Bells were tolling for evening prayer at the Abbey of St. Laurence, as Jason passed the chapel and made his way back to the monastery guest house. That house had been his home for the past six months--ever since that day in March, when he found himself on a highway in southern Illinois.

Jason stopped initially for no other reason than curiosity. But he found himself immediately drawn to the monastery, where life was so different from anything he had ever experienced.

There were so many things about the Abbey that he liked--the quiet, the hard work, the way he was accepted so easily by the monks who lived and worked here. Most of all, he appreciated the opportunity to take time out and think about where he’d been, and where he was going.

Jason opened the door to his room and went in, sprawling on the bed in exhaustion. It had been another long day, but a satisfying one--working with the construction crew that was rebuilding the monastery property damaged by last spring’s storms. As he thought about changing out of his sweat-soaked T-shirt and jeans, and going into town for dinner, Jason closed his eyes and remembered the long, strange trip that brought him to this place.

***

He actually recalled less than five years of his life, the part that started when he woke up from a near-fatal accident that left him with no memory of the years he lived as Jason Quartermaine, the favorite son of the most prominent family in Port Charles. Feeling the need to break away from his family’s smothering control, he changed his name and started a new life that eventually led to becoming second in command to the man police considered the crime boss of Port Charles.

But Sonny Corinthos was more than a boss to Jason--much more. He remembered his final words to Sonny on the day he left. “You taught me that I was worth something. You taught me to believe in myself. Wherever I go, whatever happens, you gave me my life. And you’re the only father that I’ll ever have.”

The depth of his feelings for Sonny made it hurt all the more when he discovered Sonny and Carly's one-night affair.

Carly. The woman who told Jason repeatedly that she loved him. The mother of the little boy he still felt in his heart was his son.

At one point, Jason had told her mother, Bobbie, that he couldn’t imagine his life without Carly.

But she had slept with Sonny, of all people--a man who continually put her down, called her names, and told Jason she wasn’t good enough for him.

It was an act brought on, Jason now knew, by jealousy and insecurity. Carly herself called it the stupidest thing she’d ever done in her life.

Jason recalled lashing out at her in the days following his discovery of her night with Sonny. He was recovering from the gunshot wound he suffered in an ambush attack engineered by Joseph Sorel and the now presumed-dead Anthony Moreno.

Carly came to Jason, telling him how sorry she was, and how much she loved him. But he rejected her, even as he belatedly admitted his feelings for her.

He tried to make her give up. “This is over.”

“It’ll never be over between us,” she insisted.

She wouldn’t go away, though. She kept coming back, begging for them to be together, and bringing along the one person she knew he could not turn away--Michael. Jason told himself that it was for Michael’s sake that he was leaving everything behind.

And he told himself he was over Sonny and Carly’s affair. Sonny apparently still felt guilty about it, though--telling Jason on that last day, “I let you do my dirty work, I sent you out to get shot for me, and when your back was turned, I slept with your woman.”

Jason told Sonny he forgave him, and asked Sonny to forgive himself. He really meant it. But he wasn’t at all sure now that he really meant everything he had told Carly.

He never even said good-bye to her. He now wondered if it was because he couldn’t.

***

He did say good-bye to Sonny, to Elizabeth Webber, and to three members of his family--his grandmother, Lila, his mother, Monica, and his sister, Emily. But that was it.

Jason left Port Charles that day on his motorcycle. But he kept the bike only as far as Buffalo.

One of the reasons he’d left town was because Sorel was after him, and the mobster was trying to use Elizabeth to get to Jason. He didn’t want another friend to suffer on his account.

And he didn’t want to make it easy for Sorel to trace him, either.

So, after spending the night in a motel on the outskirts of Buffalo, Jason’s first stop was at a business that offered storage lockers for rent. He locked the bike away, paid for a year’s rental in cash, and headed for the bus depot.

For $129.50, Greyhound would take him right where he wanted to go. Paying the fare in cash, Jason got on the bus for the 37-hour trip to Miami.

He slept much of the way. He would have plenty of time for sightseeing later.

Arriving in Miami late the following night, Jason got in a cab outside the bus depot, telling the driver to take him to the address of an expensive apartment complex. Paying the fare and tipping the driver generously, Jason got out of the cab and walked into the apartment building lobby. He looked for the buzzer with the name “Nico Kelly”.

Nico was an old acquaintance of Sonny’s, and it was through Sonny that Jason had met him. Nico owed Sonny, and Jason hoped to collect on that debt now.

Nico was a guy who seemed to have everything going for him. His marriage of convenience to a woman named Cecily has blossomed into real love. Nico and Cecily had moved to Hollywood together, heading for a life of happily-ever-after. But like other Hollywood marriages, theirs didn’t last.

It was Nico's own fault. He was a womanizer, and Cecily finally had enough. When they split, it was not an amicable divorce. Cecily went on to marry someone else.

Nico relocated to Miami, where he now owned a successful restaurant. But he was still alone, and still womanizing--and that was what got him into trouble one night during a visit to Sonny’s island casino.

Nico was romancing his lady du jour when her very rich, and very jealous, husband caught them in the act. The husband was about to beat the hell out of Nico when Sonny intervened. With a little help from Jason, Sonny managed to calm down the angry spouse, whose now-apologetic wife promised it would never happen again. Nico got out of it with his body parts intact--if not his dignity.

Jason pressed the buzzer. “Yeah?” came a voice from the speaker.

“Nico, it’s Jason Morgan. Can I come up?”

“Okay.” A buzzer sounded at the door, and Jason let himself in. He took the elevator to the 23rd floor of the high-rise, then headed down the hall to Nico’s apartment.

As the door opened, Jason couldn’t help thinking how much Nico reminded him of Sonny. But Sonny dressed a lot better--at least, a lot better than Nico looked tonight.

He was wearing sweatpants and a tank top, and holding a can of beer. “Jason! What brings you to town?”

“I need a favor.” Jason accepted the beer Nico was offering, then continued, “I think you’re just the man I need to see.”

“Tell me about it.”

Jason explained that he wanted to disappear for a while, and he needed wheels. He asked if Nico could help him acquire a new vehicle.

“So I guess you don’t want another bike then, right?” Nico asked. “What did you have in mind--some kind of sexy little sports car?”

“I was thinking more along the line of a pick-up truck,” Jason answered. When Nico looked surprised, he added, “It’s the last thing anybody from Port Charles would expect me to drive.”

“I assume you want to pay cash for this?”

“Yeah, and I don’t want my name attached to it. Can you help?”

Remembering once again how Sonny and Jason had saved his vital organs, Nico said, with just a hint of hesitation, “Sure.”

He was a man of his word. By the end of the next day, there was a shiny new black Ford Ranger parked outside Nico’s apartment building.

“Looks great,” Jason said approvingly. “Who’s it registered to?”

“Me! So make sure you don’t get into any trouble with it, okay?”

“Don’t worry--I’ll be driving the speed limit and wearing my seatbelt.”

Jason left Miami the next morning. He wasn’t quite sure where he’d be heading next.

***

He spent a couple of days in Pensacola. He’d been there only once before, when he went there with Carly, after the death of her adoptive mother, Virginia Benson.

Jason wasn’t sure what drew him to pay a visit to Virginia’s grave, but he did. “Your grandson’s gonna be okay,” he said aloud. “Carly, too--I hope.”

Jason crisscrossed Florida several times--from north to south, east to west, and diagonally. He visited every tourist attraction in the book. He knew he was just killing time at this point, but Walt Disney World was as good a place as any to do it.

Along the way, Jason stopped at a library in St. Augustine, and used the library Internet connection to set up a “freemail” address. He later purchased a laptop computer--and one night, in a motel in Orlando, he used the computer to send an E-mail message to his attorney, Alexis Davis. She assured him Michael was fine, and that his taxes were paid.

It was the last contact Jason had with anyone in Port Charles. He had promised his sister, Emily, that he would write--but he didn’t. He didn’t contact Sonny, either. And although he knew Sonny could probably figure out some way to find him, he was hoping there was no reason for it. He just needed to be away on his own to think things through, and he didn’t know how long it would take.

When Jason tired of the Sunshine State, he started north. He spent a lot of nights in motels, and ate a lot of meals at truck stops and fast food joints. His aimless wandering finally brought him to southern Illinois.

What he had intended as just another brief stop along the way turned into a six-month sojourn at the Abbey of St. Laurence.

***

Jason opened his eyes again, and hauled his body out of bed. It was dark now, and he was hungry. He grabbed a clean T-shirt from the drawer, and headed back outside to his truck.

There was a diner in town where he often ate dinner. The place reminded him of another diner back in Port Charles.

As he drove down the highway, Jason wondered if it might be time to think about going home again.

______________________________________________________________________________

Coming up in Chapter 4: Jason heads back to Port Charles. If you have any questions or comments, please E-mail me. [email protected]