Journey Online

Running all the way to the building she gasped for breath as she rode up on the elevator. As it hit the top floor and the doors parted she stepped out. Clutching her side she swallowed hard realizing that she needed to start jogging again. Looking up she stared at her old home. Her eyes seemed transfixed on the brass lettering beneath the tiny peephole…

Courtney was jolted back to the present when she heard someone clear their throat. Looking over her shoulder she smiled when she spotted Marco standing in front of Sonny’s door. "Hey there."

"Good afternoon Ms. Matthews." He greeted.

"Courtney… please just call me Courtney, Marco. Ms. Matthews sounds like my mother." She stated with a grin. She saw him smile and sighed. "Is my brother in there?"

"Yeah. He’s expecting you." He said opening the door for her.

Smiling she walked over the threshold but stopped when he put his hand on her shoulder. "It’s good news." He told her reassuringly. She smiled before entering the penthouse.

Sonny came out of the kitchen when he heard the door open. "Hey Sonny." She said softly.

"So I saw the paper… is it true?"

He sighed. "They have a pretty strong case against him…"

"How? How did you find out about A.J.?" She asked.

He gestured for her to take a seat on the couch. Walking over to the bar he began to make himself a drink. "You know I always told him that drinking would be his undoing… You know that witness that claimed to have seen Jason at the crime scene?" He turned when he saw her nod. "Yeah well that witness did Jason at the scene but she also saw someone else… a dark hared man leave the suite a few moments before… she didn’t think about it much because she was too focused on Jason. But when I got the chance to talk to her she told me that there was someone else entering the suite about a half-hour earlier. She saw him when she was coming off the elevator. I showed her a picture of A.J. Quartermaine and she identified him." He sighed deeply grabbing a seat on the couch. "But with Scott Baldwin on the case I knew that there was no way that he was ever going to submit that as part of her confession… so I had to wait it out. I had to get A.J. to confess… You know A.J. is a weasel and a rat but he’s not stupid. He went to that suite to kill Luis."

"To pin it on Jason?" She asked incredulously.

Sonny shook his head. "No… He didn’t even know that Jason would be there… he went to that suite to kill Luis, for you." He looked up over the rim of his glass and saw her furrowed brow.

"For me? Why?" She asked.

Letting the liquid burn its way down his throat he tugged at his tie a little. "Because he still wants to be your hero. That’s what he thinks Jason is to you… he sees the way that Jason saves you and how you love him for it."

She shook her head. "I don’t love Jason because he saves me… I love him because he’s honest with me. I know that I can depend on him and trust him." She replied.

He nodded. "I know that, but all A.J. can see is that when you’re in trouble Jason is always right there to pull you out of it. Because you know that’s Jason’s job. He is there to protect me and my family… I know that there is more to your relationship with him then that because I know Jason and," he shrugged a little before continuing. "And I’m getting to know you." He stated.

She smiled a little… "But I still don’t understand. How did you get A.J. to confess?"

"Well, A.J. never thought about pinning the murder wrap on Jason. That was just an added bonus and a huge coincidence that the witness spotted Jason at the scene of the crime… When A.J. heard about the witness he probably took it as a good sign and something to work in his favor in getting you back… what he didn’t count on was me getting the chance to talk to the witness in private. It’s amazing what you can recall when you don’t have Baldwin shoving false accusations down your throat… She told me that she saw A.J. go into the suite when she first got off the elevator but you see I needed proof that A.J. was there and that he killed Luis… so I had to wait and I did." He sighed taking another sip of his brandy before continuing. "I couldn’t let on that I knew anything because I couldn’t risk A.J. getting on to me and covering up his tracks. I needed him to believe that he had gotten away with it so then he might slip up when he didn’t think anyone was around… and he did! With you still blowing him off and his family still not giving him any recognition it was only a matter of time before he went on another drinking binge and when he did… I had a very… how do you say, persuasive girl friend of mine get him to start talking one night while he was in a bar." He smiled sarcastically at how everything else just fell into place.

"But he was drunk? How can that be a valid admission to killing anyone?"

"It’s not… but when you have Felicia Scorpio on your side tailing him and listening then you have someone that is on the right side of the law going and warning the PCPD. See I knew that they wouldn’t listen to anything that I had to say… Jason is my associate and more importantly he is my friend so I was out. Felicia, on the other hand, is respectable and trustworthy. With her going to Mac Scorpio with what she heard, he took it upon himself to do a full blown investigation on A.J. Which meant that he had to go back and talk to the eyewitness who then told him what she had seen. With this new evidence they had no choice but to bring A.J. in for questioning and quicker then I thought, he cracked." He sighed deeply glad that they had found the real killer.

She sat there for a moment not believing that it was over. It had been so long… it seemed like forever since she had seen Jason. He never once called her. He never asked about her at least Sonny never told her. It was as if he didn’t want anything to do with her… and after seven months of nothing… she had finally come to truly believe in Brenda’s words that Jason didn’t want her. "So then it’s over! Jason can come home." She whispered mainly to herself.

He looked over at her. "Yeah." He stated quietly. He didn’t know the whole story. He never found out about Jason planning to take Courtney with him. He was under the impression that Courtney’s heart just had been broken because Jason had to leave and her life with him seemed to be on permanent hiatus. But things were different now… or were they?

She stood up and rubbed her hands on her jeans absently. "I better get back to work. I told Elizabeth that I wouldn’t be gone that long."

He stood as well. "Yeah well, come by for dinner tonight. Jason will be home and I want to have a family get together okay?"

She gave him a half smile. "That means Mike will be there too?"

He exhaled a deep breath and shifted his head from one side to the other. "Yeah… I guess. But tell him that he can’t cook in my kitchen. Leave all his cooking lessons at home."

"I’ll tell him." She replied. Walking into his embrace she hugged him tightly and felt as he kissed her cheek absently. "Bye."

"See you later." He replied watching her leave.

Jason made his way down the steps onto the docks and stopped. Staring out into the dark murky water he sighed. The sun heated up the back of his neck making the muscles in his back somewhat relax. Running his hand through his hair he let his hands come to rest on his hips lazily. There was a slight summer breeze that skidded across the water making gentle ripples in the surface. Closing his eyes he let his mind just come to rest for one moment. It had been so long since he had been able to do that. He had been running for the last seven months and this was the first time that he was able to stop… to just stop and take in fresh air. He finally could have his life back… the only problem was he didn’t know what that meant anymore. What was his life?

She stopped when she saw him. His back was to her and she thought that she might be hallucinating. "Jason…" The name left her lips as gentle as that summer breeze.

He turned his head around and stared at her. His wide blue eyes took her in and he refused to blink afraid that she might disappear. Ever so slowly he let his entire body turn around to face her and simply stood there.

She saw him move and blinked once, twice. Feeling the tears come to her eyes, she felt her body begin to shake. "Jason." She said again a little louder this time. Before she could stop herself. She ran down the steps and collided into him. Wrapping her arms around his neck she crushed his body into hers. She wanted to feel him in her arms and smell his scent. "Oh Jason!" The words came out muffled against his neck.

He stepped backward as she fell into him. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck his came to encircle her waist. He heard her laugh slightly as the tears seeped into his black T-shirt. His hands clasped together tightly almost afraid to believe that she was in his arms. Raising one of his hands he stroked the back of her head and ran his fingers through her golden hair. Letting it travel down he cupped her neck feeling her warm smooth flesh. His lips absently brushed over the top of her head as he closed his eyes and held onto her, his life…

Chapter Four: Seeing You again

For a moment neither of them said anything as they simply held onto one another as though the other were a lifeline keeping them afloat. They just stood there as though posing in the summer sun for all those to look at and admire.

It took her a moment before she realized what she was doing. Pulling back slowly she stepped out of his embrace. Brushing her hair out of her face that was slightly damp with her tears she forced a laugh to ease the tension. "Sorry."

He sighed and swallowed hard. "It’s okay… Are you all right?" He asked.

She simply stared up into his eyes for a moment truly thinking his question over in her mind. "Yeah… I am now." She replied. "I’m really glad that you’re all right… Carly was really worried about you… everyone was."

He sighed. "I did what I had to do." He stated.

She nodded. "I understand… So are you okay?" She asked softly.

He sighed. "Yeah… I’m glad to be back."

"That’s good." She whispered.

"I have to go see Sonny." He said after a moment.

She took in a deep breath as if being snapped back to the present. "Right! You should go and see him. He’s probably waiting on you." She went to turn away from him when he grabbed her hand.

"Courtney…" He began and stopped suddenly. Looking down at her hand he noted the missing ring on her finger. Looking up into her eyes he stared into her baby blues.

She waited for him to continue not understanding why he stopped or what he was going to say. "What?"

He sighed before letting go of her hand. "Nothing… I have to go." He replied quickly walking away from her.

She watched him until his form disappeared around the brick building. She stood there not sure of what happened. Her unshed tears spilled onto her cheeks silently and she made no move to brush them away.

He arrived at the building twenty minutes later. His heart hadn’t stopped racing since he had seen her. He saw Marco standing stationary at Sonny’s door and he gave him a half smile as the guard sighed obviously glad to see him. "Good to have you back Mr. Morgan."

"Good to be back." He stated walking over the threshold into Sonny’s home.

Carly raced out of the kitchen when she heard the door open. "Jason!" She squealed running into his arms and knocking him into the closed door.

"Hey Carly…" He said with a small laugh at her exuberance.

She placed kisses on his cheeks. "Don’t ever do this to me again!" She stated taking step back and wiping at her tears absently.

He shook his head rubbing away the lipstick on his face. "I’ll try not to." He stated grabbing her hands in his own.

She smiled gladly. "I’m so glad that you’re home… Have you seen Courtney yet?"

He tensed slightly and she picked up on it. "Yeah."

"And?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"And she’s doing good." He let go of her hands and walked around her to the bar.

She stood there for a moment before turning to face him. "Okay you have to give me something more then that. I mean come on Jason. You were going to take Courtney with you on the run and the next thing I know she’s in her room…" She began when Jason turned to her sharply.

"Would you please be quiet about that!" He stated in a hushed whisper. He knew that it was better for everyone involved if Sonny never found out about that. "Just don’t talk about that right now!" He said.

She walked over to him. "I’m not going to tell Sonny but Jason Courtney thinks that you don’t love her anymore. Something about a message that you gave Brenda to give to her! I told her that Brenda was wrong and…"

"She isn’t!" He cut in.

She stood there a little bit more then shocked. "What? What are you…" She never got the chance to continue when Sonny came down the stairs with Michael trailing behind him.

"Look who is here buddy." Sonny remarked moving aside so that Michael could get a clear view of him.

"Uncle Jason!" Michael screamed running down the steps and running into Jason’s awaiting arms.

Jason sighed deeply feeling his heart slow down for first time since he had seen Courtney. This little boy did more for him then he would ever know. Michael relaxed him and Jason loved him more then he had ever loved anyone. He breathed in deeply rubbing his cheek into his carrot red hair. "Oh I missed you Michael. I missed you so much!" He whispered in his ear softly.

"I missed you too Uncle Jason! Where did you go? Did you go to Africa again?" He questioned excitedly not having the slightest clue of what had taken place or why his uncle had to leave him.

Jason pulled back as he held the boy up off the ground. "Not to Africa but I went to some other places."

"Well, I went to China."

"Pretty far away." He answered with a smile.

"Can you show me on the map that you bought me?"

"Sure…" He replied ruffling his hair.

Carly looked over at Sonny and saw that he needed to talk to Jason. "You know what Michael. Why don’t we give Jason time to talk to daddy and then he can come up and show you where China is?" She said rubbing her son’s back.

The boy looked over at his mother. "You promise?" He asked his arms still around Jason’s neck.

"I promise." She said. She put out her arms and Michael went to his mother with a smile. She sighed taking Michael upstairs.

Sonny and Jason watched them go until they were out of sight. Sonny smiled looking at Jason. "Good to have you home man." He said grabbing Jason into a fatherly hug.

"Yeah." He whispered hugging him back tightly.

When they broke apart Sonny sighed deeply and wiped at his eyes. They had come way too close this time and deep inside they both knew it. Staring at one another there was a silent promise made by the both of them that it wouldn’t… better put couldn’t, happen again.

Taking a seat on the couch side by side Jason looked over at his boss and best friend. "The bail hearing is tomorrow." He sighed deeply.

"What’s wrong?" Jason asked.

"I don’t know… I mean A.J. is a smart conniving man."

"He’s a Quartermaine." Jason remarked with the faintest of smiles.

Sonny looked over at him. "Yeah, I know." He muttered with a small laugh. "But he’s not a killer. At least not in his own right. You know A.J. thinks big. If he wanted to get rid of Luis he would have done something extravagant and something that wouldn’t have gotten his hands dirty. He would have called out a contract or… found some way to make it noticeable. But to go to the man’s hotel room and just stab him in his back, that’s too… it’s too." He struggled for the right word.

"Passionate." Jason offered.

"Right… And A.J. isn’t like that. He’s too concerned about the public eye and being caught with his hand in the cookie jar."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"A.J. wanted to show Courtney that he loved her. He wanted to be what he thought you were to her.. you know her hero. But he didn’t know how to do it… so then she ends up in the hospital courtesy of Luis himself. Well, he knew she hated him. So there was the perfect opportunity. He probably suspected that I was going to send someone after and him and if he could get rid of him before I could then he could come off as the hero in her eyes and possibly get her to take him back. The only problem was that he needed a way to get rid of him but not get himself caught out there. He probably needed a plan. Something that could put him at arms length of the entire thing but close enough so Courtney knew that he had something do with it."

"So you think that someone was working with him?" Jason asked.

"I’ll stake my life on it. I honestly believe that A.J. went to that hotel room that night to throw his weight around you know? I think he went there to tell Luis that his time was going to be up if he didn’t get out of town. I don’t think he planned on killing Luis that night. I think someone else was working behind the scenes you know? Whispering in his ear telling him that he was man enough to do it. Maybe they told him to go to the hotel room and have a little chat with Luis so that he could size him up… They probably started talking… and you know how cocky Luis was… he probably said something that A.J. didn’t like and he kept taunting him and A.J. lost his head and grabbed the knife and stabbed him." He finished.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because A.J. is smart. Why would he openly walk into Luis’ suit not even attempting to be discreet if he were just going to stab him and walk out? The risk of someone seeing him was too high."

"Well maybe all that happened… maybe he did go up there to talk to Luis and he lost his temper and stabbed him. Why do you think someone else had to be working with him?" He asked.

"Because A.J. confessed, and A.J. doesn’t confess to anything. You saw how he took Courtney through the ringer when she even suspected that he might be the stalker. He just… I don’t know he gave up too easily this time, which makes me believe that he has a way to get out of this… Or this is just part of some plan of his… I don’t know but if that’s the case he needs someone on the outside helping him."

"So you don’t think that A.J. killed Luis?"

Sonny sighed. "Yeah I think he did it… I know why he did it. But something isn’t right here. That witness only placed A.J. at the scene of the crime she never said she saw him kill Luis either. Any lawyer can bring up the fact that A.J. had motive and opportunity which leads to reasonable doubt of whether or not you killed Luis because technically they can argue that A.J. was the last person to see Luis alive. I mean the witness saw you exit the suite but that doesn’t mean that Luis was alive when you left him either. You could have just as easily killed him yourself. But there’s still no conclusive evidence stating that you killed Luis, especially since the witness went on record retracting her statement that she actually saw you do it. So here we have two men both with motive and opportunity to kill Alcazar. Neither one of them could be proven without a shadow of doubt so basically the case would have to stay open with you two as suspects and nothing more." He sighed walking around the couch to stretch his limbs while Jason stared intently at the coffee table listening adamantly to Sonny.

"So then we both would have walked away."

"Exactly! Except while being questioned, A.J. confesses! Not only does he hang himself but he clears you of everything… now how does that make sense?" He asked resting his palms on the back of the couch.

Jason looked over his shoulder at Sonny. "It doesn’t."

"And that is what worries me… A.J. wouldn’t help you in the very best of circumstances and now all of a sudden he wants to be a good guy and not only clear you but at the expense of himself? Something doesn’t add up."

Jason sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "So what do we do?" He asked.

"What can we do? We have to wait it out. I can’t make a move until I know what his angle is or at least find out IF he is working with someone… For the first time in a long time, A.J. has the upper hand."

"So where is A.J. now?" Jason asked.

"He’s being held at the PCPD overnight. The bail hearing is tomorrow morning, so he’ll probably be back on the street until the trial starts."

"Then I’ll watch him. I’ll tail him and see where he goes and whom he talks to and who he calls." Jason stated.

Sonny shook his head. "Just be careful… I don’t want this to backfire… Also don’t mention this to Courtney… She’s been through a lot and I don’t want her to worry about what’s going on. She thinks that it’s over… It’s better for her that way. I don’t want this to hurt her anymore."

"It won’t… I’ll get right on it."

"No, not tonight. A.J. isn’t going anywhere until tomorrow and I have already made plans for us tonight."

"Plans? What kind of plans?"

"The Corinthos Family is sitting down to have dinner tonight. You know I even let Courtney invite Mike." He stated with a small grin.

"Because you want him to be there." Jason stated knowing Sonny would never admit that fact.

He only shrugged in true Sonny fashion. "Yeah well, you know how Courtney feels about Mike. She loves him… So you come over around seven. We’ll have dinner and toast to you being home."

Jason nodded. Just at the moment Carly came back down the steps. "Jason… Michael is becoming very impatient." She announced with a grin.

"He must take after his mother." Sonny remarked smiling at his wife as she stood on the staircase.

"Ha! Ha! Very funny!" She said rolling her eyes.

"I’m going to see Michael." He said looking at Sonny once again before heading up the steps pass Carly.

"This isn’t over." She whispered in his ear as he passed her. He looked at her for a moment but said nothing continuing up the steps…. Knowing in his heart that she was right.

Chapter Five: Building Bridges

Wiping down the tabletop she sighed deeply. Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again and she hated it. She didn’t know what had happened earlier. One minute she was hugging him and she swore that she could see the love in his eyes. It was almost as if no time had passed at all and then just that quickly he closed off and walked away from her. Taking a seat she shook her head. "Do you always sit down on the job?" She looked up and smiled at her dad.

"Hey daddy." She replied taking a stand and encircling him around the waist. Her cheek rested on his chest as she breathed in his scent.

He stroked the top of her head softly. "Hey sweetheart. So I got your message… what’s wrong?" He asked.

She pulled back slightly just far enough so that she could look into his eyes. "Well, I was wondering if you had plans tonight?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Not if my baby girl wants to have dinner with me I don’t." He stated.

She nodded. "Well, I do want to have dinner with you… and Sonny and Carly and Michael." She replied hesitantly. She knew she was treading on dangerous ground. Mike and Sonny’s relationship hadn’t exactly smoothed itself out over the last few months. It started with Sonny pretending to be dead and only got worst when she ended up in the hospital not once but twice because of her connection with her brother and Jason.

He sighed deeply tensing up in her embrace. "Courtney… now you know how this is." He began but she shook her head.

"Yeah I know because it’s all I hear from both of you. You’re mad at him for pretending to be dead. He’s still mad at you for taking up drinking and gambling again!" She said monotonously.

"I only started again because I thought he was dead!" He defended.

"That’s not an excuse daddy! You can’t use Sonny’s way of life as a reason for the way you live yours." She took in a deep breath seeing the pain in his eyes. Taking a step back she let her arms fall to her sides. "Look I love you and I love Sonny. But I am tired of being caught in the middle of this father and son, war that you guys have going on. I mean you didn’t even spend Christmas together! You didn’t come visit him in the hospital. How long can you both do this? I know that he’s hurt you… and I also know that he’s sorry even if he can’t come out and say it. But he did what he had to do to protect his family. And I know that you don’t like what he did, but you can’t fault him for it. He did the best he could with the circumstances that he had." She pleaded with him.

"You know that I hate hurting you Courtney."

"Then just stop… Come to dinner tonight. I’m not expecting you guys to hug and forgive but at least it’s a start! I mean we have so much to celebrate. Jason is finally home and the killer has been found… You know my family has been strained and separated for far too long. I want it back." She whispered looking up into his crystal blue eyes.

He sighed hating that he was doing this to her. To know that he was causing her pain broke his heart in a thousand ways. He swallowed hard. He had never been thrilled about the idea of her and Jason being together and he believed that Jason leaving town was the best thing that he could do for his daughter. But the time apart had only hurt her more then he ever thought and a small part of him was just a little bit glad that Jason was back. Maybe he could bring a smile to his little girl’s face again. Reaching out he stroked a lock of her sun blonde hair. "Okay sweetheart… I’ll be there." He whispered.

She smiled letting a small laugh escape her. "Thank you." She said walking into his outstretched arms.

"No, baby. Thank you."

"Hey Courtney you have a phone call." Penny said behind the counter.

Courtney sighed. "That’s probably Sonny calling about what time we should be there… oh and that’s another thing. He said leave your cooking lessons at home because his kitchen is off limits." She said walk over and grabbing the phone. "Hello." She smiled looking at her dad.

"I need to see you." Came the voice on the other end.

Her smile faltered slightly but she held her ground remembering that her dad was still watching her. She sighed deeply. The voice on the other end continued. "Will you come tonight?"

She hesitated for a moment thinking the question over not sure of whether or not she wanted to do this. "Yeah… Yeah I’ll be there." She said and then hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Mike asked.

She shook her head absently. "That was just my landlady. She needs to talk to me about my lease tonight… Um, Why don’t you just head over there around 6:30 P.M. and I’ll meet you there." She said.

He furrowed his brow. "Are you sure?" He asked her.

She nodded distractedly. "Yeah… My meeting shouldn’t take that long. It’s probably not anything major." She said reassuringly hating that she was lying to him.

He sighed but relented. "Okay. I’ll see you at dinner." He said kissing her cheek and then exiting.

She watched him leave not understanding why this was happening to her. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed deeply. Life just wouldn’t give her a break.

He watched her through the window at Kelly’s. Her hair was pulled away from her face and she seemed somewhat more distracted then usual. He wanted to talk to her. But what could he say? He had never wanted to hurt her but he didn’t know of any other way to protect her. At the time it seemed like the only way out and yet somehow he felt that he had made a huge mistake. The only problem was if he hadn’t done it the way he had, what should he have done? He couldn’t take her with him. Sonny would have never had forgiven him and he wouldn’t have been able to cope if anything had happened to her. He sighed deeply as she threw her apron behind the counter to Elizabeth waving good-bye. "I have to get to dinner with my brother. See you later Elizabeth." Courtney called out over her shoulder as she stepped out into the oncoming evening. She sighed deeply before walking off.

Jason came out from the corner watching her walking away. Looking down at his watch he sighed. It was only a quarter to five and she was headed in the opposite direction of Sonny’s penthouse. Something wasn’t right and she was lying. Keeping a safe distance he began following her.