadn't changed just because he was no longer getting married. He still was Sonny's partner, he still handled problems that needed to be dealt with, and he still was the man who had loved Robin and rescued Reilly from the side of the road. He would still be that person when he returned to Port Charles. He'd play with Sonny and Carly's kids, he'd ride his bike, he'd play pool, and he would go on with life.

He also wasn't going to be in a hurry to find someone new in his life. If he ever tried romance again. Maybe it just wasn't cut out for him. Maybe he was better off with his bike and his beer. He didn't need a woman hanging on his every word or curled up against his side to make him feel better about himself. And if he wanted companionship, he would be able to find it. He just wouldn't be as undiscriminating as he'd been on the island. He'd gotten that out of his system and he would be in control once more.

He'd worked out his anger at realizing Reilly hadn't loved him like he thought. He'd worked out his embarrassment and hurt at being jilted and having to have someone else tell him the news. And he'd worked out his desire to ever get married again. He wasn't going to go down that road and be that vulnerable again.

Most of all, he wouldn't think about his ex-wedding planner any more.

Halfway through his travels, he realized that the women he was picking up weren't substitutes and someone to ease the pain about Reilly. They were being used to block out thoughts about a petite, blue-eyed brunette. He wasn't trying to forget his ex-fiancée, he was trying to forget a woman who had showed him kindness and compassion when he hadn't gotten any from the woman supposed to love him.

He couldn't stop thinking about all the times Carly had pointed out that Elizabeth Webber had included things that showed she understood both her clients. It wasn't all about Reilly's over-the-top desires, the wedding planner had included items that if Jason had really cared about the whole overblown affair, he would have chosen. And when she realized that he had no idea his fiancée had married another man and left her to break the news, she'd done so with grace and compassion without being overly piteous.

That's when Jason knew that things had changed for him. He wasn't just upset about what happened with Reilly, he was scared that he was finally free of her. If he'd met Elizabeth Webber under different circumstances, he would have been intrigued. He hadn't given into thoughts of what-if while he was still planning to marry Reilly, because it would have been pointless and it would have been unfair to the woman he was ready to make a life with. Now that that life wasn't going to happen, his thoughts began to betray him.

So he'd stayed away because he didn't want Carly to try to set him up again. He didn't want to be in the same town as Elizabeth and think about her. He didn't want to ever go down that road again.

So he'd go to John's wedding, and that was the last time he was dealing with weddings and thoughts of wedding planners. The next wedding he attended was going to be one of Sonny and Carly's children, and considering that Michael was only 8 years old, he figured he had a long time to build up an immunity between the thought association of lace and a beautiful brunette who probably hadn't even looked twice at him.

She was going to miss the wedding.

As Elizabeth sat in the Burbank airport, staring out the window with water streaming down it, she knew without a doubt she was going to miss her friend's wedding. Good thing she wasn't the planner on this event. It probably would have been bad for the planner to be stuck hundreds of miles away while the bride and groom walked down the aisle.

No, this time around, she was just a regular guest. Someone who bought a ridiculously expensive present that had been shipped ahead - at least they'd get her gift - and had decided to fly in the day before the wedding. After all, she wasn't a member of the wedding party, she wasn't the planner, and she was pretty much still on vacation, so she wasn't in a rush to hurry off to Seattle. Mostly because she knew that her profession would not allow her to sit back and do nothing, she'd pitch in, or pitch a fit, with whatever preparations the bride and groom had decided on.

Instead of doing that, she'd stayed on the beach that she'd taken up residence on after she left Port Charles. Waiting until the last possible moment that she felt she could before leaving.

It wasn't that she'd never left the beach. She'd gone back on occasion to be there for events she was paid to plan. When she'd left, she told Elton to take on no new clients, unless he was prepared to handle everything. Because she also left him in charge of the events she'd been hired to coordinate. Maybe it was irresponsible of her, but she was doing it for her sanity. She'd been working non-stop for years, and she had to get away. That, and she also wanted to avoid the possibility of running into Jason Morgan.

She hadn't quite put him where he belonged in her memories. In the former client file that could be shut and ignored. He seeped into her conscience and she would think about him. Wondering how he was handling the break-up. Was he doing better now? Was he still hurt? Had he gone to Phoenix and pummeled Reilly's new husband into the ground? And because she still thought about him, she stayed away.

It wasn't that she didn't do any work. She did some minor jobs, freelanced herself out and made some money. Not that she was hurting for cash, but it was nice to do something besides sit on the beach all day long. She just didn't feel the need to constantly be in motion. She'd sit on the beach, a drink in hand, and watch the waves rush towards the beach, pull away and repeat the motion. She watched the play of light, shadow, and the constantly changing landscape. She'd even taken up watercolors in an attempt to capture it. Surprisingly, she wasn't half bad, and some people had even purchased her paintings from her. Sure, they were only for ten or twenty dollars, but people paid for her creations. It was weird.

Right now she should be in Seattle. Attending the bachlorette party of her college friend, falling into bed way too late to get up way too early and go to her wedding. Hopefully, sometime before the wedding Em would get her message and realize that Elizabeth was stuck in California due to circumstances beyond her control.

Mechanical failure on the plane had forced them to land in Burbank instead of San Francisco where she was supposed to catch her connecting flight to Seattle. They'd landed, deboarded the plane, scurrying across the tarmac to the terminal under light rain, and then sat inside the building and watched as the light rain turned into a torrential downpour that grounded all flights. That had been hours ago; the storm was still raging.

Some who lived in California had rented cars and left the airport. Some passengers believed it was going to be a while and had searched out hotel rooms near the airport. Other passengers had staked out hard, plastic chairs, or sections of the floor and had fallen asleep. Elizabeth wished she were that lucky. She'd never been able to fall asleep on an airplane, let alone in an airport. There was too much uncertainty, too many fears about someone watching her - or doing worse - while she slept.

So she sat with her feat slung over the armrest, ate salty snacks and drank a lot of caffeinated beverages and waited for the storm to break. Tired, muscles stiff and cramping, and needing to get up and stretch, Elizabeth stood and headed for the bathroom. She had her carry-on suitcase stowed in a locker in the terminal so at least she didn't have to worry about dragging it with her. Several minutes later, she was walking the length of the terminal, trying to get a little exercise before sitting back down.

As she passed a vending machine, she stopped and reached for her purse. It was late and all the eateries and shops in the terminal were closed, so sustenance came from a machine. She decided to skip the chips and go for chocolate, and after feeding her dollar bill into the machine and pressing the correct buttons, she waited. And waited. And cursed the corner of the package that got caught in the spring that was supposed to push her purchase to the front so it could drop down into the retrieval bin.

"Oh, come on," she huffed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Let me help."

The voice caught her off guard; it was low, male, and extremely close. She stepped to the side as the person hit the machine, tipping it enough to free her package of M&Ms. He reached down, pushing the metal flap back and retrieved her candy, then turned to hand it to her.

"Mr. Morgan!" Her eyes were wide with surprise and she froze, her hand halfway to the bag he was holding out to her.

"You can just call me Jason," he said with an awkward, almost embarrassed smile, rattling the candy to draw her attention to it.

"Jason," she murmured as she took her candy. She would not think about the heat that spread through her belly when their fingers brushed. "Thank you."

They stood there, not speaking, not moving and Elizabeth had things she wanted to say, but they wouldn't be appropriate. And the only other things she could think of she refused to say. After all, it would only probably hurt him to remind him the last time she'd seen him had been when he'd walked out of her office. After learning his fiancée had married another man.

Finally, though, her brain kicked in and she said the first thing she thought of that wasn't 'You look good' or 'I'm sorry about Reilly', and so she settled on, "What are you doing in Burbank?"

"Missing my flight to Seattle," he said with a dry succinctness that brought a smile to her lips.

"My flight to San Francisco got diverted here when it had mechanical problems. I've missed my connecting flight to Seattle and will probably miss my friend's wedding tomorrow."

He tilted his head curiously. "I'm supposed to be at my friend's wedding in Seattle tomorrow as well."

She laughed, more out of nervousness, "What are the odds? Who's your friend?"

"John Mitchell."

With a shake of her head she said, "Nope. My friend, Emma, is marrying a man named Richard."

"So how does a flight from Port Charles going to San Francisco get diverted to Burbank?" Jason asked, stepping aside to avoid a man stumbling his way to the bathroom. He reached out and touched Elizabeth's elbow to help move her out of the way, and pretty soon she found herself being guided towards a row of chairs.

Since she had no objections to talking to Jason, other than the fear of embarrassing herself, she allowed him the high-handedness. "I wasn't coming from Port Charles," she explained. "I've been...on vacation for a while, I guess you could say. I was actually in New Zealand and I picked San Francisco 'cause I wanted to avoid LAX."

"New Zealand?" he asked, seeming a bit surprised. "What was there?"

"A place to see," she shrugged. "What about you? You weren't coming from Port Charles."

He gave a shake of his head and his features darkened slightly. "I've been traveling. I was in Mexico last week."

And that was all he said, and Elizabeth - knowing the rumors about his business dealings from the local Port Charles papers - wasn't going to ask. Once again, they descended into silence and she fumbled with the M&M packet, not really out of hunger, but for the need to do something with her hands. Unfortunately she was shaking and couldn't get a grasp on the slick paper. Jason Morgan came to her aid a second time that night and reached over, plucking the wrapper from her hands and deftly ripping a corner open.

"Thanks," she flushed in embarrassment. "I think I'm just tired."

"You should get some rest," he told her kindly. "I won't mind if you sleep."

She shook her head with a laugh. "I can't sleep in airports. I'm too open, too vulnerable; I can't even sleep on airplanes."

"Mind some company?" he asked.

With a shake of her head, she told him he was welcome to stay. It was nice to see a familiar face; she hadn't been in Port Charles very much the past couple of months. He didn't say it, but she got the feeling that he hadn't been in Port Charles at all since he'd learned his wedding wouldn't be happening. They talked of various places they'd been, sharing their memories and favorite spots when they found they'd had a common destination in their past travels. Minutes turned into an hour as the storm continued to pound down on them and occasional announcements were made to inform them that they were still delayed.

"I wanted to thank you," Jason said, surprising her and bringing up the one topic she had been determined to avoid. "The last day I was at your office...you were kind."

Elizabeth looked away from his frank and open gaze and turned to stare at her reflection in the rain covered windows. "I had never hated my job more than that day. You didn't deserve what she did to you. Nobody deserves that. And I just...I wanted to give you your privacy. You didn't need an audience for all that."

"You never really liked her, did you?"

She twisted her lips to the side and pulled the corner of her bottom one into her mouth, trying to avoid the question, but also seeking for a diplomatic response because she suspected he wouldn't let her dodge it. "It's not so much that I didn't like her...she wasn't the worst Bridezilla I'd encountered. I just felt...she was all flash and spending money for the sake of spending money, of having a certain look and that wasn't who you were. I felt it was a mismatch, but it's not really my place to make those judgments."

"I'm sure you get a sense of what marriages will last and which ones won't."

"I do," she admitted, still not looking at him. "But I've also been wrong. I've seen people I envision having their Golden Wedding Anniversary with all their kids, grandkids and maybe even a great-grandchild or two split in a couple of months because the reality of marriage isn't what they thought it was. And I've seen couples I was certain were going to end in divorce court, if not legal court due to one of them killing the other, be surprisingly stable and have long marriages."

She hazarded a glance at him and then shrugged her shoulders. "It's all just a crap shoot and I've given up trying to make sense of it all or believing in fairytales and hoping I'll find my happily-ever-after some day. I think it's an occupational hazard."

He didn't say much after that, and she wondered if the easy camaraderie they'd shared was suddenly gone. But the last topic had served as a reminder for Elizabeth. Just because Jason Morgan wasn't married, didn't mean he was free for her to pursue. It would still look bad, no matter if she hadn't had a hand in breaking up the marriage, for her to date a former client. Talking about his wedding had broken the little fantasy world she'd allowed herself to get sucked into during the last hour.

She gave a yawn, and brought her hands up to rub her eyes. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt Jason put his arm around her shoulder and tug her head down onto his. "Try and get some rest," he told her. "I'll be awake, so I can make sure nothing happens to you."

She shook her head and said, "I couldn't. It wouldn't be right."

For so many reasons, not the least of which was Jason Morgan smelled wonderful and if she continued to let her head rest on his shoulder it would destroy her resolve.

"Elizabeth, just the person I wanted to see."

Carly smiled as she approached the brunette, "What good luck. I've been meaning to call you and now I don't have to."

If Carly noticed that Elizabeth Webber looked like a deer in the headlights, or maybe more aptly a mouse in a cage who knows it's about to be taken out and injected with carcinogens, she didn't acknowledge it. If Carly thought about how every time she'd encountered the wedding planner the other woman got the same panicked look, she ignored it. Carly Corinthos was a woman on a mission, and nothing was going to stop her from it.

Her best friend was in love with this woman, even if he wouldn't admit it. When Jason returned to Port Charles three months ago, he didn't talk about his time away. He mentioned the places he went, brought gifts for Michael and Morgan, even some for her and Sonny, and presented her with a gift for the baby who had yet to be born. But he didn't talk about what he did - of course, it wouldn't have been fit for Michael and Morgan's ears to hear who their uncle did - and he resisted all attempts to talk about how he was doing.

The only thing he'd mentioned, and that's how Carly knew it was important, was that he'd run into Elizabeth Webber in the Burbank airport when they got stranded there on their way to Seattle. Both of them had missed their friends' weddings, and after calls to Washington, Jason and Elizabeth had decided to just head home. Which meant that Jason and Elizabeth sat next to each other on the flight.

That, however, was all he was willing to say. He didn't divulge what they'd talked about. He wouldn't admit if he liked her. He wouldn't say if he wanted to see her again. He simply came home, and threw himself into work with a ferocity that was even beginning to worry Sonny.

That was why he'd agreed, at least in part, to Carly's plan. He didn't agree with the matchmaking aspect of it, reminding her of her disasters in the past and the monster they'd nearly gotten stuck with in Reilly, but he agreed with the party. It would force Jason to take some time off. To relax. To not run himself into the ground.

"I had a question for you," Carly smiled at the other woman. "Actually, a proposition."

Elizabeth eyed her warily and her voice was full of trepidation when she asked, "What?"

"Do you just plan weddings, or do you do other parties?"

"I plan weddings," Elizabeth informed her. "And the occasional anniversary parties. I don't plan bar or bat mitzvahs, I don't plan quincineras, I don't plan My Super Sweet Sixteen parties, and I especially don't plan children's birthday parties."

Carly pulled back slightly and asked, "You have something against children?"

If she did, then this whole thing was off. Jason loved children, and Carly wanted him to have some of his own in the future. He adored Michael, Morgan and Barbara, and anyone who dated him or was with him for the long haul was going to have to accept they'd spend a lot of time around children.

"I like children," Elizabeth shook her head. "I adore my brother's kids and try to get down to New York City and see them whenever I can. I just can't do children's parties. No offense to you, 'cause I'm sure you're not like this, but some parents are even worse to deal with than a bride in full-fledged Princess Snob mode."

"Bad experience?" Carly asked with a small laugh.

"Fifty six year olds on a sugar high running amok through the science museum while their poncy parents sat on their butts and didn't lift a finger to stop their precious little angels from destroying things, and then getting angry with me when the museum charged them for the damages because I didn't control the children properly. As if it was my responsibility to prevent their child from climbing up the model of the triceratops while trying to make sure the clown wasn't mauled and left unable to father children in addition to apologizing to the fire department for responding to a false alarm when the lever was somehow pulled. After that, I vowed I'd eat dog food I bought on sale before I ever planned another children's party."

"I don't blame you," she replied. And Carly really didn't. There was no way she'd want to be around children and cake if she'd lived through something like that. But it put a crimp in her plan so she had to do some fancy finagling. "But it's really too bad, because I was hoping for your help."

It was time to pull out the Jason card and play up a little guilt. "Michael and Morgan's birthdays are in the fall," she explained, "and we had planned small parties because Jason's wedding was supposed to take place shortly before them and he would have been gone on his honeymoon or just getting back. And then once the wedding was postponed, we decided to hold off on a bigger party because Reilly wouldn't be there. We intended to hold a big party after the baby was born."

Carly could tell she was pulling Elizabeth in. The brunette's eyes softened at the mention of Jason and the aborted wedding, a fact Carly definitely noted and filed away. It appeared it wasn't just her friend who was interested.

"Then when the wedding was canceled and Jason took off," Carly sighed. "We had no idea if we'd ever see him again. Jason sometimes just does that. Takes off and is gone for months; one time he was out of town for a couple of years. The boys miss their uncle and wish he'd have a family of his own because it would mean he'd be around more. So they didn't want to have a party because Jason wasn't here. When he finally came back, it was right before the baby was born, and then I've been recuperating, and now the boys want to have a party because their uncle's home."

"I can understand that," Elizabeth said softly. "They must love their uncle."

Somehow, Carly felt they weren't the only ones who loved Jason. Better and better.

"They do. And they also want to have a party to celebrate their sister's birth; unfortunately, said sister is colicky so I just don't have that much time to put the thing together. That's where I was hoping you would come in," she put just the right amount of hope, yet resignation, into her speech. "You chose such amazing things for Jason's wedding, not the monstrosities Reilly wanted, but things that showed you understood who Jason really was and what he would like."

The cutest little blush crept up Elizabeth's cheeks and Carly had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling.

"I thought you might be able to help me put something together that the boys would enjoy, and also that the adults would appreciate. Something that would be fun, but not an overblown madhouse." Carly could see she was saying all the right things to the woman, and despite herself Elizabeth Webber was showing a spark of interest. But she also knew the woman wouldn't easily be swayed. "We wouldn't have a lot of children there, friends of some of our friends and employees. Some important people from out of town."

This was another test for the woman who had captured her friend's interest. Would she clue in to just who those important people were, and how would she react?

What Carly hadn't quite counted on was the consummate professional that Elizabeth Webber was, and her ability to stay neutral in her expressions despite what was being said. It probably served her well when dealing with brides who were having meltdowns, but at this moment Carly didn't like the stoic look on the woman's face.

"I wish you the best of luck, Mrs. Corinthos," she said politely. "But like I said, I gave up kids' parties. While your offer holds some appeal, I fear saying yes. If word gets around I did your party, I'll be inundated with other parents who want me to put together their little girl's birthday party, and I just...I hope you understand why I'm going to say no."

Carly did. She didn't like it because it screwed up with her plans, she was used to getting her way and she really wanted to get Jason and Elizabeth together in the same room and hope that they'd be unable to resist the other person, but she did understand. From a professional standpoint, it would create logistical problems. But Carly Corinthos was not one to back down. She didn't take no for an answer until she admitted defeat. And Carly was not ready to give up.

"What about this?" she asked, tipping her head conspiratorially to the side. "You help me plan it and put it together, but you don't show up at the party? We'll meet somewhere else, make all the arrangements, and I won't tell a soul that you helped me plan it. That way no one really knows what happened, but I still get the help of very talented planner."

"Who's going to call the people?" Elizabeth challenged back immediately. "In order to get my professional discount, they'll need to talk to me, get my business license number, and before you say that my assistant can do that, let me remind you that everyone knows he's my assistant."

"I'll make the calls," Carly immediately said.

"You won't get the discount."

With a laugh, she waved her hand dismissively through the air. "I don't need the discount. Money isn't an issue here."

"They don't put private individuals as top priority," the other lady warned. "There's a reason I get the good china and silverware, I command authority with my name and business."

"Elizabeth," she said, leaning forward slightly in an effort to bring home the point as well as truly gauge the other woman's reaction. "My husband commands his own authority, and people will help us."

The only reaction she saw was a slight lift of the brunette's eyebrows and then she nodded slowly. "That's true. So why do you need my help? As Mrs. Corinthos, you'll have anything and everything you need. You don't need me."

Carly had the slightly worrisome feeling that she'd just been played. That she'd somehow fallen into a trap when she had been the person setting the bait. How had that happened?

"I need you, Elizabeth," she quickly recovered, "because you know your clients. You have a fresh eye, creative ideas, and you don't have a colicky infant sapping your energy and robbing you of your sleep. I really do need some help. And Sonny, while I love him, is too busy and doesn't have the patience for this. He hires people to throw his parties, he doesn't plan them himself. And Jason's idea of a party is a barstool at Jake's, a cold beer, a game of pool and then the fun begins when a bar brawl breaks out. Not exactly kid friendly."

Ha! Trumped her.

"When exactly were you thinking of having this small little gathering?" Elizabeth asked with a challenging raise of her eyebrows. "I have a couple of weddings coming up, so I am a bit busy."

"I know," Carly said in understanding while her brain rapidly searched for a date and hoped that Elizabeth wouldn't immediately shoot it down. "Of course your weddings would take priority. But I really would like to work with you, so is there any way we could get together and talk about a schedule? See if something coincides mutually?"

Even if something on her end didn't, she make it fit. Elizabeth was close to agreeing, she could feel it. Getting Elizabeth to agree was the first, and most important, step. Because once they were meeting, she would come up with ways to throw her and Jason together. She'd have to be subtle so as not to scare Elizabeth off, but she had to show the brunette that Jason Morgan was an attractive man with many attractive qualities. Of course, if the wedding planner didn't already know that then maybe Carly was just wasting her time. She shouldn't have to sell her best friend, merely point out some of his finer qualities.

An internal battle was being raged in Elizabeth's eyes, but Carly could see the moment it had tipped in her favor. With a sigh and a look of I can't believe I'm agreeing to this, Elizabeth nodded her head and said, "Yeah. Give me a call and we'll see what we can come up with."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," she beamed brightly. "Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

He should have known that Carly would play dirty. It wasn't that she did it maliciously, most of the time, it was just her nature. She wanted things her way, and she would stoop to any tactic to get what she wanted. It was as simple as that.

Her latest maneuvering hadn't come out of a desire to one up the competition or thumb her nose at an ex-husband, she had done this for him. Jason knew she just wanted him happy, and somehow Carly had gotten the impression that Elizabeth Webber would make him happy. For all that he was upset that she'd pulled her latest stunt, Jason couldn't deny that his friend was partially right. Jason did like Elizabeth Webber.

He had tried to put her out of his mind after their chance encounter in California and the time spent in the airport and on the plane talking. There had been awkward moments, most of the time when some reference would draw their attention back to the failed wedding, but for the most part Jason had enjoyed being with her. He found himself opening up to her about things he rarely even told Sonny or Carly. In turn, he found out things about her that she didn't share with other people. Things that she admitted with great reluctance and much blushing.

He'd found the flush absolutely adorable. In fact, most things she did that night and the following flight home he found attractive. He liked the way she tucked her hair behind her ear as she rambled on about something with great enthusiasm. He had felt ten feet tall and invincible when she fell asleep against his shoulder, not just once but twice, because he knew the trust it showed she had in him. He liked the way she licked the orange dust off her fingers after sharing a bag of Doritos with him, and he absolutely liked the way she wrapped her lips around the straw of her drink. There was no doubt she filled out a pair of jeans nicely, just like she made a charcoal gray skirt sexy, but try as he might want to convince himself, Jason knew that his attraction to Elizabeth wasn't just physical.

She was intriguing and fun, driven and distracting, and he found himself thinking about her more than he knew he should. After his disaster with Reilly, he wasn't ready to jump back into a relationship. Especially with someone who reminded him of all that went wrong with his ex-fiancée. Yet as he kept running into Elizabeth with Carly as the two women planned the party Carly insisted on throwing, he found himself thinking less about Reilly, and more about Elizabeth.

He watched her with Michael and Morgan, spending time with them to get to know their likes and dislikes, and figure out what games and activities would be fun and wouldn't get out of hand to drive the parents crazy. She discovered that Michael had a sharp analytical mind and so she designed an activity where they'd build a creation out of silly objects that would have to hold the most weight. She learned that Morgan knew an amazing amount of information about dinosaurs and so she created dinosaur themed activities that would appeal to him and his friends, as well as the older crowd. Morgan had insisted that as his uncle, he had to help him in the dinosaur relay race.

The entire event had been planned out and even though Jason thought the whole thing was a rather ridiculous excuse to have a party of this magnitude, he did have to admit that Carly, and particularly Elizabeth, had done a good job. However, just because the whole thing was nearly finalized, didn't mean Carly had ceased in her quest. She was determined to get Elizabeth and Jason together and so she constantly called the other woman to come over, and then oh-just-happened to have invited Jason to come over to play with the boys at the same time. However, she'd have forgotten the boys were at a play date with friends and she'd come up with some other excuse to keep Jason there.

Today appeared to be no exception. As he walked into his penthouse and tossed his keys down onto his desk, he caught the faint whiff of a familiar perfume and looked up to see Elizabeth standing by his pool table. He looked around in confusion, ready to demand an explanation of his friend, but Carly didn't appear to be present.

"E-Elizabeth?" he asked, clearing his throat.

The wedding planner gave him a nervous smile as she hugged her arms around her waist. When she didn't speak, though, he continued on, "What...what are you doing here? Where's Carly?"

"Over at her penthouse," she answered with a raise of her eyebrows. "Apparently Carly had the penthouse painted recently and she said that the paint fumes were getting to her so we came over here since you were going to be out. But she suddenly remembered she needed something from her place and ran back over there."

"Ah," Jason nodded slowly. That explained why there had been a sudden invasion of workmen early yesterday morning and the children had been shuffled off to Bobbie's house along with Leticia. Sonny and Carly had stayed at a hotel last night, and Jason had come home late enough that the smell of paint had mostly dissipated, and hadn't bothered him over in his penthouse. Apparently, Carly had come up with a new plan.

"She's been gone for a while, though," Elizabeth continued on, casting a worried glance at the door behind Jason. "I was about to go see what was taking her so long."

Jason was about to go with her, so that he could have a talk with his friend, when a solid knock echoed on the door. Wondering what was going to happen now, he opened the door to find Max shifting slightly on his feet.

"Hey, Jason," he said, not looking him in the eye. "Miss Webber. I...Mrs. C. got a call from Leticia and she...she went over to her mother's to see the kids. She asked me to apologize to you, Miss Webber, for having to leave so suddenly and not getting a chance to speak to you."

Jason sighed and looked at the bodyguard, absolving him of his obviously reluctant part in this whole mess. "Thanks for letting us know, Max."

"Sure thing, Jason," he quickly said, no doubt relieved to not be yelled at and bid a hasty retreat to the elevator.

Jason closed the door and looked over at Elizabeth who hadn't moved from her position by the pool table. With a sigh he shrugged out of his jacket and placed it on the back of his chair. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," the brunette shook her head. "I should have known something was up with Carly when she suddenly took off. I guess since there's no detail to work out I should just probably go."

Except for the fact that Jason didn't want her to leave. She was in his house, she was alone with him, and Carly had obviously arranged it so that no one would be coming back to interrupt them. It was the perfect opportunity for him to talk to Elizabeth, and he had to stop her quickly before she beat her normal retreat whenever he got too close.

"Elizabeth, wait," he said hastily. "Please. I...I was hoping we could talk."

"About what?" she asked, staying resolutely on the opposite side of the pool table. "The party?"

Jason shook his head, "I wanted to talk to you...like we did that night in Burbank."

She shook her head, "To paraphrase a saying, 'what happens in Burbank stays in Burbank'."

When she didn't elaborate he held his hands out to the side. "That's it?"

"Yes."

Again, she didn't explain and he grew frustrated. "Care to fill in the blanks?"

"Not particularly, no," she shook her head. "Look, it's really just better if I go. Tell Carly that everything's ready for the party this weekend and I'll send her my bill. And then please tell her to not take this the wrong way, but I really don't want to see her again."

"You're not going to the party?" he asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It was a condition of my contract," she informed him. "I don't want it getting around that I helped plan a children's party because then I'll be overrun with requests. I paid my dues in little kid parties when I was starting out, and I've dealt with too many out of control parents, not to mention their kids. I'll take a Bridezilla over a 'Becky's Six Today, Come Celebrate' event."

She finally moved away from the pool table, snagged her purse off the back of the couch and Jason knew she was just going to walk past him and out of his life. He wasn't going to let that happen. He reached out, grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. Then before she could protest, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her like he'd wanted to do that night in Burbank.

Elizabeth didn't respond at first, she tried to remain passive in her resistance. But soon the attraction he could see in her eyes kicked in and she began to kiss him back. One hand fisted his t-shirt, while the other one snaked behind his neck, pulling them close together. Jason didn't need any further encouragement; he wrapped his arms around her, one hand tangling in her hair, the other dipping below the curve of her waste. His lips moved over hers, taking and conquering, demanding she reply in kind. Elizabeth met him every step of the way, letting go of his shirt briefly to flick her purse that had been trapped between them off her wrist, then she once again grabbed hold of him again.

He needed more, he wanted more, and using his hold on her, he began to maneuver her backwards until she bumped into the chair that matched his sofa. He lifted her slightly, setting her down on the back, and bent to get a better angle on her mouth. Her hand that had been on his chest now found its way to his back, and began a trek down the line of his spine until she reached the hem. Then it slipped underneath and began the journey back up, her skin sliding over his.

He groaned and left her mouth, his lips traveling across her face to sample her chin, and then move on to her neck. Her head tipped back, granting him greater access and he nipped and tasted, stepping closer to meld them together. His hand followed a similar path on her back and when his hand slipped underneath her shirt, felt the soft silk of her back, he thought he'd finally found it all.

It took him a moment to realize the shift in the mood and that she was actually pushing him away and no longer pulling him close. "Stop," she breathed out, her voice ragged and panting. "Jason, stop."

Dazed, he complied and looked at her in disbelief. "What's wrong?"

"We can't do this."

"Why not?" he asked, trying to clear her intoxicating scent out of his head so he could think clearly. "What's wrong?"

"I...I can't do this."

"Why not?" he asked again, almost demanded. "Don't tell me you're not attracted to me, Elizabeth. We nearly set the place on fire. A few more minutes and I doubt either of us would have remembered our names."

"That's exactly why we can't do this," she protested.

"You're not making sense. If we're attracted to each other..." He paused and then asked, "Do you think that's all this is? A physical attraction? Because it's not. Not for me. I think about you all the time. I watched you deal with Reilly and I know you picked things for me because you understood me and what my tastes were. This party you helped Carly plan, I know she hasn't been easy to deal with, but you've handled her with respect. Michael and Morgan are looking forward to the activities you've planned, and they should because you planned everything for them after getting to know them."

He didn't understand why tears filled her eyes and she lowered her head, dropping it against his chest. Something inside him shifted from passion to protection in an instant and he stood, his hormones cooling instantly, and he gathered her into his arms. He'd made her cry; he never wanted to make her cry. He just wanted her to understand that he admired her, that he cared about her, that given the chance he could really fall in love with her; it wasn't just physical. Although there was no denying that part.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

He felt her tears seep through his shirt and he soothed his hand up her back, then through her hair. "What's wrong, Elizabeth?"

"I can't date you," she told him brokenly.

"Why not?"

"Because you're my former client and it doesn't matter that Reilly called off your wedding and married someone else. It would be unprofessional for me to date you. Couples might not want to use me to plan their weddings if they find out I'm dating a former-almost-groom. It'll be that stupid Jennifer Lopez movie all over again and every bride will think I'm trying to steal her fiancé away." She sighed and tried to stifle a disappointed sob. "No matter how much I want this...and I do...I just can't. That's why I tried to keep things professional between us, why I tried to avoid spending time with you. I didn't want this to happen, because it can't continue."

Jason put his hands on her shoulders and used them to leverage her away from him slightly. One hand moved to cup her chin and force her to meet his gaze. "Elizabeth?" he asked, "do you want to date me?"

"Yes," she admitted after a long, painful moment.

He smiled and leaned down, brushing his lips across her slowly, deliberately, teasingly. "Then," he whispered in her ear, "you're just going to have to realize that some rules are made to be broken."

"Elizabeth Webber, you are hiding something from me."

She jumped and looked up accusingly at Elton who had snuck into her office and cried, "Don't do that, Elton. I'm going to attach a cowbell to your neck if you keep sneaking up on me."

"You're trying to change the subject," her assistant wouldn't be deterred. "So what is it? What are you hiding from me?"

"I'm not hiding anything," she declared, lying through her teeth and hoping he wouldn't be able to tell. Truth was, it wasn't any of his business and she wasn't going to get into this. Certainly not in her office. "And why are you still here? I thought you left for the day already."

"I stayed to get some answers from you. It's after hours, no clients coming by; you can't rush off claiming you have something to do." He crossed his arms over his chest and she knew he meant business because he was actually wrinkling his suit and not caring about it. "So spill."

Elizabeth merely looked at him and raised a brow. She'd show him a trick she'd learned from Jason, even if the other man had no idea. Be silent, don't react or respond and eventually the other person will give up. She really wished she'd stumbled on this trick years ago.

Minutes dragged by and Elton uncrossed his arms, but then braced his hands on her desk and leaned forward. "You're dating someone."

She blinked and hoped she didn't look too surprised that he'd actually guessed right. She was dating someone. And not just any person, she was dating Jason Morgan. She had tried to argue that she couldn't, that it just wasn't right no matter how much she was tempted. But Jason had been surprisingly persistent. He wouldn't accept no for an answer; insisting that there had to be some way around this. Would people really care if months after an aborted wedding she began dating one of her former clients? Surely people would see that she hadn't deliberately sabotaged the wedding, so why wasn't she entitled to a little happiness in her life?

When he put it that way, combined with the amazing kisses he kept giving her, she agreed to try. On one condition. They keep it quiet for a little bit. Actually get to know each other, spend some time together, see the good as well as the bad of each other and make sure they really knew the other person and not just an idealized version. That way, if it didn't work out between them her reputation wasn't ruined, and she didn't become a target of his enemies. Because she wasn't naïve and she knew that there could possibly be people who would use her in an attempt to gain leverage on Jason and his boss. After all, that's why Carly and the three kids had guards wherever they went.

Jason had agreed, and several weeks ago they began to date. She went over to his penthouse, and learned to play pool. She'd confessed one night when he stood behind her, his arms around her helping her take a shot that with his instructional technique, she might just never learn to actually play. Why would she want to when she had a ready made excuse to be in his arms? Jason came over to her place where they would spend the evening talking as she cooked for them. A passable cook, she could get by and not give anyone food poisoning, but what she excelled in were desserts. And she discovered Jason Morgan had a sweet tooth. Or maybe it was only when she was the pastry chef.

Other nights they would go out on his motorcycle for rides. She hadn't been too sure at first, but after the first night she was in love. With his bike. They rode the cliff roads out of town and stopped at remote locations where they could enjoy the quiet of nature and talk without being interrupted.

Over the course of their time together, Elizabeth came to realize that she wasn't just infatuated with Jason Morgan, she was well on her way to being in love with him. He wasn't too good to be true; he was real. Yes, he had his faults. He could be frustratingly tight-lipped sometimes, especially when he was annoyed. He would clam up and barely speak to her. The first time he did that, she told him that whatever was bothering him he needed to just deal with, and then get back to her. Since she said it while holding his jacket and standing next to her open front door, he realized she meant for him to leave. He'd been a bit shocked, but the next time they got together, he didn't let his problems carry over to their time together and apologized for ignoring her before. She told him he was forgiven, but she wasn't going to put up with a statue in her living room who felt he could ignore her. She'd listen if he wanted to talk, she'd understand if he had something he needed to do and couldn't get together with her that night, but she wasn't going to be brushed aside simply because he was preoccupied.

It wasn't just Jason that had dropped the perfect façade, Elizabeth knew she'd shown her faults too. Deciding to just stop by one night instead of calling, Jason was greeted by an irate Elizabeth who had just gotten off the phone with a couple who was changing the theme of their wedding, again, and didn't understand why she was now charging them extra for the overtime she was putting in to find everything on short notice. She complained about inconsiderate, demanding, pushy people and when she was ready to throw something just to break it, he was able to calm her down, rein her back and help her find another way to release her energy. That was the first night she'd driven his motorcycle, and there were times she was tempted to feign another hissy fit just to get the chance to do it again.

Through it all, they'd kept their relationship quiet, and Elizabeth was beginning to be bothered by it. She wasn't ashamed of Jason or what he did for a living. And she had come to trust Jason enough to believe that he would do all he could to protect her, just like he protected Sonny and Carly and their family. However, she was still a bit hesitant to take their relationship out into the open. They did well when it was just the two of them, what if they let others come between them? Would her clients accept it? Would she become a target? Things were going so well now, did they really have to change anything?

Yet, a part of Elizabeth wanted to. She wanted to be able to acknowledge him with more than a brief greeting if they met in public. She wanted to have the freedom to call Jason anytime and do what they wanted instead of feeling like they were sneaking around. They deserved that, especially Jason who had been treated so poorly in the past by Reilly. It was just hard to take that final step; to fully let go of doubt and insecurities.

"That's it," Elton crowed, reminding Elizabeth her assistant was still in the office. "You're dating someone."

He sat down in the chair across from her desk and leaned forward excitedly. "Who is it? Give me details."

"If I tell you," she said hesitantly, still debating with herself whether to actually do this. Elton wasn't always the soul of discretion, although she knew he could be when it was really important. "I need for you to listen to me. As well as not judge me or tell anybody else about this. Not until I'm ready. Can you do that?"

When he nodded, she pressed, "I really mean it, Elton. I need a friend here. I don't need trite expressions, or you telling me what you would do. I need you to listen to me and respect my privacy and decisions here."

Her assistant sobered from his little child persona who was trying to wheedle a secret out of her, and she believed he would actually respect the situation for what it was. "Elizabeth," he told her. "I promise."

"I am dating someone," she admitted. "I've been seeing Jason Morgan for the past six weeks."

"Jason Morgan?" he asked, as an eyebrow drifted up his forehead. "As in Jason Morgan of the Morgan-Dashnell wedding you were planning several months ago? As in the groom-to-be you had to tell that his fiancée had married someone else? As in the coffee importer that everyone knows is a mobster?"

Growing irritated by his tone and his questions, she began to regret thinking she could trust him and ground out, "Yes. That Jason Morgan."

Then she sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, challenging him slightly to say one bad thing.

"What happened to Elizabeth Webber's rules regarding don't get involved with the clients?" he asked her.

"I..." She had been prepared to say that she didn't break up the wedding, that she hadn't acted on her attraction to Jason for months, and had even tried to fight it. That, dangit, she deserved a little happiness in her life. Instead, she sighed and closed her eyes. "I know. I threw it out the window. I'm such a hypocrite."

"Now, I didn't say that," Elton quickly said. "Actually, what you are is human. And I say it's about time."

She cracked her eyelid open and peered at him. "What?"

"I say it's about time. You're human, Elizabeth, not a machine. You're attracted to the man, and what red-blooded woman wouldn't be, so why not have some happiness?"

"You're encouraging me?" she asked in surprise.

"Absolutely!" he declared. "So what that he was your client? You didn't break up the wedding, you didn't chase after him the moment he was jilted, and if I know you, you tried to ignore your attraction to him. Right?"

Her blush confirmed his question. With a nod, he continued on. "So why should you pass up a chance to have something of your own simply because of a ridiculous rule that nobody's probably even going to care about?"

Elizabeth quirked a smile at Elton. "You know, you sound like Jason. That's exactly what he said when he tried to convince me to give him a chance."

"Well," her assistant said as he straightened his cuffs, "at least we know the man's smart enough for you, Elizabeth.

"Now," he turned serious and leaned forward. "Are you happy with him?"

"I am," Elizabeth said immediately.

"Do you want to keep dating him?"

"Yes."

"Then what are you doing sitting here? And why are you hiding your relationship? Get it out in the open and if the idiots of this town can't accept that, then do you really want to work for them?"

She smiled at the man across from her and shook her head. "No."

"Good," he grinned back at her, "then go get your man."

Elizabeth felt that her heart was about to pound out of her chest when the elevator finally reached the penthouse level of Harborview Towers. She had left work and driven straight here, not even taking the time to call Jason. She didn't think he'd be upset with her, she didn't even think he'd argue with her decision, but she wasn't going to be completely at ease until she knew for certain. When she knocked on the door, she didn't expect to wait long. She had a designated parking spot for her in the underground garage, and the guards who patrolled the area had acknowledged her when she climbed out of her car. No doubt, they called upstairs the moment she boarded the elevator, so knocking was merely a formality because she knew if Jason was home he would be waiting for her.

Sure enough, the door swung open before she'd even pulled her hand away and Jason stood on the other side, a surprised smile on his face. "Elizabeth."

"Hi," she smiled at him, butterflies filling her stomach. "I'm sorry I didn't call; I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"Just a game of pool," he grinned at her. "Do you want to come in?"

She nodded and he ushered her inside, coming up to help her take off her coat after he closed the door. The moment she had her arms free, she turned around and stood on her toes, kissing him before he even put her coat on the desk chair. Once his hands were free, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close so he could deepen the kiss.

"Hello," he smiled pleasantly once they finally broke apart. "Not that I'm complaining, but-"

"Why am I here?" she asked.

"Yeah. I was going to call you later and see if you wanted to get together. But I like this way, much better."

"Really?" she asked and then took a breath. "How would you feel about dinner?"

"You want to make something here? Or do you want to order in?"

She shook her head. "I want to go out."

"Out?"

"Rules are made to be broken, Jason," she reminded him. "We've been seeing each other for six weeks and I don't see us stopping any time soon, do you?"

She could see she'd puzzled him, but he shook his head, tightening his hold on her waist. "No. I still want to see you."

"Good," Elizabeth beamed with pleasure and relief. "I'm done hiding. I don't care if anybody else knows we're dating, and I don't care what people may say, or what they may do. I'm happy, and I'm tired of hiding that and acting like I barely know you when I run into you at the coffee shop. Yesterday when I was getting my coffee and you walked out of the back with Sonny, all I wanted to do was kiss you and I hated that I barely smiled at you before leaving."

"That's why you left so soon," he said in understanding.

"Yes, and I'm tired of doing it," she informed him. "So, Jason, do you want to go out to dinner with me tonight?"

He nodded as he dipped his head to bestow a kiss on her. "Where do you want to go?"

There was something different in the club tonight. A buzz among the crowd that went beyond the drinks, the food and the music. It felt alive, like electricity that hung in the air just before a storm. While Carly loved the fact that the place seemed packed and bustling with energy, that there were people lined up outside waiting to get in, she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly made the night so different. People were lingering longer, spending more money, and while the business woman in her certainly wasn't going to say no to the extra money flowing in, she wanted to find out what exactly was making people stay so she could duplicate it.

So Carly stepped out onto the main floor of The Cellar and looked around. People were dancing, the cocktail waitresses were looking slightly harried as they worked hard to deliver everyone's orders, and the bartenders were going to have to do some serious restocking to deal with tonight's flux. But Carly still didn't know what had brought the people in.

Walking up to the bar, she caught a bartender's eye and waited for her mineral water to appear. As she stood there, she let her critical eye scan the room. Eventually she saw what everyone else did. Or at least she would once she crossed the room. While the room flowed and moved, the central focal point was a corner booth that was dimly lit. It was a booth she kept reserved at all times for her husband and his business partner, a velvet rope cordoned it off and bouncers removed anyone foolish enough to think the rules didn't apply to them.

The fact that the bouncers hadn't removed the patron was curious. She knew it wasn't Sonny since he was home with the kids while she made an appearance and checked the books tonight. So that meant it was Jason, or someone that intimidated even her bouncers. And since all her security personnel was hired and supplied by Sonny, she knew they weren't intimidated easily. All this led her to the conclusion that her best friend had made an appearance tonight.

With her bottle of water in hand, Carly crossed the room, skirting the edge of the dance floor so as to not disturb her customers. She wondered what had brought Jason here tonight since he normally avoided this place at all costs. He only came when she forced him to, or when he and Sonny were making a public appearance because something was happening. If Jason went to a bar, it was Jake's, and while she would have appreciated a little loyalty from her friend, she knew deep down that this wasn't his scene. So she was more than just a little curious. And anxious to talk to him.

Carly finally made her way through the crowd, and came to a standstill. Jason was in the reserved booth, but he wasn't alone. A brunette was sitting beside him, her head turned away from the crowd, towards Jason, as the pair talked. Jason's arm was on the back of the booth behind her, his hand curling towards her, his fingertips brushing lightly over the woman's shoulder not covered by her sleeveless top. He wasn't paying any attention to the crowd; it was directed solely on his companion.

There was no mistaking the intimacy of the setting. This wasn't just a date for drinks, this was a date that was a prelude to an evening that would conclude behind closed doors. Carly knew Jason's behavior, she knew his tells and she knew when he looked that intently at a woman that there was something going on. It was serious, it was lasting, and it scared Carly to death. The last woman he'd looked like that at was Reilly. The only other woman before that was Robin. Who was this woman that Jason was looking at? How long had this been going on? And Heaven help this woman if she wasn't good enough for Jason or broke his heart because Carly wasn't going to go through a repeat of Reilly all over again.

Not when she knew someone who was perfect for her friend. If they both would just stop being so stubborn.

Taking a deep breath and forcing a calm, warm smile, Carly walked towards Jason's table and waited for him to notice her. It wasn't her friend that saw her first, it was the woman sitting next to him. She turned to get her drink, laughing at something Jason had said with a wicked smirk on his face, and then turned her head more. She must have caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

Elizabeth Webber, Elizabeth Webber, raised her head and smiled at Carly. The club owner felt rooted to the spot. She was the woman with Jason?

"Hey, Carly."

It was Jason's voice that greeted her, and finally got her moving. She crossed the few remaining feet and stopped by the table. "Jason. Elizabeth."

"Do...do you want to sit down?" Elizabeth asked.

Wordlessly she dropped into the booth across from them and simply stared. When her mouth finally worked she said the first thing that popped into her brain. "What are you doing here?"

Instantly she felt bad because Elizabeth's mouth turned down and she shrank back in the booth. Away from Jason. Which caused her best friend to scowl darkly at her.

"I'm sorry," she instantly said. "I...I'm just surprised to see you here, Jason. And Elizabeth. Together. I...I didn't mean..."

She trailed off and huffed. "I stuck my foot in it, didn't I?"

Jason laughed slightly and Elizabeth relaxed just a bit. "It's alright, Carly," he said. "We knew we'd get this reaction. That's why we came here."

There was so much there in that short statement and Carly felt like her head would pop while she tried to make sense of it all. They knew they'd be gawked at, but they came anyways. She wanted to play it cool and casual, but this was her best friend, and he looked happy, he seemed happy, and she had to ask questions.

"Are you two...are you-"

"Dating?" Elizabeth filled in politely. When she nodded, the brunette confirmed, "Yes, we are."

"Really?" Now she was getting excited. "Really? This doesn't seem like your first date. How long have you been seeing each other?"

"About six weeks," the other woman answered. Jason's hand was once again at her shoulder, and he gave her a slightly tug, bringing her closer to his side. Carly beamed inside when Elizabeth went willingly.

"Just before the party," she figured out. Then she looked over at Jason. "That's why we've hardly seen you."

Jason nodded just once. "We've been spending time together."

"That's wonderful," Carly smiled brightly. "I knew you two were perfect for each other."

She was about to congratulate herself on a successful matchmaking scheme when she noticed the blush on Elizabeth's cheeks and the way Jason tugged on his ear. "What?"

"It's nothing," Jason shook his head.

"No," she insisted. "What? Oh, come on, Jason, you can't tell me that I can't take credit for this. I totally was leaving the two of you together on purpose so you would see how wonderful you would be together."

"We know," he answered.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, she looked at both of them. "Then what? If you knew, then why did it take you so long and how come this is the first I've heard of it if you've been seeing each other for six weeks?"

"Because I tried to fight it," Elizabeth answered. "I...I had a personal rule that I didn't date clients or former clients. I didn't want to jeopardize my professional reputation and have people think I deliberately broke up a wedding so I could date the groom-to-be."

"That's not what happened," she refuted.

"I know. But I still didn't want to have people think that, so I tried to avoid Jason."

Carly looked at Elizabeth and wondered if the woman was stupid, or had strength unimaginable. How could any woman resist Jason?

"So what changed?" she asked.

"Jason was very determined," Elizabeth smiled with a blush, "and very persuasive."

Carly looked over at Jason and raised her eyebrow at her friend. He cleared his throat and looked down at his beer bottle while tugging again at his ear.

"So why didn't you let anyone know you were dating?"

"We wanted to see how things went before we let anyone know," Elizabeth answered. "He didn't want people to try to use me against him, and I didn't want to have people talk and wonder."

"But obviously you're here now," she pointed out.

"Yes," the brunette answered. "Because we felt it was the right time to let others know."

"This isn't just casual," Jason said, interjecting himself into the conversation and letting Carly know exactly what he was feeling. Jason didn't really do casual relationships, and if he was taking this public, then that meant he had strong feelings for Elizabeth. Feelings that might just lead him to pick out another ring and plan another wedding. Michael, Morgan and Melissa might just get an aunt after all.

As Carly observed Elizabeth, she sensed that the wedding planner felt the same way. This wasn't casual for her, either. She was willing to be seen in public with a mobster and her former client; two things that could damage her reputation, and she didn't seem to care. She wanted to be with Jason. A new respect formed for the other woman. It also made Carly certain that this was the woman her friend had needed in his life, and she would do all she could to support him.

"Well," she smiled at them with a nod of her head. "I think this is great. And I'll support you, with whatever comes up.

"Because you know your family is going to jump all over this, Jason," she pointed out, but also wanted to warn Elizabeth. "The Quartermaines are going to start hearing wedding bells again."

Jason scowled and Elizabeth looked away with an adorable blush. "I've already warned Elizabeth," he growled. "And she'll have guards."

"Good," she replied, pleased that Jason had already thought of that and that Elizabeth didn't seem bothered by the pronouncement.

"Elizabeth," Carly leaned forward slightly, "if you run into any problems with clients, just let me know. I know plenty of people who would gladly use your services."

The brunette sighed ever-so-slightly and tried to play it off with a laugh. "Party planner to the mob?"

"Hey," she quipped back with a smile. "Don't knock it. They all loved the party you helped plan and they all wanted to know my secret. I told them that I wasn't talking, which just made them all the more curious to find out who helped me plan it. They're not such a bad lot to work for, and they pay really well."

"Well," Elizabeth shrugged. "I'll just have to see how people react."

"Fair enough," Carly conceded, backing off from the other woman's reluctance and unease and Jason's dangerous glare. She smiled and stood from the booth. She got the information she wanted, but she wasn't going to be a third wheel to their date. "Just let me know."

She was about to leave, but turned back to her friends. "And let me know when I can help you. Unless you want a really huge event, we can probably hold your reception right here in The Cellar."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and Jason sighed and shook his head. "I think you're jumping the gun there a little, Carly."

She looked down at them and winked, "Oh, I don't think I am."

Then she sauntered away, anxious to get home and tell Sonny all about this. As she looked back and saw that Jason and Elizabeth had once again turned towards each other, their heads bent close together and tuned out the rest of the club, she was certain that sooner, rather than later, she'd be attending Jason's wedding. This time to the right woman.

"Hold the elevator."

Elizabeth made a mad dash and slipped through the doors, panting slightly as she stopped and turned to thank the person who was kind enough to wait for her. Her thankful smile faltered slightly when she saw that the person was none other than Jason's grandfather, Edward Quartermaine. Great.

"Hello, Elizabeth," he smiled genially at her. "How are you, dear?"

"Fine, Mr. Quartermaine," she said with a tight smile as she reached over and pressed the button for her desired floor. Thankfully a different one was already lit, so she and Edward weren't traveling to the same place.

"Now, now," he mocked playfully. "I've told you before, it's Edward."

She didn't comment, merely looked up at the numbers that indicated the passing floors. Of course Edward wanted her to call him anything but Mr. Quartermaine; it conveyed a deeper closeness than actually existed. Ever since the family patriarch had discovered that she was dating his wayward grandson, he had been trying to ingratiate himself into her life. Despite her telling him to back off, despite Jason getting angry, even despite his wife Lila telling him to back off and leave the children be, Edward wasn't giving up.

Edward was determined to get Jason back into the family fold and he didn't care what he had to do, or who he had to use to get his way. Elizabeth was a means to an end, a person he hoped he could sweet talk and then would use her wiles on his grandson to convince him to leave Sonny and come back to ELQ. He simply refused to believe that Elizabeth wouldn't cooperate with him. That she liked Jason just the way he was and didn't want to see him miserable by dressing in a three piece suit and reading The Wall Street Journal every day.

Her only consolation was that this elevator ride would be over soon and she would be able to leave Mr. Quartermaine behind.

"How's my grandson?" he questioned. "I haven't seen him since the last time he brought you by the house to see Lila. You both took off so suddenly and haven't been back since."

Actually, they had. Just not while he was around. Lila understood that Jason didn't want to deal with his grandfather's pressures, and he was tired of Elizabeth being harassed, so the two of them went by to visit Mrs. Quartermaine when it was absolutely guaranteed that Edward wouldn't be home.

"He's fine, Mr. Quartermaine."

The elevator arrived at the sixth floor and she waited for Edward to leave, since this was the floor he'd selected. But the doors opened and Edward still didn't move.

"Are you here to see him?" he asked. "Was Jason hurt? Is that why you're in the hospital?"

Despite his bluster, Elizabeth did believe that Edward cared for his grandson. It was just his methods of showing it sucked. But she didn't want him to worry, or follow her, so she shook her head. "I'm here to visit a friend who just had a baby."

"Friend," he actually scoffed. "One of my grandson's business partners' wives, you mean."

He probably would have said more, but the doors started to close and he stuck out a pudgy hand to prevent them from closing and stepped out. When the doors slid closed, Elizabeth rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall of the elevator. It was just a little lie, but at least it had gotten the desired reaction out of Edward and he hadn't followed her. He just couldn't understand that Elizabeth actually had come to like not just Sonny and Carly but the other men and their wives and girlfriends. It was incomprehensible to the older man that Elizabeth didn't want to be in fancy cocktail parties listening to people talk about business deals and mergers and how they could triple their investments, but that she'd rather be around Jason's associates.

The elevator arrived at her floor and she stepped off, rushing forward to meet Carly. "I got here as soon as I got your call. What happened?"

"She's fine," the blonde assured her. "I was feeding her a new fruit today and suddenly she got all these red bumps on her face around her mouth and her breathing sounded funny. I called her pediatrician and he said to bring her in. Turns out she's allergic to peaches."

"I'm sorry that you had to bring her in, but at least it wasn't something terribly wrong."

"I know," Carly nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry to have called you at work...it's just I got scared and with Sonny and Jason out of town I just wanted someone with me."

"It's fine," Elizabeth quickly told her. "I wasn't with a client or anything. I told Elton to cover my appointment this afternoon. It's not like we're terribly busy these days."

"Things will bounce back," Carly told her. "After all, they'll be too curious to stay away forever. When I first opened up The Cellar, people came in droves simply because I'm Sonny Corinthos' wife. And then once the novelty factor wore off, business took a sharp nosedive. I thought I might have to close the club and then Sonny would get to sit around and say 'I told you so' and so I refused to take defeat lying down. I came up with new marketing strategies, hooks to bring in the customers and now the place is packed every night. I think they sometimes forget I'm the wife of a mob boss and come anyways."

Elizabeth nodded along with the familiar refrain. Carly had told her this frequently as customers either canceled their plans, or didn't call once word got around that Elizabeth Webber was dating reputed mobster Jason Morgan. The few new people who did call seemed disappointed when they arrived and Jason wasn't there, or the business offices didn't scream mafia. She wasn't sure what they'd been expecting, but not having to be frisked upon entry seemed to be a real letdown.

She had guards, but they were unobtrusive. She liked it that way, and Jason wasn't bothered by the fact that she told him she'd rather they not be inside her office or right outside her door. Her security system had been upgraded, she was under surveillance from Jason's men, and things had been relatively low-key and quiet. Sometimes she even forgot the men were there to guard her.

"Yeah, I know," Elizabeth agreed. "I'm sure it will turn around. In the meantime it's not like I'm going to starve. You paid generously for your party, and Mr. Franconi is paying me enough so that I can pay my next three months' rent for coordinating his daughter's wedding. That's not counting the bonus he's offered me if I keep her from eloping to Atlantic City like she keeps threatening."

"Considering how anxious she is to get married, and the length of engagement the two families insisted on, I'm surprised that hasn't been more of a problem," Carly mused.

"Oh, that was the easiest part," she declared. "I simply told her what her father was offering me and promised I'd split it with her if she didn't elope."

Carly laughed along with her and was in a decidedly pleasant mood when Epiphany Johnson came in with Barbara's discharge papers. "Here you go, Mrs. Corinthos. Dr. Peters would like you to bring her back in in a couple of days for follow-up, but you're free to go."

"Thank you," the mother smiled at the nurse and turned to grab her purse, diaper bag and the baby carrier so she could strap the little girl in.

"Here, let me help you," Elizabeth said, grabbing the diaper bag and lifting the car seat up onto the table. "Do you want me to tell Max you're ready to go?"

"Yeah, he can call down to tell them to bring the car to the front so we don't have to wait for it," Carly nodded as she strapped her daughter into the infant seat. "Hey...speaking of guards, where are yours?"

"I had them wait downstairs," Elizabeth explained. "I knew yours would be up here and I didn't want them trailing after me. It was probably a good thing because I ran into Edward in the elevator and he was all kind and sweet, asking after me and Jason, saying how he was sad we hadn't been by the house recently. When I didn't agree to try to bring Jason by, and then said I was meeting a friend who'd just had a baby, he became typical Quartermaine. Criticized my friend, got all huffy and walked away."

"Ah, yes, typical Edward behavior," Carly rolled her eyes. "He tries this with everyone Jason shows an interest in. He did it with Robin, he did it with Reilly, so it wasn't surprising he tried with you as soon as he heard you were dating Jason. Tries to work the woman to get them to convince Jason to come back to the family fold and then gets upset when they don't go along with his schemes."

"Jason warned me how he'd be," she admitted. "Although I have to say, I never quite believed he'd be so relentless as he was at first. Now I'm used to his attempts and I just ignore him which makes him even more upset."

"Isn't that fun?" she asked as they opened the exam room door and Max came forward with Barbara's stroller.

As she helped Carly snap the car seat into place and Max called downstairs to their guards, Elizabeth grinned. "I know. He blusters and shakes his head and looks ready to pop a blood vessel."

"If he think he's bad now, just wait until he finds out you're moving in with Jason," Carly grinned. "He'll be expecting wedding bells soon and trying to entice you with stock options and trust funds for your children and all sorts of things, as if you'd be swayed by the Quartermaine money. I mean, doesn't he realize that Jason makes way more than him? But he just doesn't want to see it, so I hope you're prepared for another wave of assault. He's going to see pre-nups and joint bank accounts and houses in the country and trust funds and all sorts of bribery attempts."

"Oh," she said with a distracted flick of her wrist as they boarded the elevator. "I'm prepared for that. He doesn't scare me, because the guards will keep him away if he becomes truly bothersome. And then Lila will tell him to back off if that doesn't work."

Carly peered at her and questioned, "So if you're not bothered by Edward, what are you bothered about?"

"I'm not bothered about anything," she denied.

"Don't give me that," the blonde insisted. "Your voice changed and you got all shifty when I started talking about Edward and all the tactics he was sure to employ."

"I did not," she denied. "I'm just tired of talking about Edward Quartermaine and his attempts to bring Jason back into the fold. It's tiring and it's taxing because it always makes Jason upset, with Edward and on my behalf, and I'm just...sometimes I just get tired talking about Jason's family. I understand now why he doesn't have much to do with them and I feel like sometimes it's my fault he's bothered by them more now."

"Don't be," Carly shook her head. "They did it with Robin and Reilly, it's just their way. As long as you're not really bothered by them, then it's all okay."

The elevator arrived on the ground level and the two women stepped out with Max following behind them. Carly invited her to come along and pick up Michael and Morgan from school, but Elizabeth shook her head. She should get back to work and meet with her client since she still had time before the meeting. Carly accepted it and said good-bye, promising they'd get together for dinner tonight since Elizabeth was going to be moving some things into Jason's apartment this evening.

As her car drove away, Elizabeth leaned back against the seat and sighed. She was glad that Carly had bought her lie and hadn't pressed her more on the Edward issue. It wasn't really that Edward bothered her, it was the funny flutters and flips her stomach did every time someone brought up her, Jason and marriage in a conversation.

She loved Jason. She really did. If she didn't, she wouldn't have agreed to date him, she wouldn't have stuck by him when her business started to slide, and she wouldn't have agreed to move in with him. While she just saw it at the next, logical step of their relationship - she was tired of making sure she had clothes with her for the next day, and then getting upset when she was trying to get dressed at her apartment and realizing that the shoes she needed were at Jason's, it made sense to consolidate since half her belongings were already at his place anyways - everyone else seemed to see it as the next step to a wedding.

It wasn't that they were as bad as she knew Edward would be, but they'd made enough little comments and hints, and Elizabeth was tired of it all. She did not want to be one of those girlfriends who left magazines and dropped hints the size of watermelons into every conversation. If Jason asked her to marry him, she'd probably say yes. But they hadn't discussed it, and given his last disastrous wedding attempt and her profession, it was nearly a verboten subject between them. She didn't discuss shop with him, because at the end of the day she was tired of dealing with it all, and she'd rather do other things with Jason than rehash her clients' behavior or wedding plans.

But she'd begun thinking about it, and wondering what if and she told herself she needed to stop. Because if Jason didn't propose to her, was she going to turn bitter and spiteful towards him? Would she wonder whether he really loved her as much as he claimed? Would she wonder if he was about to dump her and move on? Or whether their lives would just be in cohabitation limbo indefinitely?

She didn't want to get caught up in the nightmare of such thoughts. She wanted to enjoy her time with Jason, to take each day as it came and live each moment to the fullest. So she didn't want people to bring up weddings around her and Jason, she didn't want them to ask vaguely couched questions about if Elizabeth would plan their ceremony or if they'd run off and avoid the whole hassle, and she didn't know how to convey that to people without making it sound like she never wanted to discuss the possibility of marriage with Jason at all, lest he get the idea that she didn't want to discuss it with him.

Maybe what they needed was some time away from Port Charles and everybody. Away from the suggestions and insinuations and questions and by the time they got back, everybody would just leave them alone. While she wasn't entirely hopeful of success on that front, she figured it couldn't hurt to raise the topic of a getaway with Jason when he got home.

"Carly? What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes and huffed at her best friend then gestured at him impatiently. "Can I come in?"

He stepped back and opened the door wider for her, allowing her inside. She breezed into the penthouse, fairly bouncing on her feet with excitement and anticipation. Jason and Elizabeth got back from their vacation two days ago but Sonny had kept her away saying that the two needed some time on their own to adjust to being back, unpack, put things away, get ready to go back to work and she didn't need to rush over there and intrude.

She hadn't liked it, but she'd accepted it, and then she'd sat and eagerly counted the minutes until she knew Elizabeth would leave for work before coming over. She was taking the few moments she had while Sonny took Michael and Morgan to school before going to the warehouse, and when he'd call Jason and tell him to come down so they could talk shop. Sitting down on the couch with a flourish, she smiled up at Jason as he sat down in the chair across from her.

"So?" she asked with raised brows. "How was your trip?"

"Fine."

When he didn't expound, she rolled her eyes and would have smacked him if he'd been closer. "Come on, Jason, don't go all stoic on me. You only do it because it annoys me."

"I have to get my fun where I can," he grinned at her.

"Like you didn't get any fun with Elizabeth," she huffed. "That's the reason you're so relaxed and mellow. My word, did you two even leave the room at all?"

Jason raised his brow slightly in indication she was pushing it with her questions, but relented just a bit to say, "Yes. Elizabeth enjoyed the island and actually enjoyed body surfing."

"Just whose body was she surfing?" Carly asked cheekily.

"Carly."

"Alright, alright," she sighed, taking Jason's clear warning. "Fine. I'll stop talking about your sex life. I just wanted to find out if you and Elizabeth enjoyed your time away and to say I was glad you're back."

Jason relaxed slightly, a look crossing his face that Carly had come to associate with when he was thinking of Elizabeth, or looking at Elizabeth, or with Elizabeth. It was his Elizabeth look and it would be sickening if she wasn't so genuinely happy for her friend.

"It was a good trip and it was nice to get away. Away from the Quartermaines and the town and just...everything. She didn't want to come back."

"I'm glad for you, Jason," she told her best friend. "Really, I am. I know that Edward's been driving you crazy-"

"I can handle the old man, it makes me upset that he harasses Elizabeth and doesn't stay away when he's told to," Jason growled.

Carly bit her lip to keep from smiling. Jason was so protective of the people around him and when he was in love, he fought anybody and everybody that bothered those that mattered most to him. It only stood to reason that he was more upset for Elizabeth than for himself, even more bothered than she was. Of course, Carly also knew that Elizabeth didn't give much thought to Edward and his antics, except for how they upset Jason and for that reason she wished the old man would leave her alone.

They were in love and wanted to protect the other person and Carly was glad to see that Elizabeth felt just as strongly as Jason did. Her best friend deserved someone who looked out for him and tried to be mindful of his feelings and needs. Jason sometimes didn't know what to do with someone trying to take care of him, but she had a feeling that Elizabeth could be just bossy enough to get Jason to give in. Or maybe all she had to do was turn her big blue eyes on the love-struck pup and he'd cave.

"So do you think you'll go back?" Carly asked. "She enjoyed it?"

He gave just a wisp of a smile and nodded. "She liked it. And yeah, we'll probably go back some time."

"It's good that she liked it," she pointed out practically. "In case you ever have to send her there, you know she'll be comfortable."

Jason didn't really respond to that and Carly quickly moved the conversation away from safety and practicality and the ever real possibility of danger, and back to more fun topics. "So..." she asked with a grin and a waggle of her eyebrows, "am I going to be blinded by a ring on her left hand the next time I see her?"

Jason froze a glare on her and left it for so long that Carly began to get uncomfortable. Oh, no. Had he proposed and she said no? No, she mentally shook her head. Jason wouldn't be this calm and Elizabeth probably still wouldn't be living here if that was the case. There hadn't been any tension or hostility between them; they'd returned home and locked themselves in their apartment and didn't come out until today. Almost like honeymooners did the first few days in a hotel.

Carly's eyes widened as that thought crossed her mind. "Did you elope?" she demanded. "Did you run off and get married down on the island?"

"No," Jason said forcefully. "We didn't get married while we were gone. And we didn't get engaged."

"You sound..." she tilted her head to the side and studied her friend. "You sound almost unhappy about that. Or are you relieved? Jason...what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on, Carly," he told her and let out an impatient huff as he stood and crossed the room, throwing open the balcony doors and stepping outside.

Carly twisted around on the couch to watch him, and then stood and approached the terrace slowly. She stopped by the pool table and watched him carefully, almost able to see the tension rolling off him even though he stood stock still with his hands jammed into his pockets. She could certainly feel it.

"Jase," she said softly. "What happened?"

"Leave it alone, Carly," he nearly snapped at her.

"No," she insisted. "I won't. Something happened and I'm sorry that I pried, but you know me; that's how I am. But I've never seen you get this way over any woman, not even when I'd tell you how I didn't like Reilly. So what happened?"

"She won't talk to me," Jason said wearily after several long minutes passed.

Her brows furrowed as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"We talk," he clarified. "About the boys and Barbara. We talked about the history of the island and other places we've traveled to and where we'd like to go to some day. Together. We talked about repainting the penthouse and refinishing the pool table. We talked about her business and how she doesn't know if she wants to be a party planner anymore and what she'd like to do instead. We talked about Lila and Emily and I found out more about the grandmother she's close to."

He sighed and took a hand out of his pocket to run over his face and through his hair. "We talked about all the things that normal couples talk about and made plans for several months from now."

"Then what's the problem?" Carly asked.

"Whenever I tried to talk about weddings or getting married, she changed the subject. I couldn't even start talking about it before she was dragging us out of the house to go do something. It didn't matter what, just as long as it got me to stop talking. I don't think she wants to marry me and she just doesn't want to tell me that."

Carly would have laughed if it hadn't been so serious. And when she decided that it actually wasn't serious, she let herself laugh. And laugh loud. Which annoyed Jason to no end and caused a scowl to etch deeply onto his face.

"Are you serious?" she demanded of him at last. "You honestly think she doesn't want to marry you?"

When Jason continued to stare at her, she sobered and rolled her eyes. "Okay, Jason, let's think this through. She began dating you, right? Even though she tried to fight against her attraction to you and had a rule against not dating current or former clients. She went against her personal rule that she'd established. Right?"

Jason turned slightly on the balcony so that he could look at her out of the corner of his eye and nodded. "Yeah."

"But she said, 'let's take a trial run and see each other in secret so that way if it doesn't work out nobody will know.' And you went along with that and wouldn't have pushed her to go public, right?"

"Yeah." He shifted a bit more and rested his hip against the balcony railing.

"Did you sleep with her before or after the night you went to The Cellar?"

"Carly," he hissed, turning away from her again.

"Jason," she soothed. "I don't need to know when you two started; I just want to know if it was before or after that night."

"Before," he stated tersely.

"So she was dating you, sleeping with you, and keeping your relationship a secret and you went along with it because you didn't want her business to suffer and you wanted to keep her safe. You would have kept it a secret indefinitely if that's what she wanted, wouldn't you?" He turned slightly towards her again and nodded. "And she could have had the best of both worlds, you and her perfect job. But she decided to take your relationship out in public and let the world know and scrutinize it, knowing what would happen, right?"

He turned again, facing her now. He didn't look quite so upset or angry, but she knew he wondered where these questions were leading.

"And her business took a hit, and your family started in on her, and half the town looks at her like she's a pariah while the other half look at her like she's a circus freak, and she has guards with her all the time, but she never once even hinted about calling it quits, did she?"

He shook his head no, leaning forward slightly.

"Did you ask her to move in, or did she bring it up?"

"I asked her," Jason told her, no longer leaning against the railing.

"And she said yes, and moved in here." Carly paused and raised her eyebrow at him in challenge. "And you seriously think that she doesn't want to marry you?"

"She won't talk to me about it," he protested.

"Maybe that's because everyone else is talking about it," she suggested to him. "I know that Sonny and I teased you, and a couple of the guards. She's been teased about whether or not she'll domesticate you enough to get rid of the pool table or if that will wait until after you two have picked out china patterns. That's not even taking into account your family with Edward leading the charge."

Jason growled slightly and she pressed forward. "Edward's in there talking about pre-nups and trust funds for children who aren't even born yet. He's offered to buy you two a house a wedding present and he's trying to sweet talk her over to his side to get you to come back to ELQ. Is it any wonder why she doesn't want to talk about weddings, Jason?"

"You think she wants to marry me?" he asked, approaching the balcony door.

"Yes!" she said and threw up her hands. "She wouldn't have moved in here or agreed to take your relationship public if she wasn't already thinking of a long-term future with you."

"So why won't she talk to me?" he challenge.

"I don't know," she said with a regretful shake of her head. "She hasn't talked about this to me, which doesn't surprise me. Maybe she doesn't want to seem like she's pushing you into doing something you don't want to do. Maybe she doesn't want it to seem like she's going to side with your family. Maybe she's thinking about the wedding she planned for you and how miserable you looked and she's wondering if that was just because of Reilly's disastrous decisions, or if you're just not the kind of guy who really wants to be married."

Carly shrugged, "Maybe you just need to ask her. Don't talk about it and ask her if she wants to some day, show her you mean it and you want it now and actually propose. And then tell her that this is what you really want if she thinks you're just doing this because other people are pressuring you."

Jason stepped back into the penthouse and stopped in front of her. He looked at her and gave her a tiny smile. "So you're saying I should just get off my butt and ask her instead of trying to talk to her?"

"Actions speak louder than words," she quipped back with a smile.

He gave her a hug and when he pulled back she asked, "Need help picking out the ring?"

Jason laughed and shook his head. "No, I know exactly what to get for her. I saw it in a store down on the island when she was across the street. I knew it would be perfect for her."

"Well then," she said with a tilt of her head and a challenge of her brow, "I guess you know what you need to do."

"That's not supposed to be there."

Jason was standing beside Elizabeth as she went through the reception hall on a final inspection before the rehearsal dinner. She was a perfectionist and she didn't trust this final check to anyone else, so even though they were supposed to be at the church in just a few minutes for the walk-through, they were here instead inspecting the flowers and place settings.

"Elizabeth," he said softly, putting his hand on her back, "we need to go."

"In just a minute," she shook her head. "That flower is not supposed to be in that arrangement. That's not what I ordered."

She walked over to the table and he followed behind her, his hands slipped into the pockets of his dress slacks. She had worked hard on this wedding and apparently wasn't going to have an out of place flower anywhere. Let alone on the main table.

Reaching for the offending flower, Elizabeth frowned when it didn't immediately come out. Taking care not to disrupt the surrounding arrangement, Elizabeth tugged harder and was rewarded with the stem coming free from the vase below.

"What's this?" she puzzled and he stepped up to peer over her shoulder. There was a silk ribbon tied around the stem, something glinting in its folds.

When she had untied it, revealing a perfectly cut diamond solitaire set in platinum, her wide eyes turned to question him, especially when he took the ring out of her hand. "J-Jason?"

"You've managed to plan the biggest wedding event of the year; Grace Franconi and Alex Ortiz are getting married tomorrow which combines two industries and dynasties. You've given the bride what she's wanted, managed to keep their parents from fighting each other, and you prevented the bride from eloping off to Atlantic City." He reached for her hand, the ring hovering near her finger. "I'd like the next wedding you think about to be your own. To be ours. Elizabeth, will...will you marry me?"

It was a good thing she always wore waterproof mascara because she said she cried at weddings, no matter how many she'd attended. She'd be angry with him if they showed up at the rehearsal and her make-up was smudged off.

"Do you mean this?" she asked, using her free hand to dash the tears off her cheeks. "You're not just doing this because everyone's been pressuring or you think this is what I want?"

"Do you want this?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "I want to marry you, Jason. But only if this is what you want."

"This is what I want, Elizabeth," he assured her. "I love you and I want to marry you. So...so will you? Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she managed to choke out through her tears as she flung her arms around him in a tight hug.

Closing his eyes, he buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath. A weight had been removed and he wasn't nervous anymore. Carly had been right. He'd never live this down.

He pulled back slightly, but instead of kissing Elizabeth like he wanted to and like she was no doubt hoping for based on the confused pout on her face, he reached for her hand and slid the ring into place. "There," he whispered just before he claimed her mouth to seal their engagement.

Just when he was ready to suggest they go home to continue this, Elizabeth pulled back and gasped, "Jason, I have to be at the church. Mr. Franconi, not to mention Mrs. Franconi, will be mad if I'm not there."

Leaning his forehead against hers to catch his breath but keep her close, Jason closed his eyes and then nodded. "I know."

She was too professional to ditch her clients. They'd just have to celebrate later as well as talk about what kind of wedding they wanted. He'd give her anything she wanted and if she wanted all the bells and whistles like she helped plan for others, then that's what they had. His one consolation is that she would at least make this something that he'd enjoy, unlike his monstrosity with Reilly.

"Come on," he told her, stepping back and taking her hand. "When they hear you were just making sure everything was fine here, they won't mind if you're a couple of minutes late."

"You don't think anyone suspected, do you?" Elizabeth asked as they entered their penthouse hours later and locked the door behind them. "It's bad form to upstage the bride and a couple of times I turned my ring in towards my palm so that the Franconis wouldn't notice."

"I don't think they noticed," he told her as he stripped off his suit jacket and tossed it on the chair by the desk. Since it was just the rehearsal and dinner he'd been able to get away without wearing a tie. He wouldn't be so lucky tomorrow. "All the Franconis could see was their daughter and how well you had everything in hand. Carly on the other hand..."

Elizabeth paused in the act of taking off her shoes and looked up at him wide-eyed. "She noticed?"

"I don't know," he admitted. His friend had eyed them curiously when they showed up a little late looking rushed and flustered. Well, Elizabeth had been rushed and flustered, Jason had been annoyed that they'd had to go to the rehearsal. He would have much preferred to skip the thing all together and take Elizabeth home. "She might have just thought we had a quickie before we arrived."

"Jason," his fiancée gasped and stared at him, and then laughed.

"It would serve her right," Jason said. "She's been nosing around lately and checking your left hand every time she saw you. If she missed the ring and thought instead we were just having sex, she'll be trying to get the mental image out of her mind and she won't be doing a mental inventory of every detail of your outfit."

Elizabeth walked up to him and turned around, lifting her hair in silent communication for him to undo the clasp of her necklace. "That's why you kept steering us away from her, though, wasn't it?"

"It was," he admitted as the jewelry separated and he let it fall forward into her waiting hand. She turned and set it on his desk next to his watch and her bracelet that she took off next. All of this stuff would have to be taken upstairs and put away in their bedroom, but this seemed to be a routine with them. They both couldn't wait to get out of the trappings and adornments and the bedroom was simply too far away.

"She wouldn't have meant to draw attention to it or upstage the bride, as you put it, she'd just be so happy that she wouldn't think before she talked. I didn't want to have everyone around us congratulating us and asking questions about the wedding." He stepped up behind her and put his arms around her waist, resting his cheek against the crown of her head, "I just wanted for us to be the only two people who knew right now."

"I like that idea," she agreed, leaning back into his chest. "But people are going to find out sooner or later, and I want to tell them. I want to tell people that I love you and we're getting married. I don't want to hide that. I did enough hiding the first few weeks we were dating; I don't see the need to do that anymore. Except for tomorrow...can't upstage the bride on her wedding day."

"What kind of wedding day do you want?" Jason asked her, tightening his arms around her waist.

Elizabeth was silent for a moment and then let out a breath. "Can we elope down to the island?"

He blinked and then twisted his head, trying to look at her face. Her eyes were closed and her face was serene and he asked, "Are you serious? You want to elope?"

A line appeared between her brows and her mouth turned down at the corners. "You don't want to? You want a full-blown wedding?"

"That's not what I said," he countered. "I just...I just thought that you might. After having planned so many other people's weddings, I guess I just figured you'd know what you wanted."

"I do," she told him. "I want something simple. I don't need a seven tiered cake and hundreds of guests. I don't need some lavishly decorated reception hall and thousands of twinkle lights. I know what kind of flowers I want to carry, I want a simple sheath dress and I definitely know who I want the groom to be."

The growl that entered her voice at the end stirred Jason's blood among other things and he drew her tighter against him.

"That's all I need for my wedding day, Jason," she told him. "I wouldn't mind if we got married here in the penthouse or down at the courthouse. But since I want to have some decent photos to show our children some day, along with a story that I don't have to censor or have them wonder why the haste, I thought the island would be a good location."

She turned in his arms and brought her arms up around his neck. "Why? What kind of wedding day do you want?"

"One as soon as possible," he told her, a low purr in his throat. Talk of children had done something funny to his stomach and all he wanted was to one day have a family with her; he didn't see why they should wait.

"Jason," she drew out in laughing exasperation. "Come on...this is your day, too. I know what happened before and I don't want to steamroll you into something that you don't like."

"Elizabeth," he said, "will you be there?"

"Yes."

"Will I be there?"

"I would hope so," she arched her brow.

"As long as I have those two things, I don't care if we get married in Atlantic City or by the Pacific Ocean. So if you want to get married down on the island, then I'll call down there and have our casino manager get started on a license and make sure we have a priest on hand."

"Really?"

"I'll even have the pilot standing by with the jet ready and fueled and we can leave tomorrow after Grace and Alex drive away with birdseed stuck in their hair."

She laughed and smiled brightly up at him. "Do you want Sonny, Carly and the kids there?"

His friend would have an absolute fit and she'd bluster and fuss and tell him she couldn't believe he went off and got married without her there, but Jason shook his head, "No. All I want is us, a priest and a witness. We'll call Carly and give her the news."

"She'll probably insist on throwing us a reception," Elizabeth told him.

"We can always tell her we'll be coming home a day sooner than we actually do. Then she can have her over-blown party and we'll just slip in under the radar."

"Would you really do that to Carly?" she challenged him.

"No," he sighed. "She'll give us a party whether we want it or not, so it's best to just let her do it."

Elizabeth tugged his head down and whispered her lips across his. "But at least we'll get the wedding we want. I guess we can allow Carly to plan our reception. 'Cause I know I don't want to."

The End