Journey Online

Gabby studied Courtney’s lifeless face. Why was Courtney here? Was she going to be all right? “The ambulance will be here soon,” she whispered. Gabby looked around, realizing that no one would be able to find her, huddled alone in a dark corner. Reluctantly, she left Courtney, knowing it was best not to move her. She looked around for a light switch. There had to be one somewhere! Her hand hit a bump in the wall, which she flipped upwards. Light flooded into the room, hurting Gabby’s eyes. She quickly shut the light off, not wanting to see the extent of Courtney’s injuries. Gabby began to flip the light every few minutes, hoping to attract the attention of the ambulance. The familiar wailing of a siren interrupted her thoughts.

The man sat in a small room at the top of a building, planning his next move against Sonny Corinthos, when a light went on in the building next door. He was surprised because the boss had just left and wasn’t the young blonde supposed to be tied up?

Hurrying out of the building, the man swore as he realized that whoever it was in the building was flickering the lights repeatedly, drawing far more attention to the hide-out than he wanted. Out of the still air came a piercing siren. “Shit! What the hell is going on?”

Courtney had been placed on a stretched and was being loaded into the ambulance. Gabby begged to be allowed to ride with them. Courtney needed her. After all, wasn’t that why Gabby had come to Port Charles? Gabby held Courtney’s hands, allowing her quiet sobbing to continue. Nothing at all made sense. Images, memories, past conversations, filled her mind in no particular order as she struggled to remember everything. It was all a jumbled mess, a puzzle that didn’t quite fit together correctly. After the short ride to General Hospital, the doctors swarmed around Courtney, hooking her up to all kinds of machines.

Gabby looked up, “Yes?”

“Can you give us any details as to what happened?”

“I don’t know!” Gabby said, wishing that she did. “She was just lying there, not moving, when I found her.”

“Are you an immediate family member?”

“No,” Gabby responded, brushing away tears, “Her roommate from California.”

“Is there anyone that we should contact? If she needs surgery, we’ll need approval.”

“I don’t remember,” Gabby whispered, allowing the shock of seeing her best friend almost dead to take over her mind. “We don’t live here.”

The nurse stopped questioning her, recognizing that Gabby needed to rest, “You’ll just need to wait here.”

“I’ll send someone over to talk to you.”

“Ok.” Gabby found a seat, her mind racing. Her crying had stopped, but she still couldn’t think clearly. She faintly heard the kind nurse asking someone to calm her down and she if she could piece together what had happened.

“Hello. I’m Bobbie.” Gabby didn’t reply. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Gabby sniffled, her thoughts slowly coming back.

“The nurse told me that your friend will probably be okay if she stays in the hospital for a few days. Surgery is probably not necessary.”

“I was following him,” Gabby began, ignoring Bobbie’s remarks, “I didn’t know where I was. Everything looked so different from California. I went to see where the stairs led. And there she was, lying at the bottom of the stairs.”

The woman with long red hair put her arms around Gabby, offering some comfort. “Is there a family we can reach?”

Gabby searched her brain for a name. “Carly,” she whispered, “or Jason. Jason Morgan.”

Bobbie stared at the young brunette. “Carly Corinthos? Jason Morgan?” The girl couldn’t be serious. Bobbie looked at the girl’s face and knew that she wasn’t lying. Bobbie went to the desk and dialed her daughter’s cell number.

“What are you talking about?” Jason asked Carly, his eyes questioning. “Courtney’s been fine in California.”

“But.” Carly didn’t finish. Courtney would never forgive her for telling Jason. “You don’t understand, Jason.”

“What is there to understand? She left. She started a new life away from me and Sonny and our life so that she would be safe.”

“But what if she decided to come back?” Carly said quietly.

Jason rubbed his hands on his face, looking into Carly’s eyes, trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind her words. The silence was broken by a *ring ring*

“That’s mine,” Carly said. She dug her phone out of the jacket she had thrown on before coming over to Jason’s. “Hello?”

“Carly, it’s Mom.”

“Hey, is everything all right, mom? It’s late.”

“Listen, I’m at the hospital and they just brought in two girls from California. The one who’s not hurt isn’t quite sure what happened. The only thing I’ve been able to get out of her is that the blonde who’s in critical condition is connected to you and Jason.”

“Oh my god!” Carly whispered, “What’s her name?”

“Gabriella? Oh god! Mom, that’s the name of Courtney’s roommate. Oh my god.”

Jason tried to figure out what was going on. How did Bobbie know about Gabby and what was Carly so concerned about?

“Jason’s here with me. We’ll be over soon.”

“Ok, I’ll try to get more information.”

Carly hung up and told Jason, “We’re going to the hospital right now.”

“What is going on?” Jason asked.

Carly’s eyes filled with tears, as she feared the worst. “I don’t know. Bobbie said that they brought in two girls from California. One of the them, a blonde, is seriously injured and the other, named Gabby, asked for me or you.”

A blonde and Gabby? Jason forgot everything else as he grabbed Carly and ran out of the penthouse.

“I’ve reached Jason and Carly,” Bobbie told Gabby, “They’re on their way.”

Gabby felt a bit relieved, knowing that Jason would always take care of Courtney. Her mind had rested long enough and she was now able to recall everything that had happened since she’d boarding the plane to Port Charles.

“I think I’ll be ok now,” Gabby said, “I’m glad you reached them so quickly. Do you need me to fill out any forms?”

“Yes, actually we do. And we should get you into a room where a doctor can check you out.” Bobbie handed the girl the forms, not pressing her for more information. As Gabby filled out the forms, a doctor approached her.

“We’re not going to need to do surgery, but we don’t have the patient’s name or anything. Any information you can give us would help.”

“Her name is Courtney Matthews. She’s twenty-three. I’m Gabriella, we’re good friends.”

“Does she have any medical records on file?”

“She may. She used to live her, but moved to California a few months ago.”

“Are there any serious medical complications that we should be aware of?”

Suddenly, Gabby remembered the reason that she had known that Courtney was returning to Port Charles. “Yes.”

Jason jumped out of the car with Carly close behind. It had to be Courtney, nothing else made sense. “How did Carly know that she was in trouble?” Jason repeatedly wondered. “Why is she in Port Charles?”

He ran into the lobby and into the elevator, his thoughts focused only on one thing: Courtney and how perfect she was. “She has to be okay,” he told himself.

Carly panted, desperately trying to keep up with Jason. She was never going to forgive herself for this one. Why hadn’t she told Jason that Courtney was in town? The elevator doors opened and Jason and Carly stepped out in time to catch Gabby’s words to the doctor.

“She’s pregnant.”

A/N: God, I know. Not only was this chapter short, but I’m turning this into every other story on the board, but I swear I still have a few twists in mind…. This is not turning into a pregnancy story, it’s turning into a story with a pregnancy involved. Maybe I’ll have Chapter 10 up today, but who knows?

“She’s pregnant.” The words seemed to echo through Jason’s mind as he realized who the speaker was. Carly stood in the background, unable to comprehend the woman’s words. She must be talking about Courtney.

“Courtney must have come to tell me about the baby,” Carly said.

“You knew she was in town?” Jason asked with disbelief.

“I tried to tell you,” Carly replied, “But she made me promise not to. I was worried when she called to cancel our plans to meet. That’s why I was scared. I told you something was going to happen!” Carly began to cry as she explained herself to Jason.

Jason reached out to Carly and took her into his arms, comforting her. “It’s ok,” he said, “It’s not your fault.”

Gabby watched as Jason hugged Carly, telling her that everything would be all right. “Jason,” Gabby said.

“Gabby, what happened?” Jason asked her.

Carly was confused. If that was Gabby, Courtney’s roommate, how did Jason recognize her?

“I’m so glad that you came!” Gabby told him, “I didn’t know what to do. Please, you have to help her.”

“I will,” Jason replied. He turned toward the doctor who stood next to Gabby, “Is she going to be okay?”

The doctor processed the information that she had just received from Gabby before replying. “If my patient, Courtney, is pregnant, there’s a strong chance that she’ll lose the baby.”

Jason’s heart stopped at the thought of losing Courtney, or what about the baby?

“What the hell is going on here?” Sonny yelled as he walked through the elevator doors. He had taken one look at Jason and Carly’s faces and knew that something was terribly off. “Marco told me that you’d run off to the hospital in the middle of the night.”

“It’s Courtney,” Gabby said quietly, “and I guess you’re her brother?”

Sony didn’t know what to say. Why was his baby sister in General Hospital, far away from the new life that was supposed to keep her safe? Sonny narrowed his eyes, looking at the doctor. “How bad is it?”

“Bad. Apparently, she took a tumble down a flight of stairs. It’s a good thing that her friend here found her before it was too late.”

“Is there anything that you can do?”

“For now we need to monitor her condition, but as I said, she will probably lose the baby.”

“Excuse me?” Sonny asked, “Baby?”

“She’s pregnant,” Carly interrupted, “I think she came back to tell us.”

“I know she did,” Gabby said.

“I found the pregnancy test and knew that she had come to Port Charles.”

Jason looked at Sonny’s face, his expression full of concern and confusion. “Courtney’s a fighter and I know her baby will be too,” Jason told his best friend, “All we can do now is wait.” So the four of them found chairs and sat in silence.

Sonny prayed for his sister, asking God to protect her, as he had tried so hard to do.

Gabby prayed for her roommate, asking God to give her the strength to get through the night.

Carly prayed for her friend, asking God to keep her alive because they all needed her.

Jason prayed for the woman that he loved and the baby that he knew in his heart was his, asking God to allow them to be there for him as his family.

Sonny jumped up from the uncomfortable chair in the waiting room as soon as he spotted to the doctor assigned to Courtney walk down the hall.

“We have been successful in stabilizing her condition,” the doctor said. “The baby appears to be doing fine. These next 24 hours are critical and she can have absolutely no stress. She may have visitors, but it’s difficult for her to speak. Please do not ask about the circumstances of the accident, as this may trigger a relapse in her condition.”

“We understand,” Gabby told the doctor, “How long do we have?”

“As long as you like, but don’t try to carry on a conversation for more than five minutes. Try to keep the visits to one at a time. Oh, and one more thing, she asked to see Carly first. Gabby, you need to go see a doctor and make sure that you're all right.”

“I’m fine,” Gabby reasoned, “I wasn’t hurt at all.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

Carly followed the doctor to a private room at the end of the hall, eager to see Courtney. She walked in and noticed a vast amount of different machines, each hooked up to Courtney’s frail body. Carly sat on a chair at the side of the bed and took Courtney’s hand, allowing her to continue sleeping. Courtney stirred at Carly’s touch, and squeezed her hand.

“Hey, Courtney,” Carly whispered, “I’m here and you’re going to be ok. The baby is fine too.”

Courtney opened her eyes and looked up at Carly’s concerned face. “I was going to tell you about the baby,” Courtney said.

“Shh,” Carly replied, “You don’t need to tell me now. The doctor said that it isn’t good for you to talk much.”

Courtney smiled a little, glad that Carly cared so much. “I knew that you would know what I should do.”

“Just rest, ok?”

“Do you want to see Sonny?”

“Ok.” Carly got up and left the room to find Sonny.

3 minutes later, Sonny walked in, trying to control his emotions as he looked at his sister lying on the bed in the hospital. Sonny held back the questions that he longed to ask and instead said simply, “Hello.”

“I would have told you sooner that I was in Port Charles,” Courtney explained, “but I was scared of how you were going to react.”

“Don’t think about that now,” Sonny cautioned, “It’s not good for you, or the baby.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Sonny reminded her. “You did what you thought was right.”

Courtney closed her eyes as sleep overtook her. She and the needed the rest. Sonny sat and watched her sleep, monitoring her condition. Wasn’t she supposed to be safe by not being near him? How had she gotten pregnant and why didn’t she tell him sooner? He got up from his seat, allowing Jason to sit by Courtney’s side as he and Carly went to get something to eat. Jason longed to take Courtney in his arms, to comfort her as she slept, but he knew that he couldn’t do that. He brushed his fingers along her face, sweeping her blonde hair out of her eyes.

“Sonny?” Courtney asked quietly as she began to awaken.

“No. It’s me, Jason,” he said, “I hope that I didn’t wake you.”

“No, it’s fine,” Courtney told him.

“Are you ok?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.

“I will be. Just a little tired.”

“He or she seems to be doing well.” Courtney closed her eyes once more, trying to envision what her baby was going to look like. Maybe it would have blonde hair like hers, or perhaps a dirty blonde, like Jason’s. Courtney smiled, hoping that the baby would have Jason’s beautiful eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” Jason asked.

“I’m thinking about the baby and what it’s going to look after he or she is born,” Courtney said, “I hope it has your eyes.”

Jason looked at Courtney intensely as he too wondered what her baby would be like. “Courtney, I wanted to tell you that,” Jason said, “I love you. I love you so much.” Jason’s eyes filled with pain as he remembered how he had felt the moment that he had realized Courtney was in danger.

“I love you too,” Courtney replied, recognizing the truth behind Jason’s words.

“Just hold on,” Jason told her, “You and your baby will make it.”

“Our baby,” Courtney said, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

“My baby,” Jason repeated to himself as the reality of the situation sunk in. He was going to be a father. Jason leaned over and planted a small kiss on Courtney’s forehead as she fell asleep once again. Taking her hand, Jason sat in silence, his thoughts turned to Courtney and how much he needed her. With or without the baby, Jason would be there, always protecting and loving her. At the thought of losing her forever, Jason’s eyes filled with unshed tears.

“I can’t live without you Courtney. I can’t do it anymore. All I think about is being with you and how I’ll never find someone who I can love as much as I love you,” Jason told her as she slept.

Sonny stood in the doorway, watching his best friend take care of his little sister. He wasn’t blind to the fact that Courtney and Jason loved each other, but he just couldn’t accept it. Courtney needed to stay as far away from his life as possible and especially with a new baby on the way.

Jason, unaware of Sonny’s presence in the room, tenderly kissed Courtney’s forehead once gain as he got up. “I should go see if Gabby can see her yet,” he thought. Gently placing her hand back on the bed, Jason turned to find Sonny watching him.

“Whoever is responsible for Courtney’s accident will die,” Sonny said. Jason nodded his head in agreement as he headed out of the room. “You should come back.”

“I will,” Jason replied, “I always will.” As he headed down the hallway, Jason almost ran straight into Gabby.

“Hey, how’s Courtney?” Gabby asked.

“She’s doing fine. Sonny’s with her right now, so if you think that you can, I need you to tell me everything that happened.”

“Ok,” Gabby said as she took a deep breath, “I arrived in Port Charles and since I’ve never been here, I was just walking around. I ended up down at the pier, where I saw two men talking.”

“Can you give me a description?”

“The first man, I couldn’t see him, but the second, it was Christian the guy I met in Barcelona.”

Jason stared at her, thoughts flying through his head, “Are you sure it was him?”