Where I Belong

Chapter Nine

© 2004

When Jason woke the next morning, he was once again alone. He looked around his room, but Courtney was no where in sight. He pulled on his boxer briefs and headed downstairs. Jason was half way down when he heard someone in the kitchen. When he rounded the corner, he saw Courtney making them breakfast. He crossed his arms over his broad chest as he leaned against the door frame, a smile on his handsome face as he watched her maneuver around his kitchen. It didn’t take her long to realize he was there.

“You gonna stand there all morning, or will you pour us some orange juice and take our glasses to the table?” she asked without even looking up from her frying pan.

“Orange juice?” he asked as he opened the refrigerator door. “I don’t remember buying any orange juice. Actually I don’t remember having anything to fix breakfast with in my apartment period.”

“You didn’t have anything. I got up and went to the store while you were sleeping.”

“You didn’t have to do that Courtney.”

“I wanted to,” she turned to him with a sweet smile. “Good morning Jason.” As he looked down into her beautiful face, he felt his heart practically skip a beat. She was the most amazing person he’d ever met. He reached up to gently brush a strand of hair from her face, his finger tracing her brow. As if he were being pulled in by a force he couldn’t control, his lips found hers in a soft kiss. He gave her a smile as he pulled away.

“Good morning.” Courtney turned her attention back to the breakfast she was cooking for them.

“Why don’t you take our glasses to the bar, and I’ll bring our plates.” Jason did as he was told, pouring them both a glass of orange juice, and headed over to the breakfast bar. Courtney followed him with two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

“Looks great.”

“It’s not much, but I wanted to make sure you got some food in your stomach before you start your day.” She never ceased to amaze him. They sat down and began to consume the breakfast she made.

“So,” he asked after a mouthful of eggs. “Do you have to work today?”

She nodded, “Of course, but I don’t have to go in until the lunch shift. That gives me plenty of time to get back to Kelly’s and shower before work.”

“You know what’s funny?” he asked with a chuckle.

“What?”

“For the first time since my accident I wish I didn’t have to work tonight. I’m going to miss not seeing you.”

Courtney was taken aback by his sweet words. She never expected him to say that, “Me too.”

“What’s your schedule like tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure. Bobbie hadn’t put up the new schedule before I left work yesterday.”

“If you’re off tomorrow night, maybe we could have dinner again.”

“I’d like that very much,” she smiled as she took sip of her orange juice. Jason wanted to approach the subject of her father, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her.

“Remember when you told me that you came to Port Charles because you were looking for your father?”

“Yeah.”

“I have some very good, very reliable sources. I’d like to help you find him.” Jason wasn’t sure what Courtney was thinking at first. Suddenly a bright, beautiful smile spread across her face.

“Really?” Jason couldn’t help but smile in return.

“Yes really. I just need you to get me whatever information you have on him and I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“This means so much to me Jason. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll give it a try.”

“I know. I still want to thank you. You’re too good to be true.” Jason laughed harder than he had in years.

“That’s the first time anyone has said that to me.”

Courtney giggled, “Well they just don’t know the real you.”

“And you do?”

“Yes. The real Jason is sitting here across from me offering his help, the real Jason made love to me last night, the real Jason is the most amazing man I’ve ever met.” Courtney blushed slightly as she looked down at her plate. Jason was once again take aback by her. He felt his heart swell with pride that a woman like her could possibly feel that way for him.

“I never thought I’d ever care how anyone saw me, but ever since I met you I find myself truly wanting to be the person you see when you look at me.”

“You don’t have to try to be that person Jason. You already are.” Their conversation was interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone. Jason cursed under his breath, but answered it.

“Yeah.”

“Jason, I need you to come over as soon as possible.” Sonny said, in his usual calm voice.

Jason sighed, “I just have to take a quick shower. I’ll be over in twenty.”

“Alright. See you then.”

“Bye.” Jason hung up the phone and turned to Courtney. “That was Sonny. He needs to see me.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll just clean up here and I’ll let myself out.” she said as if the interruption didn’t phase her in the least.

“You’re not upset?”

“Why would I be? Sonny’s your boss right?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t help it if your boss needs you unexpectedly.”

“Well, Sonny needs me a lot more often than most bosses do.”

“I’m sure I can handle it,” she smiled up at Jason. He leaned down to kiss her lips softly.

“I need to jump in the shower before I head over.” He took the stairs two at a time and headed to the bathroom. Ten minutes later he was dressed and heading down the stairs. He found Courtney drying the last of that morning’s breakfast dishes. Jason’s arms wrapped around her waist from behind, “Thank you for breakfast.”

“You’re very welcome. Will you stop by Kelly’s this afternoon?”

“Definitely. If you have time to gather the information on your father, I’ll pick it up then.”

“Okay,” she turned around in his arms, pulling him down for a sweet kiss. She sighed contently as she finally pulled away, “You better go before we start something that can’t be finished.” Jason smiled.

“We’ll pick up with that later. You can count on it.” he called out over his shoulder as he headed across the hall. He knocked twice before entering. He found Sonny sitting on the couch watching some terribly annoying cartoon with Michael.

‘Who lives in a pineapple under the sea…..SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!’ the voice on the TV sang out. Sonny looked like he was being tortured. He practically jumped for joy when Jason walked in. Jason had to laugh.

“Jason!” he turned to Michael. “Why don’t you go up to your room to finish watching SpongeRob.”

Michael rolled his eyes, “It’s SpongeBob Daddy.”

“Isn’t that what I said?”

“No, you said SpongeRob.” Michael said as he climbed the stairs to his room. Sonny laughed softly as he turned to Jason.

“Thanks for coming so soon. If I had to watch another half hour of that stupid cartoon I might have to pull my gun out and put myself out of my misery.”

“That’s okay. I was just finishing breakfast with Courtney when you called.”

“Oh,” a sly smile spread across Sonny’s handsome face. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“We were eating breakfast Sonny. You didn’t interrupt much.”

“So I take it last night went well.”

“Very well. The more time I spend with her, the more I want to be around her. It’s so strange what I’m feeling Sonny. I don’t remember ever feeling this way for anyone. I don’t think what I felt for Robin came close to what I’m feeling for Courtney.”

“It’s called love man. Welcome to my world.”

“She told me she came to Port Charles to find her father. I’m going to use some of our contacts to try to help her locate him.”

Sonny nodded, “Okay. Did she give you any information on him?”

“Not yet. I told her I’d stop by Kelly’s later. She’s going to have the information for me then.”

“Good. You can use any of our sources necessary to help her.”

“Thanks Sonny.” Their conversation then turned to business.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Courtney hummed to herself as she wiped down one of the tables after their busy lunch customers. She’d never been so happy in her life. She had a job she liked, found great friends, but most of all she had fallen in love with the most amazing man she’d ever known. She knew she hadn’t known Jason very long, but every ounce of her being was telling her that what they had with each other was real. Courtney was still thinking about their amazing night together when Carly walked in. All it took was one look at Courtney for her to know exactly what had happened last night. She grinned as she sat down at the table she had just finished cleaning.

“I take it from that smile on your face things went well last night,” she said as she took her coat off and lay it across one of the other chairs.

She blushed, “Oh Carly. It was so amazing. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I feel so happy and alive.”

“You’re in love aren’t you?”

She nodded slowly, “Do you think it’s stupid for me to feel this way for him when we haven’t known each other that long?”

“Of course not. I’m a firm believer in love at first sight. Sometimes it’s just right and it happens the moment your eyes meet.” She paused for a moment, “Of course I’ve only experienced lust at first sight, but hey if that can happen why can’t love?”

Courtney laughed, “He’s going to try to help me locate my father.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’s stopping by later to pick up all the information I have.”

“Good. I hope he finds him for you.”

“Thanks Carly.” She stayed and talked with her for a while longer before she left to pick up Michael. About an hour later, Jason walked in. Courtney was at the counter pouring another cup of coffee for one of the customers. The moment the door opened, her eyes met his from across the room. A huge smile spread across her beautiful face when she saw him. “Jason,” she said as she came around the counter to give him a big hug and a quick kiss. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he said before realizing it. He realized at that very moment what he felt for her. Jason Morgan was in love. “How’s your day been?”

“Busy. What about yours?”

“Business as usual. Did you get the information on your father?”

“Yeah,” Courtney went back around the counter to get the envelope that had the information Jason would need. “All I had was an old address, an old picture, and his name.” Jason took the envelope from her but he didn’t open it.

“Okay, well we’ll see what we can come up with.”

“Do you still have to work tonight?”

“Yeah. Did you find out your schedule for tomorrow?”

“I have to work breakfast shift tomorrow, but I’ll be free the rest of the day.”

“I’ll come by tomorrow morning and we’ll make plans okay?”

Courtney smiled, “Okay. Will you call me later tonight?”

“I’ll try, but sometimes I don’t have a chance when I work late.”

“Well, if you can give me a call.”

He leaned across the counter and kissed her lips, “I will. See you later.”

“Bye Jason.” she called out as he left Kelly’s. She wore the smile of a woman in love for the rest of the afternoon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jason still hadn’t opened the envelope by the time he got back to Sonny’s. They discussed some business first, then Sonny brought up the subject of Courtney’s father.

“Is that the information,” he asked, gesturing towards the envelope in his hands.

“Yeah. It’s not much, just an old address, photo, and a name.”

“Have you even looked at it yet?”

“No, not yet. Let’s see what we have,” Jason picked up the envelope and pulled out the contents. The moment his eyes locked on the photograph he froze. “Oh my God…..”

Where I Belong

Chapter Ten

© 2004

Sonny frowned in confusion at the shocked look on Jason’s face, “What is it?” Jason tore his eyes away from the photo, his blue eyes giving no clues to help Sonny figure out what had caused Jason to react in such a way. “Are you going to stand there holding that picture with your mouth open all day, or are you going to show it to me?” Sonny reached over and took the picture from Jason’s hand. The moment his eyes locked on the man in the picture, Sonny felt as though someone had knocked the breath out of him. He staggered back a few steps, quickly blinking his eyes to see if they were playing tricks on him. “It’s….it’s…” he was mumbling.

“He’s your father too,” Jason whispered softly.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mike walked into Kelly’s late that afternoon. He sat down at the counter and waited for someone to take his order. Penny walked up to him with a smile.

“What can I get for you?”

“Hi, Penny.” he smiled at the young woman. “I’ll take a coffee to go.”

“Sure thing.” she said as she poured his cup of coffee for him. He was about to turn to leave when the sound of laughter caught his attention. Mike froze in his tracks, his eyes looking in the direction the laughter had come from. It was then he saw her. All the color drained from his face as he stared at the young woman across the way.

“Janine….” he whispered so low no one could hear him. He continued to watch the young blonde woman as she said her good-byes to the other waitresses and headed upstairs. Mike slowly shook his head, knowing there wasn’t any way he could have really saw who he thought he saw. “Your mind’s playing tricks on you Mike. Get a grip.” he said to himself as he walked out of Kelly’s. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the vision of a girl he once knew out of his mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jason didn’t know how long Sonny stood there staring at the old picture of his father in silence. He could only imagine what was going through Sonny’s mind during that time, when his own mind was reeling from this new revelation. Courtney was Sonny’s half sister. The news did nothing to change the feelings Jason had for her, but he knew it very well may change the way Sonny feels about him having a relationship with Courtney. Their silence was broken when Carly walked in carrying several shopping bags. She smiled brightly at her husband and best friend, but the smile slowly faded from her lips.

“What’s going on? Is Michael okay?”

“Michael is fine. He’s upstairs watching TV.” Jason said. Carly never took her eyes from her husband’s face.

“Talk to me Sonny. You’re scaring me,” she begged as she reached for his arm. Sonny finally looked at her, his eyes beginning to well with tears he had been holding onto.

“Jason….” he began to say, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Jason told Courtney that he’d help her search for her father.”

“Okay…..is that why you’re so upset?”

He ignored her question, “She gave him what little information she had on him. All she had was an old address, an old picture, and his name.” Sonny took a deep breath, then handed his wife the picture he had been looking at for so long. Carly’s brown eyes grew huge as she stared at the picture. “Apparently Courtney and I have the same father.” Tears began to stream slowly down Sonny’s cheeks as he pulled Carly tightly against his chest.

“Oh Sonny,” was all she could say as she held onto her husband. Her eyes met Jason’s, but she couldn’t read him to figure out how he was taking the news. After a few moments, Sonny pulled away, wiping his tears. “So what happens now?”

Sonny sighed, “We need to get Mike over here. He has a lot of explaining to do.”

“What about Courtney?” Jason asked.

Sonny looked up at Jason, “Out of all the women in Port Charles, you would have to go and fall in love with my sister.” Sonny laughed softly, “You know how protective I am of my family. I’ve always said I don’t want my business to touch them, so they will remain safe. I can’t explain this, but from the moment I met Courtney I felt a strong bond towards her. I didn’t know where it come from, but it was there none the less. She’s my little sister Jason. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Neither do I Sonny…” Jason began but Sonny cut him off.

“With that being said, I know I can’t make you fall out of love with her anymore than I can make her fall out of love with you. I also know that if I tried it would all have been in vain. Some things are just too powerful for even me to change,” he smiled. “All I ask is that you take care of my sister and you do everything in your power to keep her safe the way you keep Carly and Michael safe for me.”

“I promise Sonny.” Sonny nodded slowly, knowing Jason would die before breaking that promise.

“Should we call Courtney over so we can tell her?” Carly asked.

“No, I think we should get both Mike and Courtney here. Then we can reveal everything to them both, and Courtney and I will finally get our questions answered.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Courtney was a little disappointed when she didn’t hear from Jason the night before, but she tried not to let it bother her too much. She knew he had told her he probably wouldn’t be able to call her, and she believed him. She had just finished putting on a fresh pot of coffee when Jason walked in. She grinned as she pulled him in for a hug and a quick kiss.

“Good morning.”

“It is now,” he smiled down at her. He couldn’t believe how much he had missed her, even though it had been less than 24 hours since he’d last saw her.

“How was work last night?”

“Good. Nothing unusual. Has it been busy this morning?”

Courtney rolled her eyes, “This morning has been insane. It just died down about half an hour ago. That’s okay though. The tips are great.” She smiled up at him, “So what should we do tonight?”

“I was thinking we could have dinner with Sonny and Carly. Is that okay with you?”

“Oh, okay,” she said, a little disappointed that he wanted to spend time with Sonny and Carly instead of alone time with her.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course,” she smiled. “Dinner with Sonny and Carly sounds like fun.”

Jason looked down for a moment, then looked back up at her. “Tonight we’ll have some news to tell you.” Courtney looked up at him confused.

“Can’t you tell me now?”

“No. You’ll have to wait,” he smiled down at her, softly touching her cheek. “I’ll see you tonight around seven okay?”

“Okay. I’ll meet you there.” Jason leaned in to kiss her once more, then he was gone. Courtney couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of news Jason had to tell her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mike was surprised when Carly called him and invited him over for dinner. Ever since he came back into Sonny’s life, he’s wanted desperately to be a part of his son’s family. Sonny always kept him at arms length, but Mike really couldn’t blame him for it. He had abandoned Sonny and his mother when they needed him most, but he swore he’d spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to him.
At seven sharp, Mike knocked on their penthouse door. He was greeted by Carly welcomed him with a smile and a hug.

“I’m glad you came Mike.”

“Thank you for inviting me Carly. I’m sure it took a little convincing for you to get Sonny to agree to it.”

Carly laughed, “Actually it was his idea.”

“His idea…” he let his words trail off as he looked around his son’s apartment. Sonny was talking with Jason and some other woman. The other woman laughed, and Mike instantly knew it was the same woman he saw at Kelly’s the day before.

“Ah, there you are” Sonny smiled over at his father who was pale as a ghost. “I’m glad you could join us.”

“Tha….thank you for inviting me,” was all he could manage to say. Sonny began to lead him over to Courtney and Jason.

“There’s someone I want you to meet. This lovely young lady is Courtney Matthews. Courtney, this is Michael Corbin….my father, or should I say ‘OUR’ father.” The moment Courtney’s eyes locked with Mike’s everything went black as she fainted.
Ten minutes later, Courtney was finally starting to wake up.

“Courtney….Courtney wake up,” she heard Jason saying to her. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Jason, Carly, Sonny, and…..her father standing over her with worry in their eyes. Suddenly everything came back to her.

“Are you okay sweetie?” Carly asked as Courtney tried to sit up.

“I’m fine,” she placed her hand against her forehead for a moment to try to keep herself from fainting again.

“I’m sorry Courtney. I shouldn’t have introduced you two that way. It was too much of a shock for you,” Sonny apologized.

“It’s okay Sonny, really. I’m fine.” she smiled softly, placing her hand over his. He looked down at her, relief written all over his face. “I just can’t believe this is really happening.”

“When Jason showed me that old picture you had I shocked to say the least. I asked Mike over because I knew we both had questions only he could answer.” Courtney nodded. She looked over at Mike with a shaky smile.

“Did you know about me?” she asked.

Mike nodded slowly, “I had heard rumors around the casinos that Janine was pregnant, but I never knew for certain.”

Tears began to well in her eyes, “Did you love Mom?”

“Yes,” his voice cracked. “I loved her very much.”

“Then what happened? Why didn’t you two stay together?”

Mike looked away ashamed, “I don’t know if you mother ever told you this, but I had a bad gambling problem back then. She had given me an ultimatum. Either I quit gambling, or I’d lose her forever. At the time my addiction to gambling was so bad, I just couldn’t stop. So, she left me. She never told me about you.”

“I can vouch for his gambling story Courtney. That’s why my mother left him too. The only difference is, he knew about me. He just never tried to see me.” Sonny looked over at Mike with such sad eyes.

Mike looked back and forth between his two children. Both held so much pain inside, pain that he had caused by his absence. He wished more than anything he could take that pain away, but he didn’t know what he could possibly say or do to even ease it for them. “I can’t undo the past no matter how much I want to. If I could take away the pain I’ve caused I would, but I can’t. I’ve done so much in my life that I regret, but I could never regret creating either one of you. You were both created out of the love I had with your mother’s. I’m in no way a perfect man, but I’m human. I make my mistakes and I try hard to make up for the wrongs I’ve done. I just wish I knew what to say to help you both.” Mike lowered his head as he let his tears fall. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the beautiful daughter he never knew staring down at him, tears streaming down her cheeks as well. Mike placed his hand over hers and smiled up at her, hoping that she understood and she would someday forgive him.

“I’m not quite sure what to think right now,” Courtney began. “All I do know is I’d like to get to know you better. Then maybe we can finally be a real family.”

“We are,” Sonny whispered as he stood beside his sister, putting his arm around her shoulders. He held his hand out to his father, who took it without hesitation. “We are a family, now and forever.”

Where I Belong

Epilogue

© 2004

~*~*~*~Six Years Later~*~*~*~

“Michael, go help your mother and Aunt Courtney bring the food out.” Sonny said to his thirteen year old son. Michael rolled his eyes in frustration.

“But Dad, I was just starting to get the hang of this game,” he argued, not wanting to stop playing the new game he had gotten earlier that morning for Christmas.

“What did I say?” Sonny said sternly, then laughed as Michael made his way to the kitchen with a frown on his face. “Kids.”

“Tell me about it,” Jason laughed. “At least my kids aren't teenagers yet.”

“Just wait,” Sonny laughed. “Pretty soon Morgan, Katie, and Ashlyn will be interested in boys. Our girls are beautiful Jason. We’re going to have a hard time I know we are.”

Jason looked over at his four year old twin girls Kaitlyn and Ashlyn who were playing dolls with Sonny’s five year old daughter Morgan. He smiled over at his daughters, feeling so much pride and joy at the sight of them. Although he knew Sonny was right about what was to come, Jason welcomed the challenges ahead. He wouldn’t change anything about his life. He was brought from his thoughts when he saw his wife enter the room. She sat the food she was carrying down on the table, then looked over at Jason with a big smile, her hand rubbing her rounding belly with affection. Jason walked over to her and gave her a kiss.

“I love you Mrs. Morgan.”

“I love you back,” she smiled as she looked around the room at her family. Sonny was over at the table stealing bits of ham, with Carly slapping his hands away. Michael was back to playing his video game, somehow completely ignoring his little sister and cousins who had begun to run around the room playing a game of tag. Mike, who both she and Sonny had finally forgiven, sat over on the couch talking with her Uncle Vincent. Courtney Matthews-Morgan finally had everything she had ever wanted. She finally found somewhere she belonged.