She stood there staring at him as though he had just spoken another language. "What?" Her voice was hoarse and cracked from her crying.

He couldn’t believe that he had asked but he wouldn’t retract his request. "I said… Come with me." He sighed deeply walking back over to stand in front of her. "I don’t want to leave you… I don’t want to be apart from you…"

"You’re asking me to… to go on the run with you?" She questioned.

To hear her put it into words made it seem that less real. "It won’t be easy and I don’t know when you’ll be able to see your family again or when you’ll be able to talk to them. I can’t promise that we’ll always be happy or safe…" He rambled but she cut in and silenced him with one word.

"Okay." He stopped and stared at her unsure that he had heard her right. "I’ll go with you."

"Are you sure? I don’t want you to think that you have to. This won’t be an easy trip. I mean I’m not even sure of where we would go or how long we would be away." He said.

She shook her head. "It doesn’t matter Jason… I don’t care as long as I’m with you…. I would follow you anywhere in the world to be with you." She whispered.

He inhaled deeply not sure of when she had fallen so in love with him but oh so glad that she had. Reaching out he grabbed her into a fierce hug and kissed the top of her head. "I love you… I love you so much." Rocking her in his embrace he marveled at her strength. "You know that… you can’t tell Sonny or anyone right? I’ll have to come for you in secret and once we’re away then…"

She nodded understanding. Sonny wouldn’t want her on the run but they weren’t thinking about Sonny or what he would want. They were thinking about their needs and their wants for a change. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I’ll come back for you tonight." He whispered his heart racing with love and anticipation. Staring into her eyes he smiled sadly. He never wanted this to be her life and he had never wanted more for his own until now. He wanted to give her all the things that she deserved. A home, a family, and peace. But for now his love would have to do.

He continued to stand there looking into her until there was a soft knock at the door. A moment later Sonny poked his head in. "Someone is on their way up here. Take the back stairwell. I’ll get word to you on your cellular phone." He ordered.

Jason sighed looking at her one final time before exiting like Sonny said. He was down the steps and out the hospital right as the elevator opened and Taggart stepped out with Baldwin with a warrant in his hands… the plan was underway.

Later that night…

"Jason, it’s me!" Carly shouted a little shaken by his actions but more angry.

He shook his head at how she could react to someone pointing a gun to her head. She was more infuriated then she was scared. It boggled the mind. Looking over his shoulder and peering out into the night he could sense the storm that was coming. "What are you doing here?"

"Don’t worry no one followed me. I made sure." She muttered.

He sighed putting his gun away. "It’s still not safe. You should be with Sonny or with Michael at the penthouse. You shouldn’t be here."

"Well excuse me if I wanted to say good-bye!" She shouted trying to mask her tears with frustration.

He stood there for a moment realizing why she had risked so much to come here. "I’m sorry." He stated quietly.

She exhaled deeply dabbing at the corner of her eyes. "I don’t want you to be sorry… I want you to be here. I want you to stay." She sniffled.

"I can’t." He whispered.

"Do you remember… when you left that time after you found out about Sonny and me? I was so upset because you didn’t say good-bye. And because I felt like if I could have just talked to you, that maybe you might have stayed… I know now that that’s not the case. I know that you only leave, when you have to." She sighed deeply as the tears fell onto her cheeks. "God Jason what am I going to do without you? You know you really are the first man that I ever really loved." She said brokenly as the tears came more freely now.

"Everything is going to be okay."

"… Can you promise me that?" She asked softly. Her voice was so small that he almost didn’t recognize it.

He stood there for a moment. Thinking the question over in his head. "Yes… and you know that I don’t make promises… that I won’t make promises that I can’t keep… I have people here waiting for me. People here who love me. I have a life here Carly, and I plan on coming back to it. My family is here. You and Sonny, and Michael."

She shook her head. "And Courtney… She’ll be here waiting for you too." She replied.

He looked away remaining silent. Carly raised her eyebrows. "Jason? What is it? You know that Courtney would wait for you don’t you?" She asked not understanding his sudden change.

"Okay Carly…" He said trying to move away from the subject.

"Okay what?" She asked. "Come on Jason you know that she loves you. Anyone within a million miles can see that. She would do anything for you. She would lay down her life for you. I mean she’s so in love I don’t know how she’s going to hold up after you’re gone…"She trailed off realizing what she had stumbled on. "She’s not going to have to hold up because you’re not leaving her are you?"

Jason sighed. "Leave it alone Carly."

"You’re going to take her with you… on the run. That’s what you’re planning isn’t it?" When she was again met with silence she sighed. "Does Sonny know about this?"

"I said leave it alone."

"Oh my God! Jason… you are my best friend and I love you and we have always been brutally honest with one another so I’m telling you this as a friend. You can’t take Courtney with you!" She clasped her hands together trying to keep herself from grabbing him to look into her eyes. "You are going on the run from the police and Sonny is about to lose his right hand man because of some stupid eyewitness who doesn’t know what he or she saw! It’s bad enough that Sonny is sending you away, his rock and his ace, but you can’t take his sister with you. He’s going to need his family right now Jason. He’s going to need our support especially now with the media all over this and him getting out of the hospital…" She tried to reason with him.

"What about what I need? What about the things that I have to leave behind because of something that I didn’t do? Carly, I didn’t kill Alcazar! But now I have to get up and leave my entire life behind and I… I don’t even know when I’ll be back… You know for the first time, I… had a future. I was going to get married, start a… start a family." He sighed deeply staring off into some future that he should have had. "And now all that’s being taken away from me… my life is being ripped apart and all I want is something that’s mine… something that I can hold on to." He said empathetically.

Carly stood there her heart breaking with every word. She knew that he cared about Courtney. She knew that he loved her but the depth of it wasn’t apparent until this very moment. It was rare that Jason opened himself up and bared his soul for her to see but when he did, it always took her breath away. Like a shooting star or the birth of day, it never ceased to amaze to her. She wiped the tears away on her cheeks. "You’re not being fair to Courtney. You’re not and you know it. It’s not right for you to make her live her life like this." She whispered.

"I’m not making her do anything. She wants to come with me. She loves me Carly. She wants this. She wants me!" There was a vulnerability in his voice that she had never heard.

She shook her head. "But this isn’t the life that she deserves Jason. You know that… in your heart you know it. And somewhere inside you, you know that you’re making a mistake. Do you really want her to have to be afraid every night? Do you want her to have to pick up and leave on the spur of the moment because you never know when someone is getting too close? Have her move from one city to the next never able to settle down and make friends? Is that the life that you want for her?" She exhaled deeply. "I have never said this to you, because I’ve never had to but… you’re being selfish Jason. You are… you’re thinking about your life and your wants and not about hers… you’re not thinking about what’s best for her right now. And you need to because you are about to change her entire life. Are you really ready to do that? Can you handle that?"

Turning to her he stared into her eyes, his own tears clouding his vision. "I’m what’s best for her." And that was his answer.

There they stood, eyes locked on one another. Her tears freely flowing and his held back like always. She sighed rubbing her hand over her stomach absently as she always did during times when she was filled with stress and anxiety. "Okay… okay." She replied realizing that she wouldn’t be able to get through to him.

"You… you won’t tell him will you?" He asked referring to Sonny.

"Sonny? No. This is your call. For once… I’m going to stay out of it." She replied with a sad smile. He nodded. Walking over to him she embraced him tightly. "Oh… Jas. I love you so much… so you come back to me. You come back to all of us." She whispered in between her sniffling.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Try not to drive Sonny crazy… and remember that he loves you… and that he loves his family… and try to be on his side. Really be on his side." He remarked breathing in her scent never knowing when he would smell it again.

She laughed at his statement. "I will… I’ll try." She remarked pulling back a little to look into his face. Reaching up with one hand she palmed his cheek and rubbed her thumb across his flesh. "I’m going to miss you… don’t stay away too long."

He nodded. "Okay."

Kissing her hand she placed it on his cheek rubbing his skin as if she were trying to massage her affection and love into his pores. "Love you." She whispered one last time and then was gone.

Ten-o-clock

She stood outside his door wondering if he were still awake. She sighed deeply feeling the nervousness that hadn’t left her since she had heard confirmation from Jason on the phone earlier. She rubbed her hand over her legs and felt the rough material of her jeans through the thin hospital gown fabric. She thanked Carly silently for bringing by a change of clothes. She didn’t know how Carly knew and the older woman didn’t bother to tell her. She only smiled and asked her to take care of Jason and she would. She would gladly spend the rest of her life taking care of him. Knocking softly she was met with silence. Cracking the door slightly she peeked inside and found him lying in bed asleep. She knew that it was due to the painkillers, otherwise he would be awake at this very moment.

Stepping inside she walked over to his still form and stared at him. His dark black hair was slightly covering his forehead due to lack of a haircut. His tanned complexion only brought out his dark features but at this very moment he didn’t look like Mob Boss Sonny Corinthos. He was just her brother… her older, overbearing, protective brother, her family. Pulling up a chair she took a seat and stared at his boyish face. Her hands were folded beneath her chin and she sighed deeply.

"You know I grew up never knowing you. I mean I barely knew my own father," she sighed realizing that she wouldn’t even get to say good-bye to Mike. "… I used to wonder what my life would have been like if we had grown up together so that I could get to know you. But don’t worry because we’re going to get the chance… not right now but we will… I don’t think I’ve said this enough but… I’m glad… I’m glad that you’re my brother because I don’t think that I could have a better one." She wiped at her tears taking in a deep breath. "I love you… I love you so much and I promise you that I’m going to be careful and I’m going to be okay." Taking a stand and leaning over him she brushed her hand across his forehead gently pushing his hair away from his face. "Try not to worry too much." She kissed him softly wishing that she had more time with him. "You’re a good person… people don’t tell you that enough, but I know… I know." She whispered. She smiled sadly and walked out of his room not having the strength to say good-bye.

10:17 P.M

Jason sighed as he met the car on the corner and got in. "To General Hospital." He ordered.

The driver raised his eyebrows but didn’t question it. Turning he started the black Sedan and drove off into the night. Jason settled into his seat; staring out the tinted black window he watched the rain drops fall from the black purple sky and hit the glass and he let his mind wander…

Standing there holding the coffee pot in her hand she smiled at him. "… No. You sacrificed your first order for me, and maybe even better, you made me laugh… Well, the situation did."

And that had been the beginning of what turned out to be one of the best things that happened to him. It was strange how your whole life could change in just one moment, just one chance meeting. He shook his head. Chance had nothing to do with it… that day was fate.

10:23 P.M.

She paced her hospital room with anticipation. She had never wanted something so bad in all of her life. Her heart was pounding inside her chest. Walking over to her window she peered out into the storm and sighed. She hadn’t been this anxious during a storm since… since…

Pulling her by the arm roughly he dragged her out of the club and stared at her. He was beyond frustrated with her. And she wasn’t about to back down either. She couldn’t believe what he had almost done.

She smiled at the memory and looked over at the clock. It was almost time…

10:36 P.M.

The rain was beating down harder now almost as if it were trying to tell him something… He watched them round the corner and stop at a red light. The brightness from it reminded him of their first Christmas together…

He didn’t know how he had gotten so lucky or why she wanted to be with him so much or love him so much but he sure was happy that she did.

10:42 P.M

She backed away from the window and sighed rubbing her hands together. The glint from her ring caught her eye and she smiled… her future was so close she could almost touch it. She twisted the ring anxiously…

Looking over at the clock she sighed. It was that time…

10:51 P.M.

He watched them pass the park and stop one last time at a stop sign. One more block and they would be there. Looking over at the empty park he felt something in his stomach and breathed in a cold sharp intake of breath as a chill ran down his spine as he thought back to a conversation that he believed he had forgotten…

He sat there in his car staring at the empty park. The words echoed in his head like the sound of a bullet when it echoes in a still night. "Pull over." He ordered.

"Mr. Morgan…" The driver questioned.

"I said do it." He stated breathing hard. Running his fingers through his hair roughly he pulled out his phone.

10:57 P.M.

Racing down the back stairwell she took the steps three sometimes even four at a time. Jumping the last five she landed with a soft thud on her two feet. Sighing deeply she pushed on the heavy metal door and stepped out into the pouring rain…

Looking around for him she didn’t see him. So she stood there and waited for him… She heard the footsteps before she saw him. Turning around she smiled as she brushed her wet blond hair out of her face.

He watched her come out of the back stairwell into the rain. The icy water hit her hard and fiercely as she stood there waiting for him. He could see the smile on her face as he stared at her with wide blue eyes.

She stood there staring not sure of what was happening… "What are you doing here?" She asked.

Brenda sighed staring at Courtney wet in the rain. It was an odd feeling to be on the opposite end of this discussion. "Jason… sent me." She saw the tears well up in the younger girl’s eyes even through the heavy downpour.

Courtney simply stood there for a moment not sure of what to say or what to think… "Is he okay?"

Brenda nodded. "Yeah I think so."

"You think or you know?" She asked fighting with her emotion trying to make sense of what was happening.

Brenda sighed deeply. "He’s fine." She stated.

She shook her head. "Where is he?"

She shrugged sadly wishing that she didn’t have to do this. "I… don’t know…"

She ran her hands through her hair and breathed in deeply. "I don’t understand… what did he say? Why isn’t he here?"

"He told me… to tell you… that it would be better if he were alone… He doesn’t want you with him."

She sighed trying to grasp some kind of believable reality because right now nothing was making sense to her. She looked up and around the empty parking lot absently not sure of what she hoped to find. But then she spotted the black sedan at the furthest end of the parking lot. Without thinking she took off. "Jason! Jason…" She shouted her sneakers splashing through puddles, her face beginning to go numb with the icy rain.

She practically collided into it and began to bang on the window. "Jason… Jason please!" She begged. She grabbed the handle and yanked the door open…

But he wasn’t there. The vehicle was empty not even a driver… She stood there gasping for air as the realization of what was happening came over her. He was gone… Looking down at her ring in a shocking daze, her vision blurred with her tears... "You know… in all the time that I’ve known him… never once has he left me standing in the rain." She whispered. She slid down to the ground and just let the rain beat down upon her as her entire future slipped between her fingertips.

Jason stood across the street and watched the woman he loved break down and cry. Wiping the tears away he stared at her crumpled on the wet cement while Brenda tried to comfort her. This was for the best. They may not have a hired killer coming after them but there would always be some good citizen or street cop coming after them trying to prove himself and who knew what could happen with a gun in the wrong person’s hands? Bowing his head he turned his back on her never once looking back; promising himself that he would come back… one day he would kiss her again…