Chapter 11:

“Yes, I followed him to the Port Charles Hotel and then got his room number. This was all yesterday, or two days ago since it’s now 3.”

“What happened last night?”

“I went to his room, but he wasn’t there, so I returned later. Before I reached his room, I spotted him walking down the hall. So I followed him again.” Gabby stopped, not wanting to go on.

Jason waited patiently, understanding how hard this was for her.

“I just kept walking, keeping him in sight. It was dark, but I was so intrigued.” Gabby paused to brush away tears. “Christian disappeared into one of the buildings, so I waited for a few minutes until I entered the one that I thought that he had gone into.” By this point in her story, tears had begun to run down Gabby’s cheeks. The flashback of what happened next filled her mind with horrible images. “And there she was, lying helpless at the bottom of the steps in that filthy warehouse.”

“Gabby, it’s okay,” Jason said, “I’ll find Christian and he will pay.”

“But how could I have been so stupid to trust him?”

“We all did. Don’t worry about that and go see Courtney instead. I’ll make sure that Christian is taken care of.”

~*~

“Jason?” Courtney asked as she woke up.

“He’ll be back,” Sonny told her, “You need to rest.”

“There’s something that you need to know about the baby,” Courtney started to tell him.

“Shh,” Sonny interrupted, “You can tell me later.”

“Ok,” Courtney said smiling weakly, “I need to wait for Jason to come back.”

~*~

Gabby walked into the room to find Sonny keeping watch over Courtney. How could this man who seemed so kind and protective have torn Courtney and Jason apart? Gabby had seen the way that they looked at each in Barcelona. Their eyes were always filled with need, want, hope and mostly passion, but somehow they learned to control it. Gabby laughed to herself, remembering the way their faces had been when Gabby “introduced” them to each other. Only a few minutes into her first conversation with Jason, Gabby had known that Jason was definitely Courtney’s type.

Sonny looked up to the doorway where he had heard a small laugh.

“I was just remembering something,” Gabby said with a smile, “How is she?”

“She’s-Courtney seems exhausted, and the baby is doing well. The nurse just came back in to check on her and all that.”

“That’s good. So you’re Sonny, her older brother?”

“The one and only. And you’re Gabriella, the roommate?”

“Yup. We were good friends back in Atlantic City and happened to meet in California.”

“It’s good that Courtney found a friend in California,” Sonny said, “I’ll go find my wife and see if she needs anything.”

“Ok. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

~*~

Carly stepped out of the elevator, returning from checking on Michael, just as Jason was about to step in. “Whoa, you’re not going anywhere until after we have a little talk,” she said, grabbing his arm.

“Carly, can we do this later?”

“No.” Jason rolled his eyes as Carly led him to a corner with 2 chairs. “Sit.”

“What do you want?” Jason asked.

“Is the baby yours?” Carly wasn’t going to waste any time.

Jason rubbed his hands on his face, deciding how to reply. “Do you ever stay out my business?”

Carly smiled as she responded, “No.” Growing more serious, she said, “Sonny doesn’t even consider you a possibility.”

“I know,” Jason said.

“So it is your baby?” Carly asked. All she needed for an answer was the look that Jason gave her.

“He’s going to be angry,” Jason stated.

“When you tell him that you and Courtney were together in Barcelona?” Carly finished.

“How did you-”

“I know you, Jason. You can’t hide anything from me.” Jason raised his eyebrows and Carly swatted his face, “and besides, how else would Gabby have immediately recognized you?”

“I don’t want you to think that Courtney and I planned to meet in Barcelona. It was an accident, and what happened happened. I can’t change that and I don’t regret it. Carly, I have business to take care of. I’ll see you later.”

“Ok. Wait, Jason,” Carly said.

“Yes?”

“I’m happy for you and Courtney, but I’m worried about-”

“Don’t worry, Carly,” Jason replied, “I’m happy for us too.”

~*~

Christian sat in the office in the early hours of the morning. His boss, a tall dark-haired man, glared at him from across the table. “What the hell happened?”

Christian shook his head because he was wondering the same thing too. “I don’t know. I dragged Courtney to the warehouse and tied her up in the little room at the top of the stairs and I guess she fell asleep because she finally stopped struggling. I left her there with a guard and returned to my room at the hotel, preparing to make the phone call to Sonny Corinthos.”

“Which guard did you leave her with?” The boss demanded to know.

“Uh,” Christian replied, “I think it was Danny.”

“I knew he wasn’t to be trusted,” the boss said as he threw a glass across the room.

“I’m sorry sir. I returned to the warehouse before calling Corinthos, since I wanted to make the call from here. When I got here, everything was dark and quiet and next thing I know, there were sirens wailing all over the place and from what I could see from the window up here, Courtney was wheeled away on a stretcher.”

“Have you seen Danny since?”

“Nope. I went to check out the room after all the people had cleared out, and it was empty.”

“Damn! This is the second time that our plans to kidnap Sonny’s sister have gone wrong,” the boss grumbled.

~*~

Jason parked his motorcycle away from the warehouse, not wishing for anyone to notice him. He patted the pocket of his leather jacket where his gun remained hidden. Walking through the shadows, Jason hoped that this was the place where Gabby had found Courtney. He pictured Courtney in his mind and how beautiful she had looked despite the horrific night that she had had. Christian and whoever he was working with had tried to hurt Courtney and his baby, so they were going to die. There was no question about it in Jason’s mind.

Entering the large warehouse, Jason looked around for the stairs that Gabby had described. He walked toward them, careful not to touch anything that would preserve his fingerprints. He crept up the stairs and quietly turned the knob to the first room that appeared. He opened the door silently, and noticed a chair in the center of the room. Upon closer inspection, Jason realized that there were cords there. Someone had probably tied Courtney up after kidnapping her. What Jason didn’t understand was why Courtney hadn’t tried harder to fight back. She was a strong woman and he knew that. “Perhaps she trusted Christian and couldn’t get out when she realized his true motives,” he thought.

Shaking his head, he continued to search for more clues.

~*~

“Thank you,” Courtney said to Gabby who was sitting next to her bed, “You saved my life.”

Gabby smiled, glad that her friend was awake and doing well. “I couldn’t let you die because Jason would have probably killed me.”

Courtney laughed, her eyes containing a little sparkle. “Yes, he might have. How did you get here anyway?”

“I followed you,” Gabby said, “Well, I knew you’d be coming here after I read your note. I couldn’t let you deal with everything on your own. So how are you and the baby?”

“We’re doing great,” Courtney responded as she patted her stomach, “The doctor wants to do an ultrasound to make sure that everything looks okay.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but did you tell Jason that...”

“Yes. And he seemed happy.”

“That’s wonderful!” Gabby said.

“I’m just not sure how my brother is going to react when I tell him that Jason is the father of my child,” Courtney continued, her voice getting softer.

“Jason will be there every step of the way,” Gabby reassured her friend, “I can see it in his eyes.”

Courtney squeezed Gabby’s hand and asked, “Can you get me a glass of that orange juice over there? Fluids are supposed to be good for the baby.”

“Of course.”

“Hey!” Carly said as she entered the room where Courtney was, “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Courtney replied, “Did you meet Gabby? My roommate?”

“Well, not officially,” Carly responded as she stuck her hand out to Gabby.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” Gabby said.

“Well, I hope that they were good things!”

“Of course,” Courtney teased, “I’m always telling Gabby about how you always eavesdrop when you’re not supposed to and you stick your nose into other people’s business.”

Carly giggled as she listened to Courtney who sounded ten times better than she had before.

~*~

Jason stepped out of the dark room, in time to hear hushed voices coming down the hallway. He stepped behind the door before anyone spotted him, and listened intently.

“I already told you! I went to her hotel room again and convinced her to follow me here. I gave her some story about how I had some important information for her. Once we got here, I knocked her out when she tried to run and then I tied her to the chair,” Christian said into his cell phone, his voice only a little above a whisper, “I don’t know what happened to Danny, but he’s a dead bastard when I find him.”

Jason clinched his fists as he recognized the voice as Christian’s. Gabby had been telling the truth. Jason fought the urge to jump out and slam Christian against the wall, but he wanted to find out more.

“I’m here, right now, seeing if I can figure out what the hell happened,” Christian said. He paused, listening to the response, “Ok. I’ll be right over.” Christian began to walk toward the stairs, but was stopped by a hand that reached out and grabbed him around the throat.

“You made a mistake,” Jason said calmly, “When you dared to touch Courtney.”

Christian couldn’t reply as the hand around his neck was much too tight.

“You tell me who you’re working with,” Jason threatened as he pulled his gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Christian’s head.

Christian shook his head and glared at Jason Morgan, “I would never give you the satisfaction.”

“Then I guess I’m going to have to-” A shot rang out and a body fell to the floor before Jason could finish his words.

~*~

A/N: Honest opinions, PLEASE! I need to know whether I should continue this story or not because I’m starting to get bored with it. Maybe I’ve been on the computer too long today or something... Oh and another thing, now do you understand: a) why Gabby went to PC b) how Courtney got kidnapped c) how Gabby found Courtney, or do I need to do more clarifying? Sorry about the cliff hanger *malicious grin*