Three Weeks Later

Queen of Angels Cathedral

Emily Quartermaine sat alone at the alter, her head bowed quietly in the silence of the church after mass. She felt the silence as if it was something tangible, something heavy placed

around her heart. She watched the flicker of the candles she had lit and realized that a place that had always given her peace brought none at the moment. The walls, the floor, the statues behind the alter....none of it had changed. She had changed. For better or for worse, she wasn't the same Emily she had once been. She wondered if she would go back to being that Emily even if she could.

Probably not.

She sighed softly and listened to it echo in the stillness.

"Emily?" She felt a hand on her shoulder, the voice that gentled just for her. "You okay?"

"I think so.... I'm just confused."

"About what?" Jason asked as he led her to the pew to sit down.

Emily tucked a strand of long hair back behind her ear. "I killed someone."

"Emily it wasn't your fault, hell even Scorpio agreed that it was self-defense."

Emily shook her head. "It doesn't change the fact that I killed someone." She looked up at her older brother, her large brown eyes huge and solemn. Jason could see the lingering traces of the bruises Juan had left behind. He briefly hoped someday that Juan would follow in the tradition of other Port Charles residents who had returned from the dead just so Jason could kill him again.

He turned his attention away from thoughts of vengeance on a dead man to the pain in Emily's expression and the turmoil behind her words. "I should feel something, anything but all I can feel is relief that he's dead and that it's over with." She shivered. "Does that make me a bad person?"

Jason removed his leather jacket and placed it over her shoulders. "No, it makes you

human. What Juan did to you was terrible. He hurt you Emily."

"I know. I know all that. But still....he was my first boyfriend you know. He gave me my first real kiss and I... I pointed a gun at him and shot him." She stared at her hands as if she could see Juan's blood on them which was a ridiculous image but one she still could not shake. "And I can't seem to feel sorry for what I did. I came here expecting to ask forgiveness but I don't want to be forgiven. I'm not sorry."

"Emily....."

"I'm not." Her tone was fierce and defiant. Jason nodded as he pulled her close.

"I know."

"Then why," Emily whispered as she closed her eyes. "Why do I feel so sad?"

"You lost a friend Emily."

Emily turned on her brother in sudden anger. "Juan wasn't my friend."

Jason caught her gaze and didn't look away. "Yes he was. When you needed him to be, when he first arrived in Port Charles, he was your friend."

"It was all a lie. He used me. None of it was real."

"Maybe his feelings were a lie, but yours weren't. You cared about him. However much he betrayed you later, there was a time when you cared about him a lot."

"And I killed him."

"Because you had to. Because if you hadn't you would be sitting here mourning Nikolas, right. You did what you had to do Emily, no more and no less."

Emily closed her eyes and relented as Jason pulled her close against him. "It doesn't make it any easier, does it?" She asked softly.

"No it doesn't." He gently rubbed her back. "Time is the only thing that makes it easier."

"I guess I have plenty of that."

He smiled. "I guess so."

"Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being there for me." A soft pause. "Thanks for being my brother."

"I'll always be here when you need me Emily. Always."

"I know."

And sat for a while longer in a silence that didn't seem quite so empty anymore.

That Evening

The Cliffs Overlooking The River

Emily smiled as she felt the gentle warmth of the summer sun inside her, relaxing her muscles and making her feel languid to and sleepy. She watched as the sky began to soften into a dark pink that was almost crimson.

She settled back against the solid warmth of the man who held her, whose arms surrounded her in an embrace that made her feel safe and secure.

"What are you thinking?" Nikolas whispered as he bent forward and kissed the curve of her neck.

"Nothing. Everything." She sighed contentedly and arched forward to allow him greater access. She could hear the smile in his voice.

"As long as its not that important." He loved seeing her like this, relaxed and at peace, the darkness of the last few months banished.

"Summer is almost over with." The words were a murmur and Nikolas forced himself to focus on them instead of on her fingers that were tracing patterns up and down his arm. Grinning he caught her fingers in his hand, interlocking their fingers together.

He nodded. He wanted this summer to be over with, wanted to put the misery of the last few months behind them. Wanted the seasons to move on so that they could move on with them.

"In a few days I'll be taking classes at the university."

"And so will I." Nikolas pointed out Stefan having decided that a degree in business would be good for Nikolas. Of course Stefan's plan had been for him to go to Oxford or at least Harvard, but Nikolas had refused to be separated from Emily. Where she went, he went and Emily had decided to stay in Port Charles, at least for now.

"Liz is in Ferncliff now getting the help she needs to find herself again. Juan is dead." She sighed softly. "I killed him."

" It was self-defense, even Scorpio had to admit that when all the evidence was in." Nikolas suppressed a grin at the memory of the memory of the dressing down Scorpio had given Taggert and the detective's forcibly given apology. He'd wanted the man fired for daring to arrest Emily but had settled, with Kevin's help of course, on seeing Taggert's apology plastered on the front page of the newspapers and the tabloids.

" I know."

"You okay with that."

Emily shook her head and sighed softly. "Not yet, but I'm getting there. So much happened to us and around us this summer. Everything is different now. So many changes."

"Not that many changes." Nikolas argued softly. "Some things will never change."

"Like Quartermaine family dinners turning into free for alls."

"True." Nikolas turned her in his arms so that he could see her eyes as he gently kissed her on the lips. "However I was thinking of other things that will never change."

Emily smiled impishly. "Like the color of the sky?"

"Not quite minx," Nikolas rolled her so that she was pinned underneath him, the soft blanket cushioning her. "I was thinking of the fact that my love for you will never change. Everything around us can go crazy and I will still love you."

"Isn't that what happened this summer?" Emily asked softly. "Sometimes it seems like everything that happened was just some crazy dream."

"It was real," Nikolas recalled the moments when he had thought he had lost her. "Trust me it was real."

"But we made it through. Everything around us went crazy and we still managed to hold onto our love."

"I know. It's kind of a miracle, don't you think?"

Nikolas shook his head. "I don't know if I believe in miracles, but I do know that I believe in you." His lips touched hers in a kiss that began gently but turned passionate with an intensity that left both of them breathing heavy as they parted a few minutes later. "I believe in us." Nikolas finished in a shaky voice as he pulled himself back from her.

"Nikolas?" Emily looked up at him as he sat up and ran his hand through his hair. She couldn't keep the slightest touch of insecurity out of her voice. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No!," The response was quick and Nikolas pulled her up to so that she sat cradled in his embrace and secure in his arms again. "I love you Em. So much so that...." He found himself blushing and feeling uncharacteristically awkward. "Sometimes I can't touch you without wanting to make love to you."

"Only sometimes?" Emily teased him softly, completely enchanted with the blush that stained his features. She didn't know that Nikolas Cassadine could blush.

His blush deepened at her teasing. "You know what I mean."

She caught his fingers and intertwined them with hers. "I know exactly what you mean."

She cocked her head up slightly so that their eyes locked as the air around them took on a whole new energy. "So why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Make love to me." Emily replied simply.

Nikolas couldn't breathe, couldn't think for a moment. When thought did return, he shook his head. "You've been through so much these last few months....the explosion, the amnesia, Juan kidnapping you....."

"I know. I was there remember." Emily looked up at him and Nikolas wondered if he would still be drowning in the warmth of her eyes when they were in their nineties. "But I'm feeling better now Nikolas. No more bruises. No more aches. Just me wanting like crazy for you to make love to me." She leaned forward and kissed him hungrily. "I want to feel you in my soul Nikolas Cassadine. I want to belong to you tonight and then forever."

"We'll belong to each other," Nikolas corrected her solemnly as his fingers traced her cheek line. "We belong to each other." He repeated softly as he stared into her eyes. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him because he lowered her back against the blanket.

"Are you sure?" His voice was a low whisper.

"I love you Nikolas."

"Then love me forever because that's how long I will love you." Nikolas replied as he began to show her the truth behind his words.

"Hey Nik..." Will began before Jessica grabbed and pulled him back, covering his mouth with her hand as she shoved him back into the shadows of the woods. Only when she was sure that they had not disturbed the other couple, did she take her hands off his mouth.

He sputtered first and then turned to scowl at her. "What did you do that for?" Will barely got the words out before he was gently elbowed as Jessica pointed to the couple wrapped in an intimate embrace.

"You were going to disturb them." She explained.

"Hello?" Will lifted up the picnic basket and blankets he had carried from the car. "They invited us to disturb them remember. If I recall it went something along the lines of how about we watch the sunset from the cliffs and have a picnic. You agreed. I agreed. THEY agreed."

"Shhh. Lower your voice. They'll know we're here."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. We are supposed to be here. They want us to be here."

Jessica shook her head and looked up briefly. "Please let this baby take after me in the emotional intelligence department."

"As long as it gets my looks." Will retorted.

Jessica groaned. "Look at them Will. Just look at them. Do they look like they want to be disturbed by anyone anytime this century?"

For the first time since they had arrived Will really looked at the other couple.

"Oh my God they're going to ....."

He didn't finish the sentence as Jessica grabbed him firmly by the arm, turned him around, and led him back down to where they had left the car.

"Yes they are and they don't need any witnesses."

"But here? Out in the woods? Somehow I always pictured Nik as more the five star hotel type." He shakes his head. "I suppose the woods are romantic enough but...."

"Oh now look who's talking." Jessica grabbed her fiancés arms after he had put the picnic basket and blankets back in the back seat of the car. "Where was the first time we made love?"

She tilted her face up for a kiss and Will did not disappoint her. After a brief moment of silence, he considered her question.

"Your family's cabin."

Jessica smiled. "I said the first time we made love. Getting drunk and having sex doesn't count."

"Oh." Will returned her smile. "I guess the woods at sunset is slightly more romantic than a hospital bed at midnight."

"I don't know about that." Jess grinned as she snuggled into his arms. "I personally think a one room shack would be romantic if you were in it with me."

"I'm glad you think so sweetheart because I'm not at all sure that I have a job still waiting for me in Llanview. And when your family finds out your pregnant....."

"Don't worry. They'll be too busy planning our wedding to shoot you."

"Somehow I don't think Asa will ever be too busy to shoot me."

"Besides you're forgetting something," Jess looked at her watch. "Unless I'm wrong, Cassie should be having her baby right about now."

"And......."

"Jason was there when Kevin called with the news that Cassie was in labor."

"And...."

"Jason decided that it was time he paid Kevin and Cassie a visit in Llanview." Jessica smiled mischievously. "A long visit I think. Just imagine Asa and Jason in the same town."

After a moment, Will smiled too. "You know Port Charles is a lovely town."

"Yes it is."

"It's already the end of summer. Fall will be here soon."

"Any day."

"Wyndemere's a great place to hold a Halloween party."

"Spooky enough."

"We might even talk Nik's uncle into dressing up as Dracula."

"False teeth and all."

"I suppose it might be safe enough to return to Llanview for Thanksgiving."

"Probably." Jessica replied as she closed her eyes and listened to the beating of his heart. God how she loved this man. And what a miracle it was that he loved her too.

They were silent for a few minutes before Will whispered softly. "As long as we're together, nothing else really matters, does it?."

Jessica shook her head. "And it never will," she finished softly. "It never will."

The end.