A/N: Writing’s my way of escaping... so here...

With Michael’s small hand in her’s, Courtney walked along the nearly empty street away from the park and towards Harborview Towers. It was Leticia’s afternoon off and Carly asked her to baby sit. She said she needed to take care of some things at the club. Sonny was, of course, at the warehouse. His job had become much more demanding with Jason out of commission. Courtney graciously accepted Carly’s request. She enjoyed spending time with her nephew and had been looking forward to the afternoon all morning.

“Aunt Courtney,” Michael said with a smile, “Guess where I went this morning?”

“Where did you go?” Courtney questioned, running her hands through his fire-colored hair.

“Mommy took me to see Uncle Jason again today!” he said proudly.

Courtney could feel her heart begin to beat a little faster, but tried to keep her voice calm and cheerful. “How is he doing?”

“The doctors said that they might be able to let him out of the hospital soon!” announced Michael.

“That’s terrific!” Courtney told her nephew with a growing smile.

Michael beamed as he continued on. “And he said that if it was okay with Mommy and Daddy he’d like to take me somewhere after he gets out.”

“That’s really nice of him,” Courtney said. From what Michael was telling her, it seemed that this new Jason was just as good with children as her Jason had been. “Do you go and see him often?”

“This was only the third time that Mommy let me go with her but he’s just as cool as my old Uncle Jason!”

“Yes,” Courtney responded before changing the subject as they approached the penthouse building, “I’m sure that he is.”

Michael continued to chatter while Courtney’s thoughts wandered. Together she and Michael climbed into the elevator that carried them to the top of the building but Courtney’s mind was far away, in another world …

~*~

“This is it,” Jason thought as he placed his hand on the doorknob. Nobody had ever asked him if he wanted to leave his room. He wasn’t even sure that he was allowed. None of that mattered at the moment, though because he was ready to see the world outside of the four walls that constantly enclosed him.

He stepped out into the hallway and looked down the long corridor. It wasn’t much more than he expected, but different, nonetheless. He walked across the white linoleum floor slowly, willing his feet to move forward. Part of him was scared to see new people, to experience new things. As he neared the end of the corridor, Jason began to hear the noise of the hospital and the people in the waiting room. There were so many different sounds, all of them blending together, yet competing to be heard. He walked around the corner and caught his first glimpse of the waiting room. He looked at all the people, observing the way that they talked and acted. Jason wasn’t sure where to go next, but the noise was starting to get to him. He walked around and down a different hallway, being sure to remember where he had come from: Room 517. Jason dragged his tired feet along, taking in all of the new sights and sounds. He was nearly exhausted, but Jason found that he loved learning and experiencing all of these new things.

His attention shifted to a large window down the hall. As he drew closer, he realized what was inside the room … babies. He stopped and gazed at their tiny figures and little faces. Jason smiled as he looked. The only word that came to his mind was beautiful. All of them were beautiful. Remarkably pure and innocent.

“Not unlike myself,” Jason thought to himself as he reflected on the idea that he was connected to them. They shared a special bond because neither of them could remember anything about who they were or where they came from.

“I wish I could remember for her,” he spoke quietly. “You understand, don’t you? About being frustrated and having everyone recognize you when you can’t understand or recognize them? You know, I’d love to help Courtney, to remember everything that she shared with me. But I just can’t and it’s hurting her. Tell me, how do you learn to remember?”

Jason stopped for a moment and stared into the big blue eyes of one of the nursery’s little girls. Her face was sweet and kind, and inside of his mind, Jason saw Courtney. Courtney with that same sweet face, yet, there was a pain in Courtney’s eyes that Jason didn’t see in the eyes of the child.

“I put the pain in her eyes,” Jason sighed, “And how am I supposed to help her now? To comfort her? I barely know anything about her. How am I supposed to love her when I don’t know what love is?”

He finished speaking. There was a feeling inside of him that he couldn’t explain. Like someone had their eyes on him and if he turned around right at that moment...

“Jason, I’m not asking you to love me,” a woman whispered, “I’m not asking you for anything.”

Jason turned at the touch of her hand against his shoulder. His bright blue eyes were full of surprise as they met Courtney’s eyes.

“I didn’t-I didn’t realize that-” he tried to say, but the words wouldn’t come.

“I know,” she reassured him with a soft smile. “I don’t need you to give me the love that we once shared. I just-I want to be your friend and to help you find happiness.”

“But every time I look at you, I can see that pain in your eyes, and it kills me knowing that I’m the one that put it there,” he tried to explain to her in desperation. He reached up and touched her face lightly, unsure of what he was feeling or why he was feeling it. “I want you to be happy.”

Courtney was surprised at the feeling that had washed over her when he had touched her face. It was painful for her, knowing that the Jason she had loved would never be there to share the future with her. Yet, at the same time, the sensation was strangely comforting. Everything in her head stopped and time stood still allowing her to capture the moment and keep it in her heart forever … a brief second to feel Jason Morgan’s love for her again.

For the first time, Jason felt an emotion that he wasn’t sure how to deal with. Nothing was making sense to him but somehow it all felt so right. As if that one moment could last forever, if he let it. However unexpected, he had a sudden urge to act on this new feeling. He reached over and hugged her feeling her body mold against his as if they were made for each other. He held on tightly for a few seconds before pulling away from the embrace.

She looked into his eyes and smiled. “Would you like to go somewhere tonight and get out of this dreadful hospital?”

“Go somewhere?” He stopped. Was he even allowed? “Yes, I would love to.” He looked at her with an expression of excitement mixed with playfulness.

“I can show you Port Charles,” she began saying, “If you want to?”

“I do,” he responded sincerely. “I want to see everything with you.”

~*~

“Carly!” Sonny called as he stepped into the penthouse.

“Yes?” she answered, popping her head out from the kitchen with Michael in tow.

“DADDY!” Michael exclaimed as he ran toward his Father and gave him a big hug. “Guess who I saw today?”

“Who?” Sonny said as he crouched down to look his son in the eye.

Michael beamed at his father before answering. “Mommy took me to see Uncle Jason and then I got to spend time with my Aunt Courtney!”

“Really?” Sonny asked with his eyes sparkling. “Did you have fun, buddy?”

“Yup!”

“Hey,” Carly said as Sonny stood up. She leaned over and planted a small kiss on Sonny’s lips before speaking to Michael, “Why don’t you go upstairs for a minute so your daddy and I can talk?”

Michael nodded his head and ran upstairs as Carly grabbed Sonny’s hand and led him to the couch. “After Courtney dropped Michael off today, I think she went to go see Jason,” Carly announced quietly, “It’s been a little more than two weeks since she last went to visit him.”

“Do you think she can handle it?” Sonny asked. “It’s just that, I’m remembering what you told me about what happened before.”

“Yea,” Carly answered, “I think she can handle it. It’s been hard for her to adjust to life without Jason, but she’s doing well. And I think Jason is doing better also. He enjoyed his visit with Michael this morning.”

“That’s good,” Sonny replied vacantly as he looked away from Carly. “You know, it’s my fault that Courtney is going through so much pain right now.”

“Sonny, how can you say that?”

“It’s my fault that I fired Jason and that he put himself in danger for me. I’m the reason why Jason didn’t come home that night to meet Courtney-the reason why he’s still in that damn hospital and why my sister is falling apart.”

“You can’t blame yourself. People make their own choices and sometimes they’re the wrong choices, but no one really knows what’s going to happen. We can’t control what happens and we can’t change it,” Carly began, “but Sonny, it doesn’t do any good to look back and dwell on our mistakes. The future is what matters the most.”

“Yea, I know that. I just wish that things didn’t have to be like this.”

“And we all do-but stop blaming yourself. Things happen, okay? And maybe some good will come of this. We just need to keep looking for it and stop worrying about the past.”

~*~

“So this, what’s this place?” Jason asked, looking over at a smiling Courtney.

“This,” she replied, “is the docks.”

“And the place where we just ate dinner at?”

“Kelly’s. Wanna sit down?”

“Yea,” Jason said. He walked down the steps and toward the bench. He took a seat and she joined him after a moments. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Like what?” she asked, gazing up at the midnight-blue sky.

“The stars,” he replied. “There are so many of them. They just, you know, look so amazing. There isn’t much of a view out of the hospital window.”

“Wouldn’t think so,” Courtney laughed. “I guess I never really noticed before.” She looked up again and marveled at the light of the stars. “They are so beautiful, and each so different.”

“Hey, Courtney,” Jason said softly, “Thanks for showing me everything and for being patient with me.”

She wasn’t quite sure what to say. “Tonight was a wonderful night... even the stars look brighter.” She looked down and settled her eyes on Jason, watching him as he observed the stars. His face was full of curiosity and amazement, but she also sensed something else... happiness.

“Are you happy?” he asked suddenly as he turned to meet her gaze.

Courtney thought for a second before responding confidently, “Right now? Yes, yes, I am.” She grinned before taking his hand and pulling him up to go. “Are you?”

“I think I’ve-I’ve finally figured out what happy is. And right now, that’s how I feel and I want to keep that feeling with me for the rest of my life.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

“Nothing.” He took her hand in his and together they walked by the light of the stars.

A/N: A BIG thank you to Aimee (AimeeCakes, author of Accidents Happen and Full of Grace, which are two wonderful Journey Fan Fics) who looked over the beginning of this chapter and helped me through it. She’s the one who suggested the touching scene between Jason and Courtney in front of the nursery, so all credit for that idea goes to her! Thanks so much! and btw, I think that you’re all quickly learning that by “soon” I really mean 2 or 3 months. :)

“Hey!” Courtney giggled, “Where are you going?”

“Um, back to the hospital?” Jason replied with a playful smile.

“Then why are you going this way?” she questioned, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she looked around at the nearly empty back parking lot.

“Because I don’t think that I was supposed to have left,” Jason answered as he slowly opened one of the doors in the back of the hospital. On the black door, in white lettering, were the words: Employees Only. Jason briefly looked around, and then walked in, pulling Courtney with him into the darkness.

She lightly touched him on the shoulder as she attempted to suppress her laughter. “I don’t think I’m a very good influence on you, huh?”

“No, not really,” he responded as his hand found hers. Except for a small, but bright, light at the end of the hallway, everything was pitch black, but he didn’t need the light to tell him that Courtney was smiling. He could just feel it.

“You know,” Courtney began as she allowed Jason to guide her down the hallway, “If the doctors found out about our little adventure tonight, they’d probably forbid me from seeing you again.”

“Probably,” he teased, trying to act as though the thought didn’t bother him at all.

“Oh well,” she joked, “I wouldn’t be missing much.” But I would, she thought anxiously.

“Not even a tiny bit?” Jason questioned, faking hurt.

“Nope,” she said, but her face quickly broke into one of her million-dollar smiles.

“She looks so beautiful when she smiles,” Jason thought to himself.

By this time, they had reached the end of the hallway and had emerged into the light, keeping quiet and holding hands. Jason noticed a stairway to his left and headed towards it, hoping that no one would notice he and Courtney. They entered the stairwell and quietly shut the door to the empty corridor behind them.

“You should’ve seen your face,” Courtney laughed, “you were trying to act all serious.”

“Didn’t want anyone to find us!” Jason defended himself, “You don’t mind if we take the stairs? There’s always doctors on the elevators, you know.”

Courtney nodded her head in agreement and whispered, “Race you to the top!” She didn’t wait for an answer and took off running.

“No fair!” Jason shouted, forgetting to stay quiet, as he watched Courtney dash away.

“Shh!” Courtney warned, though her laughter wasn’t very quiet either, “Come on, slow poke!”

After thinking for a moment, Jason took off after the blonde, taking the stairs two at a time. He could see himself gaining on Courtney and even though she was trying her best to get to the top first, she just didn’t have the speed that Jason did. Courtney could see the entrance to level five coming up close, but she made the mistake of looking down to see where Jason was. She could feel his presence close behind her and just as she was about to reach the big red five on the wall, Jason grabbed her waist and spun her around. He began to tickle her mercilessly as she fought to break free from his arms… though something seemed to be holding her back, like she didn’t want to leave his arms. Courtney’s face was filled with a huge grin as she laughed and laughed and her eyes filled with tears the more Jason tickled her. And then something happened that Jason had never experienced before… a laugh escaped him and before he knew what was happening, he couldn’t stop it. The more he tickled Courtney and the more he watched her smile, the more he laughed. He couldn’t gain control over himself and eventually had to stop tickling her, just to try and stop the laughter, but nothing worked as they both collapsed into each other’s arms in a fit of laughter.

After what seemed like forever, the laughing began to slow down and Jason managed to catch a breath. “I’ve never laughed this hard before,” he said, “in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed.”

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Courtney asked, her face glowing with a kind of happiness that she hadn’t felt in a long time. She was still in the same position that she’d been in while Jason had tickled her. He had his arms wrapped around her and allowed her to lean back against him comfortably.

“Yea,” Jason answered.

“Ok, come on,” Courtney said, moving away slightly, “We’ve been gone way too long.”

“Yea,” he replied, but there were no regrets in his mind. It didn’t matter whether he was supposed to have left the hospital, he had just had the most wonderful night of the life he could remember, and most of all, Courtney had made him laugh… and smile… and forget about everything else, even if just for a few hours.

They walked out of the stairwell together and around the corner, heading towards room 517. As they neared the door, Jason heard his father’s voice coming down the hall. He quickly went into his room and pulled Courtney in behind him.

“Oh my god!” Courtney said as she glanced at the clock in the room, “Jason do you know what time it is?”

“What time?”

“It’s 3:30 in the morning.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, beginning to smile again.

“Yes!” she answered. “I shouldn’t have kept you out so late.”

“What? So that I could stay cooped up in here instead of having an incredible night with you?” Jason blurted out.

Courtney could feel her cheeks beginning to turn a slight shade of pink. “No… but visiting hours have long been over.”

“Screw visiting hours,” Jason said, “but I heard my dad down the hall… he’s probably heading towards here. And having the chief of staff know that there’s a visitor in here this early in the morning probably isn’t a good idea.”

“Right.” Courtney said as she searched the room for a place to hide, “I’ll shut off the lights, you hop into bed and pretend to be sleeping and then I’ll-I’ll hide back here behind your bed.”

“Good plan,” Jason smiled.

Courtney felt like she was 6 years old again and about to be caught taking the last cookie. The thought made her giggle.

“No giggling!” Jason commanded, but he knew it was going to be hard for both of them.

She did as she had planned and got behind Jason’s bed, just in time for Alan to open the door and see Jason, “asleep.”

“You asleep?” Alan asked his son.

Jason pretended to sound groggy. “No, not really. Working the late shift tonight?” Courtney grabbed a pillow that was lying beside her and stuck it up to her face to cover her giggles.

“Yea,” Alan replied, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m actually-I’m feeling great right now,” Jason said, “How soon until I get out of here?”

“Soon.”

Courtney beamed from her hiding place and reached up to squeeze Jason’s hand. This was her mistake. As she reached up to grab Jason’s hand, she knocked her arm against the bottom of the bed and let out a yelp.

“What was that?” Alan asked suspiciously.

“Umm…” Jason responded, thinking quickly. Before he could answer, Courtney completely blew their cover by bursting into giggles.

“Who is that?” Alan asked curiously, attempting to sound mad, though he wasn’t.

“Uh… it’s this crazy card that Brenda sent me,” Jason said, “You know, you like, open it and it laughs or something?”

“Oh.”

This was too much for Courtney who was quickly losing a battle she couldn’t win. Her giggles became increasingly louder and it didn’t help when Jason tried to bonk the top of her head with his hand. Courtney looked down to grab the pillow and cover her face with it, but when she looked up again, she came face to face with Jason’s father.

“Hello Courtney,” he said simply.

“Hi.” Her expression had changed to one of mild fear. “Look I’m really sorry, this is all my fault. I just… I um… I came to visit Jason. Yes, I know it’s 3:30 in the morning, but um… I kind of didn’t know what time it was and… and… well, Jason had nothing-”

“So this is the reason why you’ve been gone all night?” Alan questioned with a raised eyebrow as he looked at his son.

“Uhhh…” Jason didn’t know how to respond.

“It’s all my fault!” Courtney butted in, “I convinced Jason to leave the hospital with me and I just-I wanted to show him Port Charles and help him have a good time and we got a little bit carried away.” She and Jason nervously waited for Alan to respond.

“I heard that there were two loonies that escaped from the psyche ward who were making a loud racket in the back stairwell.”

“Shit,” Jason thought, they were completely busted.

Courtney stood up as Alan stared at her. “Look, I’m really really sorry and I understand if you tell me that I can’t see Jason again because I know I shouldn’t have taken him out of the hospital-”

“You can’t tell her that she can’t see me again,” Jason interrupted quickly, “And besides, it was as much my fault as it was hers.”

Alan was greatly amused by both Jason and Courtney’s actions, but decided to torture them a little longer. “Well… I’ll have to talk to Jason’s doctors about this and we’ll make a decision based on the situation.”

“I’m sorry,” Courtney said as she began to edge towards the room’s exit.

“You can’t tell her that she can’t come visit me anymore!” Jason exploded, “I just had the best night that I’ve ever had and you’re going to tell me that it was BAD for me?”

“Jason!” Alan said, “Calm down! Nobody’s going to say that Courtney can’t visit you anymore. Honestly, I was only playing around with you.”

Courtney let out a sigh of relief, but could feel herself beginning to blush again. “Oh.”

“But just, next time you sneak back into the hospital at 3:30 in the morning, don’t make such a racket in the stairwell, okay?” Alan smiled at Jason, “I’m glad you had a good time.”

Jason could feel himself settling down. For a moment he had thought that Alan was about to take away the one good thing that he had in his life… Courtney.

“Just don’t make a habit of staying out this late when you’re a patient at the hospital,” Alan recommended, “and as long as you don’t tell your doctors that you went out tonight, I won’t.” He flashed a smile at his son before turning to leave.

“You should probably go, Courtney,” Alan said, “soon, anyway.” Alan exited the room and closed the door behind him, his face filled with an expression of deep amusement.

“Oh. My. God.” Courtney said as Alan left, “I thought he was gonna rip into me.”

“But he didn’t.” He sat up in his bed, still fully clothed.

“Yea.” Courtney moved slowly towards Jason’s bed, “I should be going.”

“Yea,” Jason said reluctantly. He didn’t want the night to end.

“Well,” Courtney said, “Goodbye.” She stood there watching him for a moment before turning to leave.

“Courtney?”

“Yes?”

“I-” he paused, “Thanks.”

Courtney grinned as she left. “Anytime.”

A/N: I so enjoyed writing this chapter, even if it was just fluff. And btw, I’ve decided to make Jason closer in age to Courtney… like around 23 or 24.

Courtney quietly closed the heavy door behind her. She heard the lock click into place and began to walk away from the room.

“I still miss my Jason,” she thought to herself, “but even though he’s changed-and become a different person, I like this Jason too. It’s like-like he’s helping me get through the pain of losing the love of my life.” While she reflected on the night’s events, thoughts swirled in her mind and a smile began to grow on her face. “But he can still make me laugh.” She had almost left the hallway when she heard his voice.

“Courtney!” he called as softly as he could, but loud enough that she could hear him.

She turned to face him and looked deeply into his eyes. “Yes?”

“Um…goodnight.” Jason didn’t want her to leave him…not now, not ever, but how was he supposed to tell her that? She was still in love with the man he had once been.

Without a thought, her body began to move back toward him, as if there was a force that united them, both physically and emotionally. Her eyes were connected with his, and she couldn’t-wouldn’t break contact with him. She remembered the first time that she had gotten lost in those crystal blue eyes… the memory of the rain flashed inside of her mind. She began to feel the rain against her body, pouring all around her and mixing up her thoughts. She broke her gaze as her head started spinning and her thoughts jumbled together…

Jason watched as Courtney’s expression changed and she began to look sick to her stomach.

“Courtney!” she heard a voice call from far away. “Courtney!” She could feel herself falling and hard as she tried in that split second, she couldn’t stop it.

No words entered Jason’s minds, save only Courtney, as he rushed towards her. He could see her body falling to the ground, but he couldn’t stop it and he couldn’t help her. He watched as her body hit the floor a few feet in front of him. He reached out with his hands to catch any part of her, but the only thing he caught was air.

“Courtney!” he yelled as he knelt on the floor beside her still form. He took her head in his hands and tried to wake her up. “I can’t lose her now,” he thought desperately. “Don’t leave me,” he whispered, “I need you.” He took a deep breath, but he was beginning to panic. “Somebody help her!” Jason yelled, forgetting that the people around were probably trying to sleep.

“Jason!” Alan reprimanded before coming around the corner, “Stop yel-oh my god. Jason? What happened?”

“I don’t, I don’t know!” Jason shouted. “You’re supposed to be a doctor. Can’t you help her?”

“Pick her up and follow me. She may have just fainted, but we’ll need to check her out.” Alan rushed ahead to get a room and a doctor for her.

Jason followed Alan’s command and gently picked up Courtney. She looked so peaceful and quiet… but the thought of losing her was too much for Jason. What the hell was going on? Jason felt a small movement in Courtney’s hand.

She could see a dim light as she struggled to open her eyes and come back to him. What was happening to her? “Jason,” she whispered, recognizing the feeling of being in his arms, “Hey.”

“Courtney!” he said softly. “I-I thought-I don’t know what I thought. You just-just collapsed. Thank God you’re okay.”

She opened her eyes a little and squinted. “Where am I?”

“You were-you were talking to me in the hallway remember and then you just-just completely passed out.”

“The rain,” she said, “I was remembering the rain.”

“Rain?” Jason asked, “What rain?”

“The first time I-I got lost in-” The words weren’t making sense to her. All she could remember was the feeling of the rain beating against her cheeks and the love in his eyes. “His eyes. Intoxicating.”

Jason didn’t know what she was mumbling about, but he quickly found Alan. “She just woke up-mumbling something about the rain.”

“Thank God she’s awake.”

She was slowly beginning to become more aware of herself and her surroundings as Jason placed her on the hospital bed and a doctor scurried around her. “Jason?”

“Yea,” he said, reaching over to squeeze her hands.

“I’m sorry for scaring you,” she said as she remembered what had happened. “I’m not going to leave you anytime soon.”

“I know.”

The doctor glanced at him. “I’ll need to be alone with Courtney for a bit while we run some tests. I’ll find you once we’ve completed everything.”

“Ok,” Jason nodded. His attention shifted towards Courtney. “I’ll be waiting.”

~*~

“Sonny?” Jason asked as he twisted the cord on the public telephone. “Look, um, I know it’s the middle of the night.”

“Yea?” Sonny asked groggily. What the hell was Jason doing calling him at 4 am?

“It’s about Courtney.”

Sonny sat bolt right up in bed, but was careful not to disturb a sleeping Carly. He jumped off the bed and wandered out into the hall. “What happened?”

“She was at the hospital when she collapsed about 15 minutes ago,” Jason said bluntly.

“Is she okay?” Sonny demanded to know.

“The doctors-they kicked me out of the room,” Jason said, “but I thought I should tell you-since she’s your sister and all.”

“I’ll be right over,” Sonny said. He walked back into the bedroom and gave Carly a quick kiss on the forehead before heading out.

“What was Courtney doing at the hospital in the middle of the night?” he wondered.

~*~

The doors to the elevator on the fifth floor opened and Sonny jumped out. The hospital was nearly deserted at this time of night. He approached the woman working at the desk and spoke. “My sister was here when she collapsed about half an hour ago. Courtney Matthews? May I see her?”

The nurse checked the records and sent him to Courtney’s room. As Sonny approached the room, he realized that Jason was sitting down on the ground, just outside the door.

“Hey,” Sonny said, “How is she?”

“Well, she woke up while I carried her to the room,” Jason said, “but they had to run some tests to see what was wrong. The doctor went in to talk to her and asked me to stay out here-said he’d let me come in when he was finished.”

“Oh,” Sonny said. “What the hell was she doing at the hospital in the middle of the night?”

Jason was silent for a moment. “Seeing me,” he finally answered.

“At 4:00 in the morning?”

“Yes,” Jason responded defensively.

“I was just curious,” Sonny said as he paced the hallway. “You been with her all night?”

“Yes.”

“Did she seem sick before?”

“Dammit, Sonny! I don’t know!” Jason said, raising his voice. “I should not’ve kept her out so late!”

Sonny nodded as he ran his fingers through his dark-colored hair. “Calm down. She’s going to be okay. Courtney’s always been a fighter.”

“I hope you’re right.”

The door to Courtney’s room opened and the short black-haired doctor nodded towards Jason. “You may go in now.”

“Um, this is Courtney’s brother,” Jason said, motioning towards Sonny, “I’m just-just a friend and well, you know, he should probably go in first.”

“Okay. Courtney will be released soon anyway.”

Jason let a breath of relief as Sonny entered Courtney’s room.

“Hey little sister,” he said, glancing at her.

“Hey big brother,” she said quietly.

Sonny noticed that she didn’t look too happy, but then again, she’d just collapsed. “Did they say what was wrong?”

“Oh-you know-” Courtney replied vaguely, “I haven’t been eating right and it’s not that big of a deal. I can leave now. I just need to get some rest when I get home.”

“Do you want me to take you?”

“Sure,” Courtney said as she got up off the bed.

“Jason’s out there,” Sonny said as he watched her.

“Oh.” Courtney looked away. “Can you just take me home?”

Sonny nodded as he walked out of the room, followed by a frowning Courtney. Jason jumped at the sight of Courtney coming out of the room.

“Courtney-oh my god-are you okay?” Jason asked. “I mean, it can’t be that bad if the doctors are letting you go.”

“I’m fine,” she said simply, but refused to meet his eyes.

Jason was confused. Why was Courtney acting so cold towards him?

“Do you need me to take you home?” Jason asked.

“Sonny is perfectly able,” she said as she walked down the hall.

“Oh-okay,” Jason said. Why was he so hurt? What had he expected? For her to embrace him the moment she walked out the door? No, that was dumb. “I’ll-I guess I’ll see you later then.”

“Yea…” Courtney responded as she looked desperately at Sonny. All she could think about was escaping that damn hospital. Sonny caught the look and led her away.

“We’d better get you home. Thanks for calling me,” Sonny said as he looked back at Jason, who was just standing there, staring into space, completely alone.

“Welcome,” Jason said curtly before turning and walking the other way.

Courtney watched him leave and felt a pang of guilt in her heart. “What am I doing?” she asked herself.

~*~

“Thanks for taking me home,” Courtney told her brother as they stood at the door to the loft.

“You were awfully quiet on the ride home,” Sonny said.

“I was just-thinking,” Courtney responded half-heartedly, “and tired.”

“You sure that you’re going to be okay here alone?” he questioned.

Courtney placed her key into the lock. “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay then,” Sonny said, “I’ll call you tomorrow to check up on things. Ok?”

“Ok.”

Sonny walked away as Courtney quickly entered the loft. She was exhausted from the night’s events and all she needed was a good sleep… and a good cry. Not bothering to change into her pajamas, she jumped into bed and pulled the covers over her. Tears began to spill down her cheeks and onto the sheets before her head had hit the pillow. Turning to lay on her back, she looked up at the ceiling.

“Why?” she asked simply, “Why God, why?”

Will Courtney’s change of heart have an explanation?

Who will be the one to comfort Jason?

A/N: Btw, Jessica Lynn voiced that she wanted to see more of a friendship between Jason and Sonny. I realized that this was something that I had neglected to develop, so I tried to establish the beginnings during this chapter. Thanks for the idea!

The morning sun streamed through the window, lighting up Jason’s sleep face. He yawned and glanced at the clock... 11:30. Stretching his arms, he pulled the covers off of him and climbed out of bed. It only took a few seconds for his mind to recall the previous night’s events. He quickly became angry once more and felt the need to break something-or someone, the same way that she had broken him into a thousand pieces. “Maybe it’s nothing,” he thought. “Maybe she was just tired.” But Jason knew that something wasn’t right with Courtney. As he pondered a million different scenarios, each more unlikely than the next, a knock interrupted his thoughts. His heart began to pound as he stepped toward the door and he was finding it abnormally hard to breathe. Maybe... just maybe. He reached out with a leap of faith and opened the door.

~*~

“Hello?” Courtney said, though she could hardly be understood through a yawn.

“Hey,” a woman’s voice greeted her.

“Oh, hey Carly,” Courtney replied. She hoped that Sonny hadn’t told her about last night.

“I’ve been trying to call you all morning! Sonny said you’d still be sleeping...”

“Yea... I was...” Courtney responded. “What else did Sonny say?”

“Oh, you know,” Carly answered, “No donuts for breakfast.”

Courtney sighed with relief. So Sonny hadn’t mentioned anything.

“Late night last night?” Carly questioned. Courtney didn’t sound like her usual self. “Look, I just wanted to see how things went with Jason.”

“Oh, Jason... um, we had a nice time. Actually-” Courtney smiled to herself. “We had a great time together. I-I took him out of the hospital.”

“Really?” Carly asked excitedly, “and his doctors were okay with that?”

“Well,” Courtney paused. “They didn’t know.”

“Courtney!” Carly laughed. “You snuck him out?”

“Yea... he had a great time seeing Port Charles.”

“So you’re going to go see him again, right?”

“Umm... I don’t-I don’t know.” The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

“Why not?” Carly asked, surprised.

“Things got weird.” Stop lying to yourself.

“Oh. Well, call me later, okay? I have my 2 month appointment with Dr. Meadows.”

“Ok. Thanks for calling, Carly.”

~*~

“Hey,” Jason said, staring into the eyes of the beautiful brunette.

“Hey!” she said energetically. “I meant to call, but I didn’t, obviously.” She laughed and her head of curls bounced. “How are you feeling?”

“Like hell,” Jason wanted to respond, but instead, he said, “Fine.”

“No you’re not,” Brenda observed, “You look like hell.”

“Yea,” he replied. Why did she always have the ability to see through him?

“What happened?” she asked as Jason moved, allowing her to step into the room.

“Nothing.”

“Jason, don’t start lying to me.”

“Ok. Fine.” Jason took a breath and glared into her eyes. She looked back at him with the same piercing look. “Courtney hates me.”

“She what?”

“We were having a great time and then-and then she faints and now she hates me.”

Brenda stared blankly at him. “Talk slower. What?”

“So Courtney finally came to me last night. We snuck out of the hospital and she showed me everything in the town. Things were just great,” he said bitterly. “And I thought for a moment that maybe-maybe I’d found something, something that I wanted to hold onto forever.” Jason walked toward the bed and sat down on the edge of its stiff blue sheets. He sighed and placed his head in his hands.

Brenda joined him on the bed and placed her hand on his shoulder. “And then what?”

Jason looked up again and shook his head. “We-we came back up here, racing up the stairs. And then when she was leaving, I called out her name and she just-she collapses right out there in the hall.” Jason shivered, remembering the horrifying feeling that had washed through him at that moment. “I ran, but I didn’t catch her.” Jason was acutely aware of Brenda’s hand which was lightly massaging his back, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. “The doctors checked her out, I called Sonny and then when she came out, she wouldn’t even look at me, barely says a word and then leaves with Sonny.”

Brenda didn’t say anything, just sat thinking for a few minutes. Jason had confided in her in a way that Jason Morgan had never done. Hell, it had taken her months into their marriage for her to figure out that he was involved with Courtney. Why was Courtney acting this way now? Maybe she couldn’t handle not having Jason Morgan in her life anymore. God knows even Brenda could see how wonderful Jason had been to her.

“I think Courtney misses Jason Morgan’s love for her,” Brenda said slowly. Her hand slide off of Jason’s back and down to her knee. “And she’s confused. Not knowing how to move on and let someone different into her life.” Brenda wanted to ask Jason if he wanted to be the one that Courtney fell in love with. “She needs your friendship and support, but don’t push. She’s still hurting.”

“Yea,” Jason replied. What Brenda had said made sense, but why the sudden change? “I just can’t help thinking that she isn’t telling me something.”

Brenda agreed. Courtney’s change of heart seemed too quick. “She’ll tell you if she’s ready or if you need to know.” Brenda hoped so, anyway. “Think you’re going to be okay?”

Jason stood up and walked toward the window. He looked out at the noon-day sun, contemplating the answer. “My dad said they’re going to release me soon. I hope it’s today.”

Brenda smiled at him from across the room and her eyes lit up with tiny sparkles. “Good, but where are you going to stay?”

Jason hadn’t even considered this. “Um, I don’t know. Where am I supposed to be living?”

“Well, Jason Morgan lived in a penthouse across the hall from Sonny.”

“Oh.” He didn’t want to ask Sonny for any favors, but what else was he going to do? He imagined that he was probably the one who owned it anyway... so maybe, maybe he’d consider moving in there.

“Jason?” Monica asked, walking through the door. “Oh, hi Brenda. Sorry to interrupt, but I have excellent news!” Monica beamed as she moved towards her son. He noticed a clipboard in her hands.

“Are those-are those-” Jason couldn’t even say the words.

“Release papers?” Monica asked with a huge smile. “Yes, yes they are.”

Jason looked over at Brenda who had a silly look on her face. “So I can-I can go?”

“Yes.” Monica set the clipboard down and hugged her son. “Would you like me to take you home?”

Home. The word was so foreign to him. The only home he’d ever known was the hospital room. “Um, are you sure?” he asked.

“Well, I’m supposed to be working, but I think I can fix things so that I could get a couple of hours off.”

“I could take him,” Brenda interrupted.

Monica glanced at Jason. “Is that okay?”

“Yes,” Jason said eagerly. He felt more comfortable with Brenda than he did with his mom.

“Because that does fit my schedule better and I can come home in a few hours...” Monica responded, “You sure Brenda?”

“No problem.” Brenda answered.

“Ok, I’ll be out at the front desk. But first, can you sign here Jason?”

“Sure.” Jason took the pen into his hands and felt the plastic against his skin. He pressed the point of the pen against the paper and signed his name. Jason... He stopped for a moment. Quartermaine or Morgan? Deciding quickly, he left it as it was.

“Thanks.” Monica squeezed Jason’s hand and left the room.

As soon as Monica had left, Brenda ran towards Jason and threw her arms around him. It was hard to say who was more surprised at the gesture-Jason or Brenda?

***Flashback***

***End Flashback***

Brenda noticed the change that had come over Jason and pulled away awkwardly. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Bren?” he finally managed to say.

“Yes?”

“Why did you bring me cookies the first time you came here?”

“Because I thought you might like them,” she responded.

“I told you I’d miss them, didn’t I?” Jason asked.

Brenda looked strangely at him. “What?”

“In the airport-I said I’d miss them.”

Brenda smiled at the memory. The one moment that she had felt close to Jason. “Yes you did.”

“And you told me to be happy.”

“Yes I did.” Brenda looked into his blue eyes. “You remember?”

“A little.” Jason rubbed his forehead.

“I’m glad you remembered something,” she said gently.

“Yea, me too,” he responded, but there was a lingering sadness in his voice. He only wished that he could remember more.

“So I guess I’m supposed to take you to the Q’s then?” Brenda said.

“For now.”

She smiled at him and tucked a brown curl behind her ear. “Everything’s going to work out.”

“Yea,” Jason nodded, though he was still unconvinced. “Everything’s going to work out.”

A/N: Just for your info-Skye upon learning that she was not a Quartermaine left town, Ned is living with Alexis and Kristina in the gatehouse, Dillon hasn’t come to PC and Emily hasn’t come home (so no cancer, but this may come into play later, we’ll see how the story goes)

~*~

Brenda pulled up to the Quartermaine’s mansion and stopped the car. She glanced over at Jason who didn’t look particularly eager to leave the car. “Nervous?” she asked.

“Sort of.” He’d only seen a few of his relatives on occasion, and here he was, preparing to live with them. “I just-I don’t know what to expect.”

Brenda raised an eyebrow before answering. “Insanity.”

“Insanity?” Jason questioned, running his fingers through his hair. “Are they really that bad?”

“I lived with the Quartermaine’s a long time ago,” Brenda began to say, “and believe me, it’s crazy in there.”

“Why am I doing this?” Jason said suddenly.

“Because you feel responsible.”

Jason knew she was right. “Maybe I should just live in my old penthouse.”

“I’m sure Sonny won’t mind,” Brenda replied slowly, “After all, you did used to be like a brother to him.”

“Yea. But...”

“You think you’ll be hurting the Quartermaine’s if you don’t even show up?” Jason didn’t answer. “Monica and Alan, they let go once, and you don’t want to disappoint them.”

Jason nodded. “Maybe I’ll try it out and see how things go.”

“Good idea. So you’re ready to go in?”

“Yea.” Jason pulled the car door open and walked up to the door, with Brenda following close behind. He reached out and pressed the button for the doorbell.

“I don’t think you need to press the doorbell,” Brenda joked.

“Right.” So he was supposed to just walk into this place which was supposedly his home? As far as Jason knew, he hadn’t even lived there for years. Jason Morgan had made a whole separate life away from the Quartermaines after the first accident. Jason took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Jason!” he heard a sarcastic voice call out. “How nice to see the golden boy returning home.”

Jason searched his mind for the man’s name. “Hi.”

“Always knew you’d return and this time you’ve even brought a lady with you. How nice.”

“AJ!” Brenda snapped, “Cut it out.”

“AJ,” Jason thought, “That’s the name of my screwed up brother.”

“Just giving a warm welcome to my baby brother.”

Jason could feel the tension in the room rising and felt grateful when he spotted Reginald wheeling his grandmother into the front hall.

“Jason, dear,” Lila said sweetly, “It’s great to see you home.”

“Yea.” Jason had liked Lila when he had first met her at the hospital. She was kind to him and didn’t expect him to remember her in the way that the other members of his family had.

“Won’t you bring your things upstairs? Monica phoned this morning and I had your room ready.”

“Thanks.” The more that Jason thought about it, the less he liked the idea of living at “home” with Quartermaines. Hell, look at his brother... he was still living at home and couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag even if it had a big hole in it.

“I’ll go get your stuff,” Brenda said, touching Jason lightly on the shoulder.

“Um, I’ll come help you.” Jason was desperate to get out of the house already, and it had only been three minutes.

He followed Brenda out the door and welcomed the afternoon air.

“So...” she said once they were out of earshot from the house. “What did you think?”

“I’d have to be f--king crazy to live there,” Jason answered honestly, his eyes growing bigger.

Brenda felt a small smile creep onto her face. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

“It doesn’t make me a horrible person, does it?” Jason asked. “I mean, my parents have done so much for me... but I just can’t handle living here.”

“They’ll understand.”

“I hope so,” Jason responded.

“So I’m guessing that we ignore unpacking your stuff and drive to Harborview Towers?” Brenda asked. One glance from Jason told her the answer. “Hop in.”

Sonny stood in the penthouse, watching his wife, who was playing with his son Michael. “Hey beautiful,” he said. “How does lunch at Kelly’s sound?”

“You mean I get a break from your cooking?” Carly asked eagerly.

“Don’t sound too sure,” Sonny joked. “But if you want...”

“Yes!” Carly interrupted.

“Can I go too?” Michael questioned, giving his daddy his puppy dog face.

“Sure,” Sonny answered.

Carly stood up and reached onto the table. “Okay, got my purse. Ready?”

Before Sonny could respond, the sound of the ringing telephone filled the room.

“Damn,” Sonny said to himself, afraid that it would be one of the guys at the warehouse. Since Jason was no longer available to him, he had been working a lot more. “Hello?”

“Hi.”

“Jason?” Sonny asked.

“Yea. It’s me. Um, I just-I got released from the hospital and um...” Jason glanced nervously at Brenda who was driving the car towards Harborview Towers.

“You want to stay at your old penthouse?”

Jason sighed with relief. “Well, if it’s a problem, don’t bother, I can go to the Quartermaine’s, but you know how they are...”

“Yea. It’s like living with a bunch of lunatics.”

Jason laughed. “Basically.”

“The guards can let you in.” Sonny said.

“Okay.” Jason wasn’t sure what to say. “Listen, thanks a lot.”

“It’s no problem. And if you need anything, just come across the hall or call me.”

“Great.” Jason hung up the phone.

“Jason?” Carly asked, looking at her husband. “He got released?”

“Yea,” Sonny said, scratching the back of his neck. “He said he wants to come live in his penthouse... which is fine with me.”

“That’s great!” Carly exclaimed. It would give Jason and Michael more of a chance to see and interact with each other... and maybe she and Sonny would be able to become friends with him again.

“Mommy?” Michael asked suddenly. He’d been quiet through the conversation. “Does this mean that I get to see Uncle Jason every day?”

“Probably,” she answered, messing up his red hair.

“I hope so!” Michael beamed. “And the new baby will get to meet him too?”

“Right.” Carly smiled and grabbed Michael’s hand and led him out of the penthouse as Sonny walked behind them. They climbed onto the elevator and rode down together, going out together as a family.

~*~

Jason dragged his bags behind him, while Brenda carried his smallest bag. “What is this?” he asked.

“What?” she asked innocently.

“You’re only carrying the lightest thing.”

“So?”

“It’s not very polite,” he said, though he was smiling.

“Polite?” Brenda asked. “When have I ever?”

“Good question.” Jason pressed the up button on the elevator. “I kind of forgot to ask what floor.”

“25^th,” Brenda answered. The doors to the elevator opened and Brenda climbed on behind him.

“And how the hell do you know that?”

“Because I used to live with you, remember? That whole marriage thing.”

“Oh yea.” Somehow, Jason couldn’t imagine himself married to anyone-let alone Brenda.

He and Brenda stood in silence as the elevator went up several floors, until it finally reached the twenty-fifth.

“So this is where I live?” he asked, stepping out of the elevator and into the dark-colored hall.

“Sure is,” one of the guards replied.

Jason jumped back slightly. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were up here.”

“Johnny.” the man said, reaching over to shake hands.

“Jason.” He seemed nice enough, even if it was a little creepy to have a guard standing outside of his door.

“Mr. Corinthos said that I should let you in.”

“Okay.” He watched as the guard unlocked the door and opened it. Jason stepped into the penthouse, and flipped on the lights. The room was sparsely decorated with only a table, a few chairs, and a pool table. The guard carried Jason’s things inside and left, closing the door behind him.

Brenda stayed near the door as she observed Jason walk around the room and become familiar with his new home. He ran his fingers across the smooth wood of the pool table, and ran the cue through his hands, trying to remember anything he could about the house. As he walked toward the balcony, he looked at each thing in the room. It was probably all in the same place that he had left it when leaving for the warehouse a month ago. He couldn’t help but notice how little there was in the penthouse, but it suited him. He didn’t need a lot of fancy things, just a bed to sleep on and a pool table to play a game or two.

Jason walked back around the room and headed up the stairs. He opened the door to his bedroom and gazed at the bed, the sheets still crumpled from where he’d left them on that fateful morning. Brenda stood in the doorway, just watching him as he took in everything. His bedroom was just like the room downstairs. It was plain, and undecorated, and had very little in it.

It was Brenda who spoke first. “What do you think?”

Jason turned to face her. “I think-I think I could live here,” he said. Jason noticed a strange sadness come over Brenda. “You okay?”

“Yea,” she replied, looking away. “I’d better go.”

“Okay,” he responded. “Call me.”

“Certainly.” Brenda glanced around the room once more and headed back downstairs, where she grabbed her purse and left.

“So this is home,” Jason said softly to himself. Everything was the way it should have been... or was there one thing missing?

A/N: Okay, I know, no Journey in this chapter, but it was getting long! I promise, there’s gonna be some great Journey stuff coming up! :D