Journey Online

She got up three times during the night to check on him. She watched him sleep for a few minutes, making sure he was okay. The third time she stood in his doorway for 15 minutes, memorizing the peaceful _expression on his face. He was so beautiful, so calm. And he was all hers...

Jason heard her come into his room. He sensed her standing in the room, watching him sleep. He stirred and opened his eyes.

"Courtney?" he murmured, his voice groggy with sleep.

"Hi," she whispered. "I'm sorry I woke you. I just wanted to check on you."

"I thought so," he said, sitting up in bed. "Come here." He beckoned her with his hand.

She slowly walked over to him and stood next to the side of the bed. He reached up and playfully grabbed her around the waist, pulling her over his body and onto the bed. She laughed loudly in surprise. He turned onto his side, propping himself up with his elbow and looked at her. He gently brushed her hair out of her face. She smiled up at him.

"You should be resting," she whispered.

"I know," he responded.

She sat up and turned to look out the window at the rising sun. Jason sat up, and reached over to softly put his hand on her upper arm. He ran one had up and down her arm as he tenderly moved her hair away from her shoulder and kissed the base of her neck.

"Stay with me," he whispered.

She nodded in agreement, continuing to stare out the window.

He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her right shoulder. They sat there silently watching the sunrise, simply enjoying each other's company. Jason smiled softly, breathing in her scent. He hadn't felt this at peace for a long time. He felt almost... complete. And it was nice to not have to make conversation. Ever since the accident he always had trouble finding things to say. It had bothered Robin, and Liz. But Courtney didn't seem to mind.

Courtney sighed softly and rested her cheek against his. She hadn't felt this safe, this content in a long time. She felt almost complete, like she had finally found her other half. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. It was so satisfying to be able to sit quietly and just enjoy the silence. AJ never just held her like this; he was always kissing her or talking to her. She never had a moment's peace. But Jason was different. He was different than anyone she had ever known.

"This is nice," she whispered, opening her eyes.

"Yeah," he responded, turning his head slightly to kiss her cheek. "And this is only the beginning."

Sonny woke up and stretched. It was wonderful to be back in his own home, his own bed. He was back where he belonged, with his family. Carly, Michael, Jason, and now Courtney, too. They were a family.

He rolled over and looked at his still sleeping wife. God, she was beautiful. He smiled as she stirred and awoke. He bent to kiss her cheek and she opened her eyes.

"Good morning," he murmured in her ear.

"Mmm," was all Carly managed.

He softly kissed her earlobe, and slowly moved down her neck, covering her with kisses. The door burst open and Sonny looked up in surprise.

"Daddy!!! You're home!!" a small boy yelled as he ran into the room.

"Michael!! Hey!" Sonny said smiling as he pulled his son onto the bed and hugged him.

"Where were you, Daddy? Me and Mommy missed you a lot," Michael told him.

"I know, I'm sorry I had to leave. I had a business meeting in a far away place that I had to go to." Sonny tossled Michael's hair and smiled.

"Is Uncle Jason home too?" Michael asked eagerly.

"Yes he is." Sonny answered.

"Can I go see him? Can he and Aunt Courtney come over for breakfast? Please!!" Michael begged.

Sonny grinned at his son. "Of course they can, if it's okay with mommy."

"Mommy Mommy Mommy!! Can Uncle Jason and Aunt Courtney come over for breakfast?? Please Please please??"

Carly sat up and looked at her son's eager face. "Of course they can," she answered.

"YAY!!!" Michael yelled, throwing his arms up in the air. "Can you call them now??"

"Daddy will call them in a few minutes, ok? Why don't you go get dressed and make your bed while you wait?" Carly told him.

"Okay!!" Michael jumped off the bed and ran out of the room.

Sonny leaned over and kissed his wife. "Looks like we're having company for breakfast," he told her and got out of bed.

The phone rang, interrupting their silence.

"Oh, do you have to get it?" Courtney asked.

"Might be important," Jason told her as he disentangled his arms and reached over to grab the phone. "Yeah?"

"Jase? It's Sonny. Listen, Michael really wants to see you and begged if Uncle Jason and Aunt Courtney could come over for breakfast."

"Oh really? Yeah tell him we'll be right there." Jason said into the phone.

"All right, see you in a few," Sonny said and hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Courtney asked, turning to look at Jason.

"Sonny. Michael wants his Uncle Jason and Aunt Courtney to come over for breakfast." Jason told her, smiling.

"Oh really? That's so cute." Courtney smiled. "I guess we have to get over there then. I'll go get dressed."

"All right, I gotta shower, can you be ready in like 10 minutes?" Jason asked.

Courtney nodded and left the room. Jason stared after her for a moment, then got out of bed to shower.

"Hey Courtney?" he called after getting out of the shower a few minutes later.

"Yeah?" she yelled back from her room.

"Where are all my jeans?" He asked.

"Oh," Courtney said laughing as she walked into his room dressed in jeans and a burgundy shirt. She stopped and stared for a moment. He was standing in the middle of his room in a towel, his hair still wet. "I um, organized all your drawers while you were gone."

Jason laughed. "Okay. Sounds good. So where'd you put all my jeans?"

Courtney walked past him and pulled open the bottom drawer of his dresser. She reached inside and pulled out a pair and tossed it to him.

"Thanks," he said to her as she walked past him to leave again. She turned around and winked at him quickly before she left. He laughed softly and grabbed a shirt so he could get dressed.

The door opened and Jason and Courtney walked in.

"Uncle Jason!!!!" Michael yelled as he ran towards his favorite uncle.

"Hey buddy!" Jason said as he picked up the small boy and swung him around. "How are you?"

"Great!!" yelled Michael. "I'm glad you and dad are home!"

"Well we're glad to be home," Jason told him as he put Michael back on the floor.

"Hi Aunt Courtney!" Michael said when he saw Courtney standing there.

"Hey Michael. It's good to see you." She said to him.

"Guess what?" Michael asked her. "Daddy's making waffles!!"

"Is he really? That's great! I love waffles." Courtney said. "I'm going to go see if he needs any help, ok?"

"Cool!!" said Michael. "He's in the kitchen."

"Thanks," Courtney said. She smiled at Jason before going into the kitchen to find Sonny.

Jason watched her go, wondering why she wanted to speak to Sonny. Jason sighed. Sonny was the one thing that could possibly stand in his and Courtney's way. He wondered when he should tell Sonny. Then again, what was there to tell? Were he and Courtney together?

"Uncle Jason!" a voice called, interrupting his thoughts. He turned to look at Michael.

"Come look at my new train!"

"You got a new train? That's cool! Where is it?"

Michael grabbed Jason's hand and dragged him over to look at his new train. He sat down on the floor to play with the young boy.

Meanwhile in the kitchen...

"Morning, Sonny. How's breakfast coming?" Courtney asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Courtney!" Sonny said, walking over to kiss his sister's cheek. "It's going pretty good."

"Anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"Not really," Sonny said. "I think I have everything under control."

"Okay," said Courtney. She fidgeted nervously before asking, "Um, can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah," Sonny said, turning around to look at her. "What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with some legal stuff."

"Legal stuff? What kind?" Sonny asked, confused and a little concerned.

"I want to divorce AJ, and I want to do that as soon as I possibly can," she told him.

Sonny smiled. "Well good for you. Things will move faster if you don't ask for anything from him. I understand if you want to, but it just takes longer."

"I don't want anything from AJ. Just a divorce. I'm moving on."

"I'm glad," Sonny told her. "I'm very glad."

Courtney looked up at her brother. "I thought you would be."

Just then, Michael ran into the kitchen. "Is breakfast ready yet?" he asked.

Sonny looked over at his son and smiled. "It sure is."

Courtney grabbed the plate of waffles off the counter and turned to bring them to the table. Jason and Carly were already sitting down. She smiled at Carly as she placed the plate down. Sonny and Michael came in right behind her, and they all sat down to breakfast together.

[It's been about two weeks since Jason and Sonny returned from the Dominican Republic. He and Courtney haven't shared much more than a few embraces and the occasional kiss. He is unsure of what she is ready for and she isn't sure of what he wants to happen.]

Jason sighed as he walked into the penthouse. Frustrated, he threw his jacket on the floor and collapsed on the couch. It had been a long day. He was still unsuccessful in finding out who was behind Sonny's kidnapping. The few leads he had turned out to be dead ends. He was slightly apprehensive about the prospect of a new enemy out there that they didn't know about.

He got off the couch and paced around the apartment. A fit of rage struck him and he punched the wall. "Dammit!"

"Whoa, Jason, what's wrong?" Courtney had walked in just in time to see him punch the wall and yell. She looked concerned and a little frightened.

"Courtney. Um, I'm just a little frustrated, that's all. I'm sorry if I scared you." He said, turning around.

"Something in the business?" She asked, walking towards him.

"I-I can't really talk about it." He answered her, looking down at the floor.

"That's a yes then. Don't worry, I won't ask." She looked down at his hand. "Jason, you're bleeding!"

He looked at his hand. "Guess I am. Didn't really notice."

"Come on, let's go get that cleaned up," she said as she started towards the kitchen.

He followed her closely into the kitchen. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached for the cabinet that held the First Aid Kit. Jason laughed softly as she strained to reach the box that was just out of her reach. He walked over and with his uninjured hand, reached up behind her and took it down. He was inches from her body as she turned to face him. She looked up at him slowly through her eyelashes. He smoothed her hair with his hand and then cupped her cheek.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered.

She smiled nervously at him as they stared into each other's eyes. He leaned forward slightly and kissed her intensely. His lips moved against hers as he leaned into her, pressing her against the counter. His hands moved down to her hips as he lifted her onto the counter top, his mouth never leaving hers. Her knees separated and snugged up against his hips. She ran her hands across his back and through his hair. It was a passionate kiss. A dangerously passionate kiss.

Courtney pulled back before things got too intense. "Your hand..." she whispered breathlessly.

Jason stared into her eyes and stepped back. "Yeah, my hand. Can you help me..." he trailed off.

Courtney nodded as she eased herself off the counter. She turned on the sink and let the water run for a moment to warm up. She reached for his hand and put it under the running water. He stood behind her as she gently washed the blood off his hand. He closed his eyes and slowly inhaled the scent of her hair. His free hand came to rest on her hip as she reached for a paper towel to dry his hand. She reached for the gauze and tape and tenderly wrapped it around his hand.

"Thank you," he whispered into her ear when she finished.

She broke out of his touch to put the kit back together. "Mind if I put this somewhere where I can reach it?"

He blinked and shook his head, surprised at her sudden withdrawal. "No, no not at all. Put it wherever you want."

She found an empty space in a drawer and placed the kit into it. She turned back around and looked at Jason. She opened her mouth to speak when he interrupted her.

"Look," he said. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. It wasn't my intention. I just...I'm kind of confused. I don't know what you want, what you're ready for...I'm not even sure I know what I want or what I'm ready for. I just know I don't want to lose you, so I'm trying not to push you away by moving too fast."

She was silent for a moment, processing what he said. "I'm not sure either. I just know that I look forward to coming back here to see you and when you kiss me it is unlike anything I have ever felt before. I know I'm not just running into the arms of the first man I see because the way you make me feel...it's a happiness I have never known before."

Jason looked at her for a moment, amazed at what he had just heard. In two steps he closed the distance between them and gathered her up in his arms. He buried his face into the crook of her neck. She threw her arms around his neck as he smoothed her hair with his hand. They stood there for a moment, just holding each other, enjoying being together.

He reluctantly released her and gently smoothed her hair and tucked it behind her ears. He held her face in his hands for a moment, studying her. She was so kind, so caring. And she wanted him.

"I don't deserve you," he told her.

She blushed slightly and looked down. "It's getting late."

"I'll walk you upstairs." He took her hand and led her out of the kitchen. She followed him through the living room and up the stairs. He stopped in front of her bedroom door. He reached out to her and held her for a moment, her head resting against his chest.

"Good night," he said, releasing her. He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. He looked into her eyes for a moment before turning and walking towards his room.

"Jason..." she whispered. He turned and looked back at her, trying to suppress his desire to walk back towards her and kiss her deeply. She looked down at the floor nervously. She wanted to say this but wasn't sure how. He waited patiently for her to finish speaking. When she didn't say anything for a moment, he called her name.

The sound of her name brought her out of her reverie. She looked deeply into his beautiful eyes. The look he was giving her sent shivers down her spine. No one had ever looked at her with such desire in their eyes as he was right then. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"Stay--stay with me tonight," she said.

His jaw fell slightly in his surprise. "Are--are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said. "I don't want to be alone."

He slowly walked back towards her. Her cheeks were pink with embarrassment and she bit her lip nervously. When she wouldn't look at him, he reached out and tilted her chin up with his index finger. He stared into her eyes, trying to read her thoughts. Without words, they both knew what the other was thinking. Tonight wasn't the night. Neither one of them was ready.

"Will you just hold me tonight?" she asked him.

"I would love to," he answered.

He followed her into her bedroom. Moments later they lay in her bed. Courtney was tense and nervous. Jason sensed her nervousness and reached over and wrapped his arm around her waist. He pulled her close to him and kissed her shoulder. "Goodnight, Courtney," he whispered into her ear.

"Goodnight, Jason." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her body slowly relaxed. So this was heaven, lying in bed, wrapped in his arms.

He lay there, watching her slowly fall asleep. Her breathing slowed and she settled into her pillow. When he was sure she was asleep, he leaned forward and whispered into her hair the words he always had trouble saying. "I love you."

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feedback would be cool...i'm curious to know if anyone's reading and/or liking my story