Stolen Hearts

Chapter Four: A Very Long Night

“AAAJJJJJ!” Elizabeth screeched.

It was rather late in the evening when Elizabeth was beckoned to the Cabin for an impromptu meeting with AJ.  Elizabeth was expecting a positive update but instead she was informed of AJ’s drunken disaster at the Quartermaine Mansion.  She was discouraged and definitely not impressed.   

“Lizzie… Relax!” AJ tried to quiet his ally.  “You’re giving me a headache!”

“You drunken idiot!” Elizabeth continued, the fury evident in her voice.  “How could you be so stupid?  Now Jason and Courtney will be extra suspicious of you!  You son of –”

“Hey, hey, hey… Just relax there Lizzie, everything is going as planned.” AJ revealed.

“As planned?  AJ, you have ruined the plan… Jason takes protecting his family very seriously.  Now, because of you he is going to double - or even triple - the security around Courtney and Chance!  We’ll never get anywhere near the little brat!”

Elizabeth Webber was beyond livid.  Up until now everything was moving along smoothly.  So much in fact that she could almost feel Jason’s arms around her!  Now thanks to the notorious Quartermaine screw-up everything was ruined. 

“Jason gave me quite the warning too,” AJ laughed.

“This isn’t funny AJ,” Liz scoffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

She was definitely not in the mood for jokes.

“Actually, everything is perfect my little pet!” AJ surmised.  “Jason gave me such the warning and I acted so ‘scared’ that he would not suspect me of taking Chance!”

“WHY NOT?” Elizabeth yelled.

“Because arrogant Jason would think he scared me off – would think I would know better than to take his precious son.” AJ smirked.

“You give yourself too much credit,” Elizabeth snarled sarcastically. 

~ ~ ~ ** ~ ~ ~

“Well, well, well…  Look who it is!”  Carly immediately scolded her best friends the moment they walked off the elevator. 

It was like a sixth sense for Carly Corinthos, she always knew when Jason and Courtney were arriving home and was always there to greet them, whether they wanted to see Carly or not. 

Carly was so busy starting her tirade that she didn’t even notice the somber expressions on Jason and Courtney’s faces.  Little Chance was acting up as well, but Carly chose to ignore this fact and simply raised her voice to be heard over the cries.   

“Imagine my surprise when I wake up to find Chance gone - and that his ungrateful parents decided to skip out on their much needed vacation… which I graciously planned by the way… And for dinner at the Quartermaine’s!  I mean… wha-”

“Carly, not now!” Jason snapped. 

The strong and powerful Jason Morgan hated to admit it but tonight’s events terrified him.  Tonight he realized that he wasn’t untouchable – he was actually emotionally vulnerable because of Courtney and Chance.  Now he had to work extra hard and double their protection.  The last thing he needed right now was another lecture from Carly. 

“Pardon Me?” Carly was absolutely stunned at Jason’s sudden outburst.

It was not uncommon for Jason to become annoyed with Carly.  However Jason was not typically sharp with his best friend unless she bothered him when something was seriously off. 

“Don’t be mad at her Morgan.  This evening is my fault entirely, I made us go.” Courtney whispered, visibly shaken.

“What’s your fault?” Carly inquired, still trying to figure things out.  “And why is my Nephew so upset?”

Courtney began to softly rock the stroller holding Chance back and forth, in an effort to soothe him.  Her actions failed and Chance continued to fuss.

“Baby, don’t blame yourself!” Jason tried to calm his distressed wife.  “Why don’t you take Chance inside and put him down for bed.  I will be home after I talk to Sonny,” Jason suggested to his Wife.

Before he left Jason gave Courtney a gently, loving kiss.  Courtney was basically unresponsive to Jason’s actions.  She only nodded her head and wordlessly went inside the Penthouse with their Son.

“Why do you have to talk to Sonny?” Carly continued with her line of questioning. 

Jason simply ignored Carly and went in search of Sonny, leaving Carly in an empty hallway. 

“HELLO!!!” Carly whined. 

~ ~ ~ ** ~ ~ ~

“Sonny… Sonny…” Jason called out to his Boss.

Jason’s tone was stone cold serious.  He had business that needed to be taken care of immediately. 

Upon entering the living room and observing Jason’s stern facial expression Sonny automatically knew something was wrong, so he got right down to business.

“What happened?” Sonny questioned. 

“AJ happened” Jason complained, trying to think through the anger he felt for his brother and act rationally. 

“Won’t that guy ever give up?” Sonny shook his head in disbelief.  “What did he do now?”

“Lila invited us over for dinner,” Jason began.  “Everything was going fine until AJ showed up, drunk.”

“Did he hurt Courtney or Chance?”

Sonny prided himself on being a family man, and was very protective of his loved ones.  Therefore one of the most disrespectful things to Sonny is harming his family.  Actions like this were deemed unforgivable. 

“No – he was thrown out before anything happened.” Jason explained.  “But a couple hours later Courtney and I found AJ in the Nursery holding a crying Chance.  I have never heard Chance scream that loud…. I have never seen Courtney that scared.” 

“It’s your call on what we do next,” Sonny informed Jason. 

Sonny was most frequently the decision-maker in Sonny and Jason’s business.  But this time business was personal – Jason’s personal business.  Sonny let his right hand man take the drivers seat.  

“I want Guards on them all the time,” Jason commanded.  “I also want someone keeping an eye on AJ – to make sure he isn’t up to any mischief.”

“Consider it done.” Sonny confirmed.  “Who do you want on Courtney and Chance?” 

“Someone I really trust, and someone that Courtney and Chance feel comfortable with…  I want Tony to watch my family.”

“Are you sure?  He’s our newest employee.”  Sonny said.

Sonny trusted Jason’s judgment but wanted to play devil’s advocate to make Jason sure he was doing the right thing. 

“I trust him,” Jason declared. 

~ ~ ~ ** ~ ~ ~

“AJ, put the bottle down!” Elizabeth warned.

Elizabeth was in disbelief that AJ would dare to drink again after his drunken stupor caused such a scene at the Quartermaine’s. 

“Who are you, my Mom?  Just do me a favor and shut-up Lizzie… You make my head hurt!” AJ cursed.

It made AJ feel better to berate Elizabeth, and he wanted to continue however his cell phone temporarily halted his dreams.   

“Hello” AJ slurred, after he fumbled to find the phone. 

“Boss, its Tony!” Tony whispered. 

“Tony?” AJ smiled, sending Elizabeth a know-it-all look.  “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know your little scene tonight really worked out in our favor!”

“Really…”

“I will now be guarding Courtney and Chance at all times!”

“Excellent work Tony!” AJ congratulated.  “Keep me updated.”

~ ~ ~ ** ~ ~ ~

Carly tentatively walked in to the Morgan Penthouse and was baffled by the site of a frustrated and disheveled Courtney attending to Chance.  Carly knew something major happened at dinner because she had never seen Courtney so unraveled; she was usually calm as a mother.

“Shhh…  Calm down Baby Love.  Mommy’s here,” Courtney soothed to her Son.

Courtney tried rocking Chance back and forth in an attempt to calm him down.  She then took a crack at bouncing him, and when that didn’t work Courtney brought him to the window to look out – but that failed too.  It seemed like no matter what Courtney did Chance would not stop fussing.  Tears were starting to form in Courtney’s eyes.

Wordlessly Carly reached for Chance to give her best friend a break.  Courtney handed him over willingly.

“Courtney, what happened?”  Carly asked as she settled herself down on the couch. 

“AJ happened!” Courtney cried. 

Courtney sunk herself down on the couch beside Carly.  She was tired, upset and very angry with herself for putting her Son in danger.

“Oh Lord!  Here we go again!” Carly breathed.

“It’s my entire fault Carly…  I mean Jason wanted to postpone dinner, but I made us go to!  I put my Son in danger!” Courtney sobbed, tears beginning to glisten down her cheeks. 

“Courtney… AJ is very unpredictable; you couldn’t have known he was going to show up!”

Carly didn’t know what to do; she didn’t know what more to say.  Her heart ached at the sight of her best friend. 

~ ~ ~ ** ~ ~ ~

An hour had passed and Jason and Courtney were still having major difficulties in putting Chance down for the night.  The Newlyweds had never seen their son act like this before.  Chance was notoriously difficult when it came to bedtime but he was typically content and just wanted to play; right now all Chance did was fuss.

Courtney felt like the mishap at the Quartermaine Mansion was merely foretelling worse things to come.  Courtney was also absolutely convinced that Chance could sense the looming danger too, and that is why he was so upset. 

“Here Jason.  You take him,” Courtney ordered her husband.  “I’ve played with him, gave him a warm bath and bottle and nothing has worked.  I give up!”  Courtney was extremely frustrated as she passed her Son over to Jason. 

Jason took another approach.  He knew that he had to remain calm if he expected his son to be the same.  Jason went over to the rocking chair and got comfortable.  Whispering a few comforting words while rubbing Chance’s back, within moments the infant started to yawn and closed his sleepy eyes. 

Jason gazed over at his Wife, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed and fighting back tears.  He knew it broke Courtney's heart that she, Chance's Mother, could not comfort him.  Jason read it in her eyes; she was exhausted, frustrated and it was evident that she was in pain. 

When Jason caught her eye she automatically turned away, not wanting him to see how much it pain she was in.  

“Baby… Why don't you come over here and sit with us?” Jason suggested, rising from the rocker to make room for Courtney. 

“Jason… You know he'll just cry,” Courtney whispered with an apprehensive look on her face. 

“We won’t know unless we try,” Jason countered matter-of-factly. 

Courtney cautiously approached Jason and let him place Chance into her arms.  Chance, who was previously quiet, almost immediately erupted into a fit of tears once he realized his Daddy wasn't holding him anymore.  Courtney let out a frustrated cry of her own.

“I told you!” Courtney snapped.  “Chance just hates me for putting him in danger with AJ tonight,” Courtney admitted. 

Courtney moved to return Chance to Jason, but he stopped her.   

“Baby…  You know that is not true…  He only likes you changing his diapers,” Jason offered, hoping at least it would make her laugh. 

Courtney gave him the ‘look,’ not the good one, but not the bad one either.  She smiled briefly before the sadness returned to her beautiful face. 

“You need to relax, Baby, and not be so frustrated.  You and Chance are connected… He feels what you feel, and right now you are tense so he is upset.  I can see it.” 

Courtney looked up at her Husband doubtful.  To prove his point, Jason sat back down in the rocking chair and motioned for Courtney and Chance to join him.  Courtney hesitantly climbed onto Jason’s lap and snuggled her Son in her arms. 

“Now slow your breathing…” Jason instructed.  “Try to match your breathing with his.  Let him listen to your heartbeat.”

To Courtney’s surprise little Chance appeared to be relaxing; his little droopy eyes were even closing.  Courtney sighed with relief. 

“How did you get so good at this Morgan?”

“I’ve had practice” Jason smiled.

“With Michael?” 

Jason nodded his head.

“You are the best Father I could have ever asked for Morgan… I love you,” Courtney whispered. 

“I love you too.”