Chapter Six

The aqua-eyed man now rode the elevator to the penthouse floor of the Harborview Towers, where he'd lived ever since she left for Greece.

After leaving Vista Point, he went back to the warehouse to immerse himself in work. It was better than constantly going to the edge of expecting, something he was determined not to do. Expectations were dangerous, and to have them wouldn't be fair to her or even to himself.

He stayed until he figured that she would have gone back to the loft, and that had gotten him to where he was now, on his way up to Sonny's penthouse before going over to his own. The little bell dinged and the doors in front of him flew open when the contraption reached the floor on which he lived.

~*~

Courtney managed to get her bags into the loft just fine, despite the fact that it felt like they weighed a ton each. Everything she'd had with her in Greece had gotten packed up, other than the furniture and decorations.

Now, the three bags were wide open on the couch, clothes leaking out of them and onto the hard floor. Those were abandoned, for now, as she stood in the kithen, looking through the cupboards. Every one of them was bare, clear evidence that Jason hadn'tlived there in the recent part of the past two years.

Shutting the cabitnet, she made her way to the bed behind the bookcases. Her body was beggin her to sleep, and she wanted to fall into bed and sleep forever. Or, at least until she was adjusted to the time change. It was much later in Greece than it was in Port Charles, and she was still turned to that time schedule.

There were no physical signs that could, or would, tell her if Jason had been in the loft, but everything in her could sense him. His body, his emotions, his heart, every little piece could be found in this apartment. He wafted through it like a breeze, running over the features of her face as she walked the floor. It was impossible to deny it.

Even as she sat on the bed, kicking off her shoes and covering up with the large comforter, it was as if she could feel his strong arms around her. The bed, the sheets and the blanket seemed to have him sown right into them, the blanket not just a blanket but him. Courtney pressed her face into her pillow, breathing in the scent of laundry.

And Jason.

いFlashbackい

Courtney woke up slowly, her ears picking up on the light sound of gentle rain pattering on the window across from the bed. he could feel Jason's arms wrapped around her waist as her body was melted into his solid chest and stomach. A smile crossed her face contently, and she moved a little. She wasn't sure if he was awake, even though his lips lingered on the soft skin of her shoulder.

Jason responded to her movement by kissing her hair, and he could almost hear her smile. "Good morning."

The small blonde turned in his arms, and kissed his lips softly. He released her from his grasp and propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at her. A strand of hair covered the side of her face as she lay on her side, and he brushed it away, placing it behind her ear.

いEnd Flashbackい

~*~

"So we have no idea where the guy is now?" Sonny said calmly, as he finally got aorund to flipping through the stack of mail Max had brought in earlier. Magazine, magazine, magazine, cell phone bill, magazine, advertisement, all of it going in the trash, except for the bill.

"No, there's no sign he left Greece, so he's probably still there. We just don't know where." Jason responded.

"You know just as well as I do that he could have gotten out of the country without anyone knowing. You've done it a million times."

The spiky brown haired man nodded sligtly. "Yeah, but I don't think the guy's that good. I mean, he slipped up and Courtney got him-"

Sonny's ears perked up at the statement, the way his best friend had said it. "What are you saying, that he's so bad at this my sister was abole to figure him out? What was that supposed to mean, that if he was good she wouldn't be able to? Is she suddenly stupid?"

"You know that's not what I meant and you know I don't think she's stupid. I'm just saying that he was bad."

The dark haired man crossed over to the wet bar and poured himself a drink. He was taking this worse than Courtney was, now that she was here, and it was starting to show.

"You know she got in today?" he said, trying to avoid the other half of the subject.

The blue eyed man nodded. "Yeah, you said something about it." He looked up and their eyes locked, the blonde on both of their minds, although in a different yet still similar capacity, and one knowing much more than the other.

But, it wasn't his place to tell him.

Chapter Seven

Courtney was jolted awake unexpectadly when the cell phone on the night stand began ot ring. The sun was already shining brightly through the window and her eyes squinted to protect them from the sharp light. Mindlessly, she grabbed the phone and flipped it open.

"Hello?"
"Oh, hi daddy. I guess Sonny told you I was back?"
"No, I'm not sure right now. I mean, I just got here yesterday, and I haven't made any definite decisions."
"I haven't yet. I probbaly will, but I just don't know yet. I can't think about me and what I want, or what I don't want. When I left, you know, it was all about me and what I needed to do, mainly for me."
"Yeah, it was for him, too, I guess. But, it was mainly about me, and it can't be like that. I can't look at myself and say 'this is what I want' or 'this is what I don't want' and go for it without thinking about what he wants, too."
"I understand what you're saying, I do. Just don't know if that is what I want. I'm so confused, dad. Maybe more than I was when I left. Actually, I was probably more level headed then."
She chuckled softly. "You've always thought that, maybe before I knew it."

Courtney pushed the blanket off her and climbed out of the soft bed, reluctantly. Grabbing the watch off one of the book cases, she saw that it was around eleven thirty. "Hey, are you still working at Kelly's?"
"Okay, let me get dressed and I'll come there to see you. 20 minutes."

~*~

Jason was outside The Cellar, talking to some of the bouncers and one of the liquor suppliers. Carly wasn't supposed to be home until later, but she'd called Sonny and asked him to give some of her employees some directions and needed ether him or Jason to sign for the new alcohol being delivered. Because of an unfortunate incident with some teenagers, she and SOnny had been adamant about no one, not even her co manager, signing for shipments. The club wasn't even allowed to be open if Carly wasn't there to supervise. The duty had fall on Jason to sign for the order this time, since Sonny had phone calls to make and another shipment ordeal that Morales wanted to speak with him about, no one else.

Finally, the liquor guy was able to find the right form, and Jason took the pen from his hand to sign it quickly. He then turned to the bouncers, gave them their boss' directions, some he didn't even understand. Marco stood beside him, since they were headed to one of the warehouses to check construction, and the guard had to stifle the laugh building in his throat.

The spiky haired man signed deeply and rolled his eyes as the bouncers and the liquor guy went their separate ways. "I really don't understand how Carly does this, running a club, especially this early in the morning."

The dark man next to him laughed quietly. "It's almost twelve, Jason. It's not early and it's definitely not morning."

"It's still to early to have to do this. And, since you're going to sit there and correct me-"

"But I'm not sitting."

Jason glared at his friend's smartass comment. "Don't make me hit you, Marco. Just for that, you get to make sure they do everything correctly while I go get coffee. Once they're finished, lock up and come find me."

~*~

Courtney walked into the small diner to find Penny behind the counter and very few customers inside. That wasn't going to last long, she knew, since it was close to noon and Kelly's was never slow during the lunch rush. Never.

"Hey Penny," she said as she took a seat in one of the hard wooden stools that were in front of the counter.

"Courtney! Hi! When did you get here?" the waitress asked, clearly happy to see the light blonde again.

"Well, I just walked in, but if you mean in Port Charles, yesterday morning."

"That's great. I'm guessing you're here to see your dad?"

"Yep, I am," Courtney responded as the bell on the door jingled as someone behind them walked in the door. Out of curiosity, she turned around.

Chapter Eight

She turned to see Dillon and Brookelyn entering the diner, clearly taking a much needed break from school. Brooke noticed Courtney and she and her cousin joined her at the counter as Penny went to the back to find Mike.

"Hey! How are you guys doing?" Courtney asked as they sat down on each side of her.

"Good, how are you? How was Greece?" the young spiky haired teenager asked eagerly.

The blonde laughed, knowing that Dillon was very interested in what she did in Greece while she was there. "I'm good, thanks, and Greece was absolutely beautiful, you would love it. The water and the beaches sparkle they're so clean, and Athens is probably the most gorgeous city in the world."

"Better than Paris? I know you've been there, which was better?"

"Definitely Athens. It has a much simpler beauty that outdoes Pairs, no matter how many beautiful buildings they add to the skyline."

Brookelyn nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Athens is much better than Paris. Ma and I went a couple of years ago while we were touring with some band she wanted to promote. Paris is cool, but Greece is so much better."

A look of jealousy washed over Dillon's face at hearing that Brooke had been to Greece while he hadn't. It was one of the places he was eager to see, especially witha video camera in his hands. "Well, next time you go, could you take me with you? Please? I'd like to see it for myself instead of having to hear about it second hand."

The blue eyed blonde smiled affectionately at him and nodded. "Sure. The next time I go, whenever that is, I'll be sure to tell you so you can come. Wouldn't rob anyone of the chance to see a country that beautiful."

Dillon opened his mouth to respond as Penny came outof the kitchen, grabbing Courtney's attention for a moment. "Mike said that he's got to take something over to Sonny's, Carly ordered it. He's in the back."

Courtney nodded and said thanks to the waitress, deciding to go back to help Mike with whatever he was going to be delivering for her sister-in-law. As she stood up, she gave the two teens at the counter a parting smile, and they returned the gesture with a small wave. "See you guys later, and be good. I'm sure you've gotten yourself into plenty of trouble while I was gone."

~*~

"Yeah, we'll be there soon, Marco's just tied up for doing something for Carly at The Cellar." Jason said into his phone as he started towards the frontentrance of Kelly's. "CIA or FBI, Sonny said that Courtney told him that she can't remember which one he said at the time. We don't know much more than that and his name."

"Just see what you can find out and I'll check back with you on that, Benny."

Jason flipped the phone shut and reached out his hand so he could open the door. Inside, he saw Brooke and Dillon sitting at the counter, and Penny emerged from the kitchen with two plates of food for them.

"Jason, hey!" Dillon said when he saw the man standing beside them.

"Hey. You know, it's pretty bad when Penny knows exactly what you're going to order. Maybe you should try eating something different every once in awhile."

Before Dillon or the brunette girl next to him could answer, the dark waitress set a cup of coffee in front of Jason as he sat down on the other side of the spikey haired blonde. "You're not in any position to talk. I can't remember a time when you ordered something outside of your usual coffee. You could be originaly and try a different kind for a change." The young womean looked pointedly at him, as a way to put him in his place for picking on his cousins, and walked back into the kitchen.

Lynn laughed at him, and Jaosn just shook his head pathetically, as if he were really feeling dejected. "So, where's Georgie? She usually eats with you, doesn't she?"

"Usually, but yesterday, we were a few minutes late to class, so when Felicia found out about it, she wasn't happy. Georgie can't go out for lunch for the next two weeks because her mom's picky about that stuff." Lynn explained, her tone of voice conveying how unfair she thoguth Felicia was being.

"So, you just left her at the school while you two come here? That's not very fair."

Dillon took a bit of his sandwich and chewed before responding. "She had to do some study group thing today, anyway, so I don't think she cared."

The aqua eyed man was still nodding when Penny came back from her tables, elizabeth still flitting behind her, taking care of hers. Jason took a sip of his coffee. "Is Mike in the back or is he doing something else today?"

"Oh, he had to deliever something for Carly, some pie or cake, so he and Courtney went to go do that. I'm sure he'll be back sometime today, unless he plans on spending the rest of the afternoon with Courtney."

"Oh, okay, thanks." he mutter, though he was barely able to get the words out. "How long ago did they leave?"

"About ten or fifteen minutes ago, I think. It hasn't been that long."

Chapter Nine

Courtney opned the door to Sonny's penthouse, her father right behind her with Carly's chocolate pie in his hands. A she stepped in into the room, he saw her brother talking on the phone with someone. His eyes went past her as Mike entered, and he gestured that he was going to take the phone call upstairs.

He wouldn't have if it was just Courtney who had come, but their father was there, too, and this was not a phone call he could or needed to hear. The blue eyed woman nodded, and moved to take a seat on one of the chairs.

Mike went into the kitchen and placed the pie in the refrigerator before joining his daughter in the living room. "You said that you came to see Sonny yesterday, right?" the thin haired man asked.

Courtney nodded. "Yeah, I stopped here before going home. We had some things to talk about, and neither of us really wanted to wait."

Her father leaned back further into the couch cushions. "I've always liked how your relationship with your brother has been, you know. Ever since you were little, and even though you lived in separate houses, you were close. It probably helped that you two were in the same school, and Adella and Janine were on relatively good terms."

"Yeah, I guess that's kind of rare, isn't it? Two half siblings living in separate houses but still having a pretty good relationship. Especially one that's lasted this long."

"Very. I never could have predicted it, myself. If anything, I fugred you two would bug the hell out of each other all the time, or you woudn't want anything to do with him. But, no, Sonny was always where you were, and as teenagers?"

Courtney laughed at her father's amazement of their relationship. But, she saw the humor in his amusement during their teenage yesars. The two Port Charles high schools had merged into one big building her freshman year, and Sonny was a junior, again. Everyone in his high school knew his little sister, so they had no problem with the two of them hanging out between classes, but the girls from the other school sure did.

Especially Carly. Courtney could remember an incident that happened a few weeks into the school year where the then-blonde was rude to her because of a lot of those girls thinking they were together. That was one day she wouldn't forget, especially with the scene Brenda had made after she'd said it. Courtney and the object of her brother's affections both had it out with Carly, which eventually resulted in Brenda and Sonny getting together.

That was also the year the dark haired mobster finally decided to drop out of school. He'd been in the same grade for a couple years already, and when he finally got tired of it, he left. But not before becoming friends with Jaosn, one of the new guys from the other school, and who was also an acquaintance of Carly's. Everything fell into place after that.

"Yeah, we were pretty close then, too."

"Oh, come on. I though you two would get into more arguments than I was able to handle, but you did the opposite. Close was, and still is, a dratic understatement. Which is why I don't understand how either of you survived you being gone for two years."

The blonde gave a polite smile, hoping it would send her father the message not to go where she figured this conversation was being steered, yet again. "It helped that we kept in touch and talked to each other on the phone often. I even got him to use email. But, yeah, it was hard, especially when there are so many other people in this town that I love. Leaving was a lot harder than I thought it would be, too."

いFlashbackい

I know you can't stay
But a part of you will never go away
Your heart will stay

She was going to be leaving soon, he knew. And that was why he was there, looking otu from Vista Point. He knew he couldn't go to the airport to see her leave. He couldn't watch that plane take off, and then walk out of the airport. He'd want to stay there, sit by one f the windows that overlooked the runway, and wait for her to come back.

And he wasn't sure if she even would. She wasn't sure if she would.

He heard footsteps behind him and knew without a single doubt that she was there. To say goodbye. Jason turned around to face her slowly, as she approached him hesitantly, not sure if she should, or if that's what he wanted. But there was no going back now.

"Hey," she said in a quiet tone. "I wanted to see you before I left."

"I'm glad you did."

"Are you, Jason? Or do you want me to go?" the soft voice that came from her throat was tender, clearly wanting what was best for him. Maybe it was because she was doing what she thought was best for her, and for them in a way, she felt she should she ask what he wanted.

"I'm always glad to see you. You can stay, or you can go. Whatever's easiest for you, or what what you want to do."

"You alway tell me to do what's easy for me. I'm the one leaving you behind."

"You're not. You're doing what you need to do, and I don't think of it as leaving me behind. You're going to Greece, and I'm going to stay here. And I know this is hard for both of us, so it's not fair for me to just care about what I want." He paused for a moment, breathing deeply. "I love you, and I want you to be happy. If this is what you need to do in order for that to happen, then that's what I want."

I don't need eyes to see
The love you bring to me
No matter what I go
And I know that you'll be there
Forevermore a part of me
You're everwhere

"I love you too, Jason. And I want you to be happy." Courtney let out a small sign. "That's why I wanted to talk to you before I left."

He was finally able to look into her blue eyes, and he saw the pooling of tears well up in them. She brushed them away. "I don't want you too wait around for me, hoping that I'll come back. It's not fair to you, so please..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but he knew what she was saying. "I promise. No bitter feelings, no sadness, okay? Just love, Courtney. It's a part of life." He cleared his throat slightly. "But, I won't forget you. That's something I refuse to do. I don't want us to forget anything we've had, okay?"

"Okay. I couldn't forget you, but okay."

She felt him cup her face in his hands, and kiss her lips tenderly. "Goodbye"

"Goodbye, Jason"

I'll make a wish for you
And hope it will come true
That life will just be kind
To such a gentle mind

If you lose your way
Think back on yesterday
Remember me this way

Courtney brushed her fingers along his cheek softly, almost as if she was making sure he was real. She removed her fingers as she turned and walked away. They'd said goodbye, and it was time for her to go.

And Jason turned to look back out at the point. She knew because she glanced back, to whisper those words again. "I love you, Jason"

Song Credits to: Remember Me This Way by Vanessa Wiliams