ABC SOAPS IN DEPTH: CAN COURTNEY SAVE JASON?

Although standing by her man in the wake of shocking allegations didn't prove all that successful a tactic where A.J. was concerned, this week General Hospital's Courtney hopes for a different outcome when she goes to desperate lengths to clear Jason of murder charges. But how will her new flame react if he finds out just how far she's willing to go?

Thanks to a witness connecting not only Brenda but both Sonny and Jason as well to Alcazar's death, the Mob boss and his right hand man are now languishing behind bars. Unwilling to believe the man she loves could be involved in such a heinous act, Courtney rushes to Jason's side, ready to sing his praises. But her would-be beau remains determined to protect her from the dangerous lifestyle which he's chosen, and does everything in his power to keep her from being dragged into the mud alongside him. Released on bail, Jason eventually goes to see Courtney in the loft where they've been conducting their hush-hush rendezvous.

When AJ goes on yet another rampage, he heads to Kelly's in search of his MIA wife. Once there, he runs into Carly, who is only too pleased to share the news that Courtney spent the holidays with her and Sonny. As upset as A.J. is to discover his wife has been hanging out with his least favorite people, he'd probably be even unhappier to learn that she's now making plans to start a whole new life, somewhere far from Port Charles, with another person he detests: Jason! But even as Courtney spins her vision of a heavenly future to Jason, he brings her back to Earth by saying that the time isn't right for them to be thinking that way.

After overhearing Sonny and Jason discussing AJ's latest scheme, Carly tells Courtney just how low her spouse has now sunk: He not only paid Ida to point the finger at Brenda, but arranged for the "eyewitness" to claim that Jason and Sonny paid her to keep quiet about what she'd supposedly seen! Although Courtney wants to tear A.J. apart, Carly, knowing that she shouldn't have shared the info she obtained by eavesdropping, convinces her sister-in-law that to do so would only make matters much worse.

As Jason, Sonny and Felicia set out to trap AJ in his own tangled web of lies, Courtney realizes that she may be the only person who can save her beau's neck, not to mention that of her big brother. And so she pays a visit to her ex.

"She comes to me and asks me to help," says AJ's portrayer, Billy Warlock, in character. "And I say, "Fine. If you leave him and come back to me and never see him again, you've got a deal."

But when their talk turns physical and a third party gets involved. A.J. may wind up with more than he bargained for, as Courtney realizes she may have thrown fuel on an already raging fire!