This edit continues with Elizabeth's storyline when Becky returns from maternity leave in summer, 2004 and picks up from where the Ric & Liz #4 ended. This dvd includes all of Liz's scenes up to where the Liz & Lucky (GV) #1 begins in December, 2004.

Elizabeth Returns  July 2 - December 29, 2004: 4 hrs

Dvd #1A 7/30 Emily and Elizabeth discussed Nikolas' circumstances. Emily confides that he keeps getting worse. Nik is so mad and resentful, and feels betrayed. He is being the opposite of who Nik was in order to punish them. She surprises Liz that the one person Nik trust is Alcazar! Emily was pouring her heart out about how much she still loved Nik, when Lucky entered the restaurant and overheard her. Lucky looks gut punched at this news. Liz has to leave to get back to Cameron. Emily apologizes to Lucky, she didn’t realise he was there. Lucky apologized to Em for trying to push his feelings on her.

8/5 Elizabeth shows up at Kelly's to meet with Bobbie. She tells Bobbie that she really respects and likes Bobbie and that she wants her honest opinion. Bobbie asks her what she wants to ask her. Elizabeth asks her if she thinks she would make a good nurse? Bobbie tells her that nursing is a great profession that can be hard at times been very rewarding at the same time and encourages Elizabeth to pursue a nursing degree. Elizabeth calls Audrey over. Elizabeth tells her about her plans to be a nurse and realizes that Audrey found out some other way and was waiting for Elizabeth to tell her. Audrey assures her that she is very happy about the news.

9/3 When Em left Mary’s room, she ran into Elizabeth, who was there for her nursing studies. Liz was pushing the patients' drug cart and realized she had forgotten something, so she asked Emily to watch the cart for her. (Note, right after this Mary goes Code Blue).

9/ Sam runs into Liz and the baby at Kelly’s. Sam coos over the baby. Sam then brings up Liz’s past with Jason, and questions if she still has feelings for him? Sam tries to say that her and Jason are just roommates. Liz knows how the danger can bring two people together, and accurately describes Jason disappearing.

9/8 Lucky questioned Elizabeth about what happened the night Mary died. She told him the truth about Emily having been left alone with the medication tray. Jason arrives at GH next and quizzes Elizabeth about the time that Emily spent alone with the medication cart. Liz admits to Jason that she told Lucky about Emily being alone with the cart and is surprised when Jason begs Liz NOT to mention those events to anyone else.

9/9 Liz recants with Lucky and tells him she made a mistake, that Emily was never left alone with the medication cart. Lucky is suspicious about her changing her story. He points out that he knows she loves Emily and is trying to protect her. Liz declares that Mary was a killer, but Emily is NOT! Elizabeth shows up at Kelly's and tells Lucky that she didn't tell him that Emily was alone with the med cart and told him what really happened. Lucky tells them that they need to trust him not to harm Emily in anyway by handing her over to Ric. He agrees to protect Emily by covering up the fact that the medicine cart was left with Emily alone to watch over it near Mary's room.

Nikolas and Lucky go into Kelly's to order some food while Emily and Elizabeth talk outside. Emily tells Elizabeth she doesn't feel right about lying to the police and that she and Lucky could get in trouble for covering for her. She also feels that she brought Mary's medicine into her room when she shouldn't have and should probably confess that to the police. Elizabeth tells her she isn't a killer and that Mary was one. Lucky tells Nikolas that it is possible Emily could have killed Mary if it meant protecting him and herself since Mary did kill innocent people and was crazy. Nikolas can't deny Lucky's suspicions. Liz rushes in and tells the guys that Emily just left for the PCPD, she plans on confessing!

9/10 Lucky, Elizabeth and Nikolas hurried to the police station. They learned, though, that Emily only told Ric that she had visited Mary once the night of Mary's death, omitting any information about the medicine cart or a second visit. Ric questioned Elizabeth and wondered if she was covering for Emily or if somebody else in the group was covering for another, maybe even his ex-wife. Later, Jason and Elizabeth chatted outside Kelly's, and Sam noticed how close they were.

9/13 Liz and Lucky tell Liz that they are engaged and Emily asks her to be her Maid of Honor.

9/14 Liz is thrilled to see her brother, Steven Lars, arrive at GH. She warns him that his mother, Heather, is also in town. He has no plans of hiding from her and she won’t keep him away from Liz. Steven wants to be an uncle and help her with the baby. Later, Liz tells Heather that Steve is moving to PC. 9/15 Elizabeth overhears Steven Lars ordering Heather to stay out of his life. After Steven leaves, Elizabeth asks Heather if Heather plans on getting the Quartermaines to pay Heather to leave them alone the same way that Heather kept getting money from the Webbers to leave them alone. Elizabeth threatens to tell Felicia everything Elizabeth knows about Heather, unless Heather leaves town immediately. Felicia arrives and overhears the tail end of Elizabeth and Heather's argument.

9/16 Elizabeth tells Felicia all about what Heather has done in the past while Heather continues to defend her actions to Felicia. Elizabeth accuses Heather of trying to get money from her father by using blackmail. Heather tells Felicia that Steven was a difficult child and accuses Elizabeth of being a difficult child. Elizabeth tells Felicia that she should keep Heather away from Edward and the Quartermaines before she harms anymore people. Heather admits to Felicia that she has suffered from mental illness and has been in mental hospitals but has gone through intensive therapy and is better now. Elizabeth tells Bobbie that her half-brother Steven is in town and that she doesn't like the fact that Heather, his mother is also living in town. She explains to Bobbie that Heather is an evil person and is afraid Heather will do more harm to Steven and anyone else in her way.

9/20 Emily, Lucky, Liz, and Nik gather at Wyndemere to discuss the situation of Mary's murder. Liz thought they had everything under control, Emily denied giving Mary the meds, and Lucky and Liz back her up, and this should all be over. It is just getting worse as Lucky has been suspended from the force for covering it up, and Nik is being prosecuted for murder, and Liz is under suspicion for being part of the cover up! All fret over the grief that has been caused, and the trouble they might all be in, Emily moans that she doesn’t see how this could possible get any worse! Nikolas lashed out, throwing something to a crash on the floor, unable to take it anymore. He complains that Mary has killed two people and and stole months of his life! He demands that they change the subject to something positive, and no longer let Mary bring them down. He reminds everyone that there is a wedding to be planned. Liz is worried that planning the wedding will make it look like they don’t care about Mary’s death. Nik assures them that it shows the world that he and Emily love each other, they finally agree and begin to discuss plans. Nik is happy with their improved attitude.

Liz and Lucky leave to locate a florist. Later, Liz chats to Lucky about various wedding details, but he can't take his mind off of the nurse who claims she saw Emily give Mary the meds. Liz tries to distract him, reminding him of what Nikolas said, but Lucky refuses to stop until he figures out who really killed Mary.

9/21 John Durant arrives at GH in search of Carly, and Liz tells him that she left. Carly narrowly misses running into John, and overhears him as he pretends to inquire about Carly's mom, feigning forgetfulness over her name. Liz is happy to inform him that Carly's mom is Bobbie Spencer.

9/23 Ric and Alexis have dinner at "The Cellar" also that night. Alexis wants to discuss what he plans on doing now that Skye has escaped from prison. Ric is more interested in analyzing what she said to Sonny about how he arouses her. Alexis tries to discuss business but Ric keeps staying on the subject of their attraction. Alexis tells him that she only told those things to Sonny for affect and nothing more. Ric doesn't believe her.

Elizabeth and her brother Steven show up there to have dinner and stop at their table to say hi. Ric introduces Steven to Alexis and how he is Elizabeth's older brother and a doctor who specializes in forensics. Elizabeth is surprised that Ric and Steven know each other already. Ric tells them that he just hired Steven to work part-time as a forensic specialist for the PCPD.

Steven and Elizabeth sit at another table. Elizabeth tells Steven that her marriage to Ric is over and done with but that she and Ric get along okay. She also tells Steven that Ric will never get over his obsession with his brother Sonny. Alexis asks Ric about his feelings for Elizabeth now that she is back with her baby that he almost ended up raising as his own. Ric tells her that his marriage to Elizabeth was over for awhile now but that he still deeply cares about Elizabeth. Elizabeth overhears their conversation as she is leaving after Steven gets paged. Alexis tries to avoid talking about their attraction and instead ask about how he feels about Elizabeth overhearing them talk about her. Ric silences her with a kiss. She kisses him back after resisting him for a second or two.

9/ Emily suggests that her and Nik elope that very night! Liz and Lucky arrive in black tie cocktail attire, offering their help. Nik and Emily are surprised to see them as Liz waives the invite to their engagement party at them. Nikolas and Emily were surprised to learn that friends and family had received invitations to an engagement party for them that evening at Wyndemere. They figured Tracy and Helena were behind it, and are framing Emily for Mary’s murder.

Meanwhile on the dock, Nurse Harris expressed concern to Tracy and Helena that she might not be able to go through with the plan to offer fake testimony about Mary's murder. She worries she may confuse Elizabeth with Emily. They reassure her and give her a wad of cash to calm her nerves.

The foursome review the events of the night of Mary’s murder. The discuss that Nurse Harris is lying about seeing Emily go into Mary’s room that night. The nurse hoped that God could forgive her, and Helena said the wrath of God would be nothing compared to the wrath she could cause. After nurse left them, Tracy  declares she is a little too jumpy for her taste and she could confess all to the police with pressure applied. Tracy wondered if Helena had actually murdered Mary. Helena denied it and asked Tracy the same thing, bringing about another denial. The two gloated about their plan: keeping Nikolas from marrying Emily and sending Emily to jail, eliminating her from any chance at receiving Lila's inheritance. Helena admits that Mary was a loathsome little creature even more unsuitable than Emily. Tracy points out that she doesn’t care who Nik sleeps with, so she had no motive to kill Mary. Helena reminds her they have a party to host!

As the surprise engagement party is about to begin, Elizabeth worries to Nik and Emily that Lucky took off to confront Tracy and Helena about framing them. She worries what those witches will do to him. Monica and Ned arrives and gives Emily grief for not telling them about the party. Emily fills them in that Tracy and Helena have formed some unholy alliance. Ric and Alexis arrive, and Nik immediately warns Ric to stay away from Emily. Emily tells Ned about the charade of a party and wants to put an end to it right now. Nik stops her. He tells her to let them believe their plan is working.

Meanwhile, Lucky spotted the nurse on the docks, with a load of cash, and informed her that he had the plan all figured out. He demands to know who has paid her to lie? Lucky warns her that he will have to take her into PCPD for questioning. She could be charged with Obstruction of Justice, and could be determined a co-conspirator in Mary’s death. He says that she could spend the rest of her life in prison, or she could work with him. As Lucky escorted the nurse from the docks, Helena watched.

Nikolas was not pleased that Ric was there since Ric was trying to prosecute the engaged couple for Mary's demise. Alexis tells Nik and Emily that there is a reason that she brought Ric as her date. She has a plan and asks them to trust her. Ric tries to explain to Liz about attending with Alexis. She interrupts and asks would he even be interested in Alexis, if she didn’t have a past with Sonny. Nik and Emily gather their guests and toast everyone, Justus, Dillon, and Georgie have also arrived. As Tracy and Helena enter, Nik thanks the hosts of the party.  Emily shows Liz the sketch of her wedding dress. Ric asks Alexis if she invited him so he would believe that Emily didn’t murder Mary, or did she just want to spend time with him. She is amused by how uncomfortable Ric is. He wishes that he had another suspect. Unfortunately, Nik, Emily, Liz, and Lucky compromised themselves by lying at the beginning of the investigation.

Lucky arrived with a wedding gift. He announced that he had Nurse Harris in a safe place and that she had lied about seeing Emily the night of Mary's murder, only giving false testimony after being paid by Tracy and Helena. Nikolas wanted his grandmother out of his sight, but she informed him that she had something to say first. She then proceeded to place a curse on Nikolas and Emily, much like she had done to Luke and Laura at their wedding decades ago, vowing that their union will bring bad things to those they love. Lightning and a loud clap of thunder followed, temporarily knocking out the lights. When the lights returned, Helena was gone. Tracy started to sneak away and was stopped by Justus. Ric complemented Lucky on his off duty police work. Emily was a bit shaken but stated that she didn't believe in curses. Next thing she knew, the sketches of her wedding dress caught fire from a nearby candle.

9/27 Lucky gets word that Nurse Harris is in the hospital from an overdose of pills and isn’t expected to survive the night. Ric warns them that without her testimony, her admission to being paid off by Helena and Tracy will only be hearsay. The party of Nik, Emily, Liz, Lucky, Ric, Alexis, and Justus all rush to the hospital, where Bobbie fills them in on Donna Harris's condition. While everyone anxiously waits in the lobby, Lucky and Ric try to get Donna to admit again that she was paid off. Alexis informs Nik and Emily that if Harris supports Lucky’s statement, that Emily will be cleared. Mary gets as far as admitting that she lied, but then dies just as Nikolas enters the room.

Liz and Emily discuss the party, and Liz admits parts of it were dreadful. Emily laughs that she is a Quartermaine, and Nik is a Cassidine so of course their family party would be dreadful especially the ridiculous curse of Helena. Alexis shares that this is a Cassidine tradition. Liz points out all the obstacles that faced Luke and Laura on their wedding day, and six months later she disappeared. Emily pointed out because the Cassidines kidnapped her. Liz continues that they had to live their life on the run, and Laura wound up going mad. Alexis advises they don’t underestimate Helena or her curse.

Nik returns to tell Emily the news, and she begins to worry again about the curse. Lucky yells at Ric, that Harris admitted she lied. Ric says that the only person that can provide that Emily didn’t kill Emily is dead. Nik argues that Helena and Tracy paid Harris off, doesn’t that count for something? Ric says first step is to figure out if she tried to commit suicide or if she was murdered? Emily says she was killed by whoever framed Emily.

Back at Wyndemere, Helena reappears to fill Tracy in on the many Cassadine curses. Tracy discounts the effectiveness of the curse, but Helena points out  their successful history. Tracy declares that Nurse Harris tried to kill herself tonight. Back at GH, they discuss Harris’ death and Mary’s murder and go over the evidence. Monica arrives with the preliminary autopsy, and she had blunt force trauma on the back of her head, and bruising in her mouth indicating someone forced her to take the pills.

10/4 Jason is at GH, questioning Liz about Steven and his connection to John Durant. Emily is rushed in unconscious. Jason demands to know what happened to his sister? Nik offers that he found her submerged in her bathtub, maybe two minutes under water. Helena, Tracy, and Edward arrive soon after, and Nikolas warns Helena that he will kill her if Emily dies. Steven attempts to help Emily, but is unable to offer any suggestions of what might be wrong with her until the tests return. She doesn’t have any water in her lungs. Nik is sure that Helena poisoned her. Jason demands Helena admit what she did to Emily. Nik wants to know if Helena was alone at any time. Jason demands to know if Helena had any chance to poison Emily. Liz declares Emily is a fighter and she will get through this. Nik sits by her bedside and begs her not to leave him. Liz tells Jason that she doesn’t care what he has to do, she begs him to make Helena talk. Edward can’t believe that Tracy joined forces with Helena! Steven returns the the tox screen came back negative. Steven then reports he noticed a spider bite mark near her neck and she has begun treatment and is already improving. All are relieved.

10/11 As a sleeping Emily begins gasping for breath, Liz wakes her up from her nightmare. The events caused Emily to grow more terrified of Helena's curse's power, and she asked Liz if she was crazy. Liz stressed that Emily should listen to Steven, and not buy into the curse, but Emily remain unconvinced.

10/12 Liz takes time to get reacquainted with her brother while he's on a break at GH. She tells him about her role in Emily's wedding, and asks his opinion of Emily's well-being. Steven admits that while Emily is physically fine, she clearly has psychological problems from the alleged curse. The siblings then begin to tease each other, and Liz inquires about any romantic possibilities for Steven in Port Charles. He admits that there is one woman he's met and is interested in, but when Liz pushes for a name, he refuses to answer. He lets his sister know the woman is not available to him, but then he takes off to start his next shift.

10/19 Steven worries for John's well being after surgery to remove the bullet is complete. Liz tries to help her brother, but he tells her that John is like another father to him, his mentor in many ways.

11/1 Liz is shocked to see Nik arrive at GH lying on gurney with a gunshot wound. She is even more surprised when Nik then walks in! Nik tells Lucky and Liz and that is Connor. He kidnapped Emily out of her bathtub. Nik admits that he shot Connor to save Emily. They tell Lucky that Connor saw Nik kill Helena and he was blackmailing them. Nik pushed Helena off the cliff and Connor knows it wasn’t an accident. Nik worries if Connor wakes up, and Lucky declares they better pray he doesn’t live. Connor wakes up and grabs Liz’s wrist.

11/2 Liz runs out and announces that Connor has stopped breathing. They all consider the consequences if he lives or dies, but a doctor finally appears to announce that he's going to be fine. Nik observes, just long enough for Connor to be able to accuse him of murder. Nik knows that Connor blames him for Mary’s death and wants revenge. Connor tells Liz that he wants to talk to a cop. Lucky goes into the room and listens as Connor tells him that Nikolas purposely killed Helena. Nikolas worries that he'll be tried for the murder, but Emily continues to remind him to think positively and to remember that he was defending her. Emily later goes into Connor's room, and whispers to him that while he may have seen Nikolas throw Helena off the cliff, he doesn't understand the situation. She implores him to remember that Nikolas deserves happiness just as much as he does.

11/3 As Ric waits in the Hospital Chapel with the wedding bouquet he bought for Alexis, he hears someone entering and, assuming it is Alexis, reports that the Justice of the Peace will be arriving soon. Then Ric turns towards the chapel doors, and looks a little surprised when he realizes that it is Elizabeth and NOT Alexis who has entered the chapel. Ric explains that Sonny is Kristina’s biological father. Alexis knows Sonny will sue for custody, and it will help Alexis to be married. Liz says of course his marriage is all about Sonny. She asks if he loves Alexis? He knows he has done terrible things, he has cost Liz so much. But this time, he can be a positive difference in someone’s life and he can help Kristina. She observes, so he will finally beat Sonny. She asks Ric if that is enough for him? Liz knows that he has always wanted a home and a family, she hopes he finds it this time.

11/8 Jason tearfully spends a quiet moment with Sam's baby, and Liz witnesses his grief and feels pain for him. She's unable to approach him because Sonny walks up and demands to see his dead daughter. Jason emerges and refuses to allow Sonny in the room, telling him it's for the best that he not see the baby, and both men collapse against each other in tears. Ric leaves to return to Alexis and tell her that the baby has died. He tries to ease her panic by letting her know it had nothing to do with her, but he prepares her that she is going to have to now ask Sonny for the stem cell donation.

11/9 A grieving Jason sits by Sam’s beside, Liz approaches him. With Sam unconscious and Sonny focused on Kristina, the task of making burial arrangements for the baby falls upon Jason. He asks Liz to give him a couple of hours and he will figure it out, as Sonny should be the one to sign the paperwork and approve the arrangements.

11/10 Liz tells Jason  that before she had Cameron, she suffered a miscarriage.  She tells Jason that Sam is going to need him, as her feelings are going to be complicated and offers Jason some advice for helping Sam through her ordeal. Liz reminds Jason that Sam probably has a ton of baby things that will need to be packed away and urges Jason to be with Sam when she does the job. When Jason suggests that Jason could just pack everything up BEFORE Sam returns home from the hospital, Elizabeth warns that, if Jason took care of the packing job all alone, it would make Sam feel as if her baby had never existed. As Liz warns Jason that Sam might end up blaming herself for her baby's death.

Courtney arrives and overhears the tail end of the conversation. After Elizabeth leaves, Courtney offers Jason her sympathy and learns that Sam does not yet know that her baby is gone. Courtney reminds Jason of the way that Jason was able to help Courtney through her own ordeal when Courtney miscarried her own baby and assures Jason that she wants to help Samantha and Jason in any way that she can. Courtney reminds Jason that the experience that Jason and Sam are going through will change both of them. Courtney assures Jason again that she loves him and, before leaving, Courtney again assures Jason that she is ready to help in any way that Jason would need.

Sonny catches up with Ric and Alexis as Steven wheels Kristina into surgery. Even as Ric assures Alexis that Kristina will be okay, Alexis breaks down in tears and cries on Sonny’s shoulder. As Ric waits outside Kristina's room for news, Ric is surprised when Elizabeth brings Ric a cup of his favorite coffee and assures Ric that everything will be fine. When Ric suggests that maybe Kristina and Cameron could play together some day, Elizabeth agrees that she would like for that to happen. Ric confides that he has been thinking a lot about what Elizabeth said earlier in the chapel, about Ric's marriage to Alexis being all about Sonny. Ric admits that Ric still hates Sonny, even though Sonny's daughter is now Ric's legal stepdaughter, and that the whole situation probably does look suspicious.

Elizabeth replies that she believes that Ric has an awful lot of love to give to Kristina and that, whatever Ric's motivations were in the past, Liz can see that, right now, today, the concern that Ric has for Kristina is sincere and has nothing to do with Ric hating Sonny or wanting to hurt Sonny but, rather, is a genuine interest in helping a little girl. Elizabeth assures Ric that Liz does not believe that Ric is using Kristina to get back at Sonny, because Ric is better than that. When Liz realizes that Ric is having difficulty replying to her, Liz assures Ric that she will let him know when the procedure is over and leaves.

11/17 Elizabeth arrives at the church for the memorial service, accompanied by her brother, Steven. The assembled mourners are all surprised when Durant arrives. Mike coldly informs Durant that he is not welcome there, but John argues that Carly needs her family today, as much as Sonny needs his. As Samantha and Jason enter the church, Sam confides to Jason that she suddenly feels peaceful for the first time since her baby's death. Ric and Alexis arrive AFTER the service begins and slip quietly into a back pew. However, Samantha spots them. When Sam turns around and looks directly at Alexis, Alexis suddenly gets up and leaves and Ric follows her. While the minister talks about love, Sonny shoots a hateful glance at the departing couple.

11/22 An injured Steven is rushed to GH, where an upset Liz worries for her brother's well-being. Ric arrives at the hospital after hearing someone was found in his apartment, but he's distracted by Liz's emotional state. He thinks she is upset about Sam losing her baby, as she is reminded of her own miscarriage. She admits that when someone she cares about comes into GH, she loses her objectivity. She tells him she learned about the fire at Ric’s place and she is glad that she is okay. He tells her it was arson. She is upset that Steven got caught in the fire at her apartment.

11/24 As Elizabeth wheels Samantha out of the hospital, Elizabeth offers Sam her sympathy at the loss of her child and tries to reassure Sam that, one day, the pain of her loss will not be so severe. Sam is surprised when Jason suddenly arrives. Liz informs him that Sam has been released. He asks why she didn’t call him, he declares that he wants to be the person to take Sam home.

Nikolas meets with Elizabeth at the PCPD and asks Elizabeth to take care of canceling everything connected with the weddings so that Emily doesn't have to deal with it all. Liz reminds him that this is Emily’s decision to make about postponing the wedding. Liz asks if he is breaking up with Emily? Elizabeth accuses Nikolas of being a pig-headed jerk. She urges Nikolas to have some hope for the possibility of a happy future with Emily. lizabeth visits Steven at the hospital and is surprised when her brother informs her that there is someone special in his life. He didn’t think things would work out, but maybe now they will.

11/29 Nik and Emily are disappointed that Nik won’t be released so he can marry Emily, as he is considered a flight risk. Mac reports that the wedding is on for Wednesday! He has gone to the judge and managed to persuade him to have Nik released for a short time to marry Emily. The four are thrilled with the news, and Liz and Lucky immediately begin to plan the event. 11/30 Emily and Liz prepare for Emily's wedding to Nikolas. Despite everyone's warnings that she's setting herself up for heartache, Emily refuses to listen to her family and vows to marry Nikolas and wait for him to get out of prison. Emily makes a last-minute visit to Nikolas at the police station, so Lucky and Liz step in for the bride and groom during the rehearsal. As the two rehearse the ceremony, Connor waits outside and watches them.

12/1 At the church, Lucky and Elizabeth go through the motions of Nikolas and Emily's proposed ceremony, and he sweetly kisses her on the check while Connor watches from a hidden corner. Later, as Elizabeth helps Emily get ready for the wedding, the two women talk about old times. When Elizabeth leaves for a moment, Connor begins to approach Emily, but is interrupted when Samantha arrives to thank Emily for inviting Sam to her wedding. Emily is thrilled when Sam gives Emily a pair of earrings to wear as something borrowed. Guests begin to arrive in the chapel. Liz promises Lucky a dance at the reception. As Elizabeth and Lucky check over the final preparations, Nikolas arrives with a police escort and Lucky demands that Mac take the cuffs off immediately. Although Mac initially argues that Nikolas should remain in handcuffs, Mac eventually relents and unlocks the cuffs. Elizabeth goes to get Emily. However, before Emily can leave the Bride's Room for the sanctuary, Connor suddenly confronts Emily.

12/2 Liz returns and gives Nik a thumbs up that everything is okay. A glowing Emily heads down the aisle and exchanges vows with Nikolas. When the judge announces if anyone objects to the marriage, Nikolas looks over at the Quartermaines and dares them to say anything and glares at them in warning. No one objects but Connor stands out in the hallway and watches the ceremony. Nikolas and Emily are pronounced husband and wife.

The reception takes place at the Quartermaine estate. Monica tells Emily that her mother, Paige, would have been very proud of her. Lucky and Elizabeth make toasts to the happy couple, and Liz and Lucky share their dance. Then Emily throws the bouquet and Elizabeth catches it. Then Nikolas throws the garter and Jason catches it. Jason smiles but feels awkward since Elizabeth caught the bouquet. Nikolas and Emily head out to spend their last night alone as newlyweds. Luke and Heather show up at the Quartermaine mansion. Luke enters the front hall with Heather and thanks them for coming and makes it a point to emphasize that Heather is "Laura" and they are ready to get married, Heather is wearing a wedding dress. The Quartermaines and Bobbie follow Luke's lead and play along with his plan. Luke tells Lucky that Heather is certifiably crazy and has Skye hiding somewhere and that Heather actually killed Duncan, the cop.

Luke gets the priest to start the ceremony and the others stick around. Luke suggests to Heather that he get Skye and make her watch them get married for the fun of it. Heather agrees that it would be fun to see Skye be green with envy. She tells Luke that Skye is someplace up high where there is water surrounding her and that she will hopefully be in the sky just like her name. Luke realizes where Skye is and that she is probably in real danger. Luke runs over to Mac and tells him that Heather is crazy and killed the cop and set up Skye. He tells Mac that Heather was the one who killed Ross Duncan not Skye when he walks in the room and asks him to take care of her so he can go find Skye.

12/6 Liz arrives at the mansion to console Emily. Emily is sobbing that she broke down in front of Nik, and she needs to go back to see him and not fall apart. She needs to be strong for her husband (he has just been sentenced to life in prison). Nik is turning over his personal items, and Emily approaches and asks if she can keep her husband’s wedding ring. She assures him that she is his wife and she is okay. She promises to wear his ring on a chain around her neck until she can place it back on his finger.

12/7 Nikolas struggles with his marriage to Emily and the possibility that his looming jail sentence will keep her from being happy. Liz reminds him that Emily makes her own decisions, and wants to be married to Nikolas, but he still isn't convinced that he's not ruining her life.

12/8 Ric assures Alexis that he has done everything possible to get a reduced sentence for Nikolas but he has a bad feeling about the outcome. Inside the court room, Emily is shocked when she realizes that a new Judge will be presiding over the case. As the Judge gets the hearing under way, Ric is surprised when the Judge waves aside Ric's recommendation for a light sentence for Nikolas. Everyone is stunned when the Judge expresses his view that Nikolas murdered an elderly family member in a callous and brutal manner and deserves the death penalty. When Emily and Alexis rise to defend Nikolas, the Judge declares that he will NOT have his court run by a bunch of rich people who believe that they can get away with murder and calls for a recess, announcing that he will listen to character witnesses later.

After the judge leaves, Emily tries to convince Nikolas to recant his confession and request a jury trial, but Alexis warns that it is too late for Nikolas to change his statement and that they will all have to depend on an appeal. Later, an emotional Emily warns her family NOT to begin bickering in front of the Judge. When court resumes, as Monica, Alan, Tracy and Alexis testify about Helena's murderous history, the Judge merely observes that murder seems to be a Cassadine family trait. When he takes the stand, Nikolas admits to the Judge that he has NO regrets about permanently ridding himself of his lethal grandmother.

12/9 Everyone is stunned in the courtroom when Nikolas is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Emily stands up and pleads with the judge to reconsider. The judge tells them that Nikolas killed someone without any remorse and should go to prison. The judge leaves without listening to Emily. Emily starts crying hysterically and pleads with Lucky to do something. Nikolas is lead away in handcuffs. Later, at the police station, Nikolas tells Lucky to keep Emily away from him for her own good and that she shouldn't see him in handcuffs and chains around his feet. Lucky tells him that Emily should be able to see him if she wants and that it may hurt her more to be kept away from him.

Back at the courthouse, Monica tries to soothe Emily. She suggests she go back home and stay with the family. Tracy agrees with Monica that Emily shouldn't be left alone. Emily insists on going to the police station and seeing Nikolas. The family tries to persuade her to not go to see Nikolas right now.  Emily takes off anyway and Elizabeth goes with her. Emily tries to go in to see Nikolas but Lucky tries to stop her. He tells her that he is just following Nikolas' wishes. Emily cries in Elizabeth's arms after Nikolas rejects her. Elizabeth brings her back to Kelly's. They go inside and sit. Lucky yells at Nikolas for rejecting Emily and hurting her more than before. Nikolas feels that he is doing this to protect her and doesn't want her to put her life on hold visiting him every day in prison. Emily tells Elizabeth that she isn't giving up on Nikolas and will visit him every day and convince him they belong together. She hears the phone ring behind her  at Kelly’s and gets a bad feeling, especially when Mike answers and tells her the phone is for her.

12/10 Mike tells Emily that Nik has been hurt and has been taken to GH. Emily and Liz rush to GH after learning Nik had been shot while trying to escape. Alexis tells them that she doesn’t know why he did it. He seemed resolved to going to prison, everything happened so fast when Nik tried to escape. Alexis worries that she thought they had a good case for an appeal. Alexis then shares that Ric saved Nik’s life by keeping him breathing until help arrived. Liz calls Jason and tells him that Emily needs her family. Nik is unstable and if his pressure continues to drop, there won’t be anything the docs can do to save him. Ric and Liz wait together for word on Nik, as Emily heads to the chapel with Jason.

12/20 After Luke has told Liz that Laura has died, a storm has hit PC and several are stranded at Kelly’s. Lucky enters as the blizzard is getting worse. He sees she is upset and asks what is going on. She tells him that his father is looking for him. He asks her to tell him. Liz goes with Lucky to see Nik at GH.

12/21-12/22 Lucky and Connor attempt to come up with a plan to cover that Connor and Nik had switched places.  Liz's entrance helps them. They ask her to pretend like she dressed Connor's wound, so that no one else will try it and realize he isn't Nikolas. Lucky fills her in that this is Connor, as it is his fault that Nik confessed to Helena’s death. Lucky tells Liz that as soon as Nik recovers, he and Emily will disappear. Liz agrees, but Mac walks in to have documents signed by "Nikolas," and the signature rouses his suspicions.

When Mac confronts Connor, he takes Liz hostage and escapes. As Mac questions Lucky’s story, Liz rushes back in. After Mac leaves, Lucky tells her how proud of her she is. Lucky and Elizabeth slip away to call Nikolas and Emily with a warning about Mac's All Points Bulletin. The phone lines are down due to the storm. Trooper Martin spots Lucky and reports that he spotted the escaped convict that the Port Charles Police Department have been looking for when Nikolas helped Martin dig his car out of a snow drift. Lucky assures Trooper Martin that Lucky will take care of the report.

12/23 Lucky and Elizabeth show up at the cabin where Nikolas and Emily are hiding. They tell them they are willing to help them escape. Lucky tells him he has news about their mother. Nik says that Emily has already told him. Nikolas tells them he has no intention of running away and insists on turning himself in. Emily realizes he will not be changing his mind and respects his decision. As the four of them are leaving the cabin, the police have surrounded it and tell Nikolas to put his hands up. They get to the police station where Mac is waiting for them. Mac doesn't believe that Nikolas was going to turn himself in and that he didn't know what Connor was doing. Mac makes Lucky turn in his badge and suspends him indefinitely. Mac isn't feeling that generous right now and tells Elizabeth and Emily that they are in trouble too, and face possible criminal charges. Luke arrives and asks Mac to go easier on Lucky considering what he is going through. Lucky tells Luke that he already knows about Laura's death. Luke tells him that he doesn't know what is really going on.

12/24 Emily, Lucky, Liz and Alice wait in the interrogation room with a special Christmas dinner. They have delivered a Christmas dinner to him at the police station before he is sent off to prison. Nik wishes Liz and Lucky a Merry Chrismas before they leave him and Emily alone together. Everyone gathers at GH for the Christmas party. The Q’s arrive, and soon Liz greats Audrey, while holding baby Cameron. The Christmas procession begins, followed by a Christmas montage.

12/27 Jason and Liz see each other at Kelly’s. Liz introduces him to Cameron as Sam watches as he holds the baby. Liz asks if Sam and Jason spent Christmas together and he said no. Liz shares her Christmas with her baby with Jason. Then apologizes for being insensitive, she realizes how difficult Christmas must have been for both Sam and Jason. Liz prods Jason to not give up on Sam, as she can see how much Sam cares about him, and how much he cares about her. She encourages him to not assume that he knows what Sam wants, and to try to find a way to make things work with her.

12/28 Lucky is hesitant about helping Luke with his plan with Emily and Skye to draw Helena out. Lucky blasts his father for getting Emily's hopes up on a theory that Helena is really alive. Luke suggests that Lucky doesn't want to help Nikolas because it will give him a better shot at Emily. Lucky punches his father, and Liz arrives just in time to break things up. Later, Liz and Lucky show up to offer their full support for the plan. Lucky admits that he has his doubts that Helena is alive but he will do whatever it takes to get his brother out of prison. Emily recognises a town in Ontario that Connor was planning on going to. As Liz and Lucky are discussing a plan, Emily rushes in and says she knows where Connor is. Lucky is shirtless, which Liz has noticed and Emily grins at her.Emily decides to track Connor down in Canada, and use him as a decoy Nikolas to get to Helena.

12/29 Elizabeth arrives at the carpenter shop, posing as a newlywed, looking for a carpenter to help them redecorate an apartment. When Connor enters the room, he immediately recognizes Liz and bolts, but Lucky tackles Connor as Connor comes out the door. Lucky pleads with Connor to help him save his brother’s life. Lucky, Liz and Emily explain to Connor that they believe that Helena is alive and want Connor to pose as Nikolas to serve as bait to lure Helena out in the open, so that Nikolas can be cleared and released. Connor refuses and the discouraged trio trudge back to their room. They are surprised to discover Connor waiting for them. Connor announces that he has changed his mind and is now prepared to help them try to prove that Helena is still alive.