~ Stranger In The Night ~

~ By Vicky ~

~ Chapter 18 ~

~ General Hospital ~

Jason stepped off the elevator and headed for Courtney's room.  Being at the PCPD and not knowing how she was doing was killing him, yet he had a few stops to make before he got to the hospital, one being a flower shop, where he picked up the flowers that were now in his hand.  When he got off the elevator though someone stopped him.

"Jason can I talk to you for a minute?" Monica asked.  Her eyes were red and irritated from what Jason assumed was hours of crying.  Jason nodded and followed her over to the waiting area chairs.  Monica took a deep breath and voiced the one thing that had been haunting her all day.  "Jason tell me you didn't attack AJ last night."  When Jason didn’t answer her, she started to cry again.  "Please tell me you didn't do that to your brother!  You didn't put him in that hospital bed!" 

Jason looked down at the flowers in his hands, and then back up at Monica.  "I can't do that."

"Jason! How could you do that to your own brother!" Monica yelled.

"He's not my brother."

"It doesn't matter what you call him or if you don't consider any of us your family, but I was under the impression that you at least cared about some of us…me, Emily, Lila.  How could you do that to us?  To my son?"

He felt bad that his actions had hurt her, but the image of Courtney huddled in the corner of that bathroom was still fresh in his mind.  "You were here last night.  You saw the condition Courtney was in.  Your son did that to her!"

Monica gasped.  "No, AJ wouldn't…"

"Well he did!"  Jason slammed his fist against the small coffee table between them. "He beat the crap out of Courtney and killed my baby!"

Monica looked at him in shock.  "Your baby?  You were the father?"

At first Jason cursed himself for letting his emotions get to him and blurting it out like that, but then he thought no.  He didn't claim his child while it was alive, but he'd be damned if he didn't do it in death.  He needed to honor his child's memory.  "Yes, Courtney was pregnant with my child."

Monica's head was spinning.  She had one son in a coma, another one arrested for being the one to put him there, and now she was just informed that her daughter-in-law wasn't pregnant by the son she was married to but by her other son?  It was too much to process, so she just got up and walked away.

Jason dropped his head and took a deep breath before making the rest of the way to Courtney's room.  When he got there, he knocked on the door and poked his head in. 

Courtney's face lit up when she saw him. "Jason! You're out! What happened?" she said all at once while trying to get up, sort of wincing along the way.

"Hey, hey stay there."  She listened to him and reluctantly fell back against the bed.  "Here, these are for you," he said as he handed her the bouquet of wild flowers. 

"Jason…you shouldn't have done that." She was still feeling guilty, despite her conversation with Carly.

"You're supposed to get flowers for people when they are in the hospital."

She shook her head and then focused on what was really on her mind.  "Tell me what happened at the police station."

"Well I am currently out on bail, thanks to Justus and Sonny.  Justus is going to get the charges dropped from attempted murder to assault.  That way even if I'm convicted, I could maybe just get off with a fine and some community service instead of jail time," he explained.

"Oh god…Jason I'm so sorry.  This is all my fault."

"No, I am responsible for my own actions.  You didn't tell me to go after AJ.  I took that upon myself."

"But you wouldn't have if I didn't call you last night, if I hadn't stayed with AJ.  You wouldn't have been arrested and our baby wouldn't be dead."  The tears were welling up in her eyes once again.

"Come on, what did I tell you about that?  Everything just doesn't happen because of one person's actions.  Everyone makes their own decisions.  AJ was the one who hurt you and killed our baby.  Just like I am the reason AJ is in the hospital as well," as he said the last part his gaze drifted away from her. 

She reached out and held his hand.  "You know it's ok to feel bad or regret what happened last night.  I understand."

He sighed deeply.  "I don't regret making AJ pay for what he did to you.  I'd probably do it again, except with a little more precaution, but last night I didn't think about anything but my anger.  I let it control me."  She gave his hand a squeeze and he looked into her eyes before looking away again.  "I saw Monica earlier, and she is pretty devastated.  I didn't think how this would affect her or my grandmother, or my sister.  It's not fair that they have to suffer because I wanted AJ to pay."

"I wish there was something I could do for you.  You were so good to me last night."

"Being here with you is enough," he told her. 

She pulled him down closer to her and kissed him.  It was a sweet, tender and loving kiss that he happily reciprocated.  When they broke apart she whispered, "I promised myself I would do that if you came back to me."

"Hmm I should get arrested more often," he smiled.

She smacked him playfully.  "That's not funny."

"Sorry.  Have the doctors said anything about when you'll be released?"

She nodded.  "This afternoon."

"You don't sound too thrilled about that.  I know if it was me I would have broke out by now."

"Yeah hospitals don't exactly thrill me either, but hey it's not the Quartermaine's.  Jason…I don't know what I am going to do when I'm released.  I don't want to go back to the Quartermaine's, but I don't have a job, or…"

"Hey, I thought about all that and I have an idea."

~ PH4 ~

Sonny came home to find his wife sitting on the couch with a magazine.  When she saw him, she dropped the magazine and immediately asked, "How's Jason is he out?"

Sonny nodded and sat down next to her.  "Yeah, he's out on bail, but it's looking like they are going to trial."

"No…for attempted murder?"

"Well, Justus is going to try and get the charges down to assault."

"You think Jason will be convicted?" she asked.

"They have an eyewitness, so if Elizabeth Webber testifies…"

"Hold Up! That little muffin face waitress is the witness?  That back-stabbing bitch!"  Carly was up pacing around the living room now.

"Carly…"

"No how long did I have to listen to her whine about how much she cared for Jason.  How I betrayed him by sleeping with you, and now she goes and gets him arrested! Fucking Bitch!"

"Carly calm down…"

"No Sonny!  I told all of you, you, Jason, even Lucky, what a sneaky conniving manipulator she was.  I warned you she could not be trusted and no one listened to me.  It was just Carly being irrational, Carly being insecure.  Well what now Sonny?  Jason's been arrested and will probably go to jail!" she yelled.

"You know I won't let that happen."

She sighed deeply.  "I know, I'm just scared.  Jason just got back into town a few months ago.  I don't want him going away again.  And I don't think Courtney could take it either."

"She told you about them huh?"

She sat back down. "Yeah…I guess Jason told you as well."  Sonny nodded before getting up and pouring himself a drink.  "How do you feel about that?  Jason being with your sister?"

He shrugged, "I don't exactly like it, but from what I hear Courtney is in pretty bad shape, and needs Jason right now."

"Right…and what happens when Courtney's better?"

Sonny took a sip of his drink.  "Jason will realize that if he really loves Courtney, he can't be with her."  He finished his drink and walked up the stairs, leaving a dumbfounded Carly staring after him.

~ 672 Paulson St. ~

When Courtney was released later that day, in the short walk from the hospital to the car, Jason noticed just how much pain Courtney was still in.  So from that moment on he insisted on carrying her from place to place.  Now they stood on the third floor in front of a bare wooden door, Courtney still in Jason's arms.

"Jason, what is this place?" she asked him.

"You'll see.  Do me a favor and reach into my pocket and get the key." 

She did as he asked and placed the key in the door, unlocking it.  He carried her through the doorway, into the expansive, yet simple, furnished loft with white brick walls, light wood trimmings, and windows that allowed the day's light to shine through.  "Look at this place.  It's beautiful, in it's quaint little way, but Jason what are we doing here?"

"It's yours, if you want it," he told her.

"What?  No Jason…"

He placed her down on the light gray couch that sat in the middle of the open room.  "If you don't like it, we can keeping looking…"

"No, I love it.  It's just I can't ask you to do this for me."

"But I want to.  Look this is not only for you.  It's for me too.  If it were up to me, I'd be asking you to move into my penthouse, but I think it's best that we keep our relationship as low key as possible until the trial is over.  If you're here, we can still spend time together.  Say you'll move in here."

"Well when you put it that way…”  Her hand came up to the side of his face and she leaned in to kiss him.  This kiss started off slow, but unlike the kiss they shared at the hospital, it became much more passionate.  When they broke apart, both sets of eyes were clouded with desire, but both also knew it had to stop there, due to Courtney's injuries.

"Thank you," he told her as he caressed the side of her face.

"No thank you."  She gave him a quick kiss on his lips and laid against his chest.  He held her, running his fingers through her hair in a loving manner until she eventually fell asleep, safe in his arms.

~ Stranger In The Night ~

~ By Vicky ~

~ Chapter 19 ~

Courtney woke up to find herself alone in the new loft Jason found for them.  She smiled, thinking about last night.  Courtney wasn't exactly sleeping well, and Jason was there to talk and hold her whenever she woke up.  At some point during the night, they had made it from the couch to the bed.  Now though, she sat in the queen sized bed alone.  She looked to the side and found a piece of paper with Jason's handwriting on the night table.

Courtney –

Had a few errands to run.  There are bagels in the kitchen.

Love,

            Jason

She smiled at his note, so simple and to the point, so Jason.  She winced slightly as she got up and fixed herself a bagel, and thought about how she'd be sure to get a toaster for the place tomorrow.  Sitting on the couch, bagel in hand, she looked around the spacious loft, thinking about how she would decorate it, adding her and Jason's own special touches to the place.  The door opened and Courtney's eyes lit up at the sight.  In walked Jason with an excited puppy, circling his feet.  "Rosie!" Courtney squealed.  Jason dropped the leash, and Rosie ran straight for Courtney.  She pulled the puppy up to her lap, and the dog immediately went to lick her face with wet kisses.  "Oh I missed you too," she said to her.

Jason smiled at the picture the two of them made.  He wasn't much of a dog fan, but seeing how happy this one made Courtney, he figured this one couldn't be too bad.

Courtney looked at Jason when he sat down next to her.  "How did you get her back?" she asked him.

"Well you mentioned how you were worried about her, so I just went to the Quartermaine's and got her.  Cook was the only one who saw me, and she assured me that Rosie has been well fed and walked in your absence.  She does think Reginald will be pretty lonely once he finds out she is gone though."

"Aww, well maybe we'll have to plan a chance meeting with Reginald in the park."  She squeezed Rosie into her chest for a hug, and then held her up in front of her face.  "I think she grew in the past 2 days."  Placing her back on her lap, she stroked her golden fur as she looked back at the man sitting next to her.  "Jason, thank you so much."

He shook his head like it was nothing.  "It's your dog, she obviously loves you, she should be with you."

She smiled at him.  "I don't deserve you."

"Please don't talk like that.  I consider myself lucky to have found you.  Courtney you have made me feel things, I didn't think I could feel.  No matter what has happened or will happen, I will always be grateful you came into my life," he told her, sincerely.  She looked at him with tears in her eyes.  She didn't know what to say.  His hands came up to frame her face and gently pulled her towards him.  He kissed away a single tear that rolled down her cheek, and then went to her lips.  Rosie's jump from Courtney's lap to his broke the kiss.  He sighed, resting his forehead against hers.

"I think she likes you," Courtney giggled.

"Or maybe she just doesn't want to share you with me," he smiled and took her hand in his.  "I don't want to go but I have to.  I am meeting Justus in a half an hour."

"Ok good luck, and thank you," she said smiling, knowing that he didn't want to hear another thank you. 

He surprised her though, by saying, "You're welcome," with a gleam in his eye.  He put Rosie back in her lap and kissed Courtney again, before heading out the door.

~

When he arrived at Justus's office, Justus was eager to sit down and get everything out in the open.  Since Justus was his lawyer, and he trusted him, Jason felt comfortable telling him the details of what lead up to his attack on AJ.  "So how does it look?" Jason asked when he was done filling Justus in.

"Well, it's obvious that the charge of attempted murder is ridiculous.  We could even make a case for simple assault.  Aggravated assault would mean you had the intent to kill or cause bodily harm to AJ.  You didn't go to Jakes that night to kill AJ right?"  Justus asked him, while shooting him an odd look.

Jason looked oddly back at him.  "Ah…right…if you say so." 

"It was a simple bar fight that got out of hand.  That will be our defense, understood?"  Jason nodded.  "Now you realize you are going to have to testify."

"Justus, you know I can't do that."

"It's going to be either you or Courtney, so…"

"Absolutely not!  Justus, Courtney cannot testify.  She has been through hell.  I am not going to ask her to relive it all in open court," he insisted insisted.

"Has it occurred to you that she might want to help you?"

"Yes, and that is exactly why we won't be asking her."

"Then, it's going to have to be you on that stand Jason.  Someone has to tell your side of the story."

"Isn't that what I am paying you for?  You're going to tell the jury what happened, why do I have to get up on the stand and say it, and then have Baldwin ask me a bunch of questions about my business that I can't answer!"

"Because it needs to come from you.  The jury isn't going to care if I say you're innocent, they need to see you or Courtney up there, they need to feel for you, and want to see you free."

Jason sighed.  "Is there any way you can make it so Baldwin is only allowed to ask me questions pertaining to AJ's assault and nothing else?"

"I can try, but I can't promise anything.  The prosecution is going for attempted murder and will want to use your profession to show a history of violent behavior."

"This is a bigger mess than I thought," Jason said dejectedly.  His cell phone began to ring, and he reached into his pocket.  Recognizing the number, he answered with a simple, "Hey."

"Hey, I need to see you right away," the voice on the other end said.

"Yeah, I have some stuff to tell you too.  I'll be right over."  Jason hung up the phone and looked to Justus.  "Are we finished here?"

"Yes, but Jason I need you to seriously think about what we talked about.  Either you or Courtney will have to testify, and you need to figure out which one of you will cause the least amount of damage in the end, whether it be emotional or criminal."

Jason nodded in understanding and then left.

~

Courtney had to get out.  For three days, she had basically been bed-ridden and kept indoors.  She didn't think that was healthy for anyone, besides Rosie needed to be walked.  So she put on her champaign colored sweat suit, and headed for the park.  She couldn't exactly do her 2 mile run, but she could walk.  It was at the park, that she heard someone call her name.  She looked up to see Carly waving at her.  She waved back and then walked over to where Carly was kicking a soccer ball with Michael. 

"Hey, I'm glad to see you out and about.  I tried calling the hospital this morning but they said you were released," Carly said.

"Yeah I was released late yesterday."

"That's good." 

The young redhead ran over to them when he realized his mom was more interested in talking than kicking the ball back.

"Mom!  Hey cool you have a dog!  Can I pet it?" he asked, looking up at the woman his mom was talking to.

"Sure, her name is Rosie," Courtney smiled.

Michael bent down to pet her, "Hi Rosie."

"Michael, this is your Daddy's sister, Courtney," Carly introduced them.

Michael scrunched up his face.  "You are?"  Courtney nodded.  "So then you're like my aunt?" he asked. 

Courtney laughed, "That's right."

"Cool!"

"Hey Michael why don't you go see if those boys over there want to play soccer?" Carly suggested.

"Aww, but Mom I want to play with Rosie!"

"You know what Rosie needs some exercise, would you mind taking her leash and running around with her a bit," Courtney asked.

Michael's eyes went wide.  "Really?"

"Yeah, go for it."

Michael took the leash and ran off with Rosie yapping at his heels.

"You're really good with him." Carly told her.

Courtney's eyes turned sad, but she quickly tried to cover it.  "Eh, kids love dogs," she smiled.

"Well, I am sure you have a friend for life now, especially since he knows you’re his Daddy's sister.  He worships Sonny.  And once he finds out you’re a friend of his Uncle Jason's, forget it!  You'll be golden."  Courtney smiled again.  "So how are things going with you and Jason?" Carly asked.

"Fine."

"Just fine?  Come on, he didn't come home last night, but I suppose you know that already."

Courtney gave a quick look around them.  "Carly, Jason and I are trying to keep whatever we have quiet, at least until the trial is over."

"Oh oh, I get it sorry!  I guess we're just going to have to go back to the penthouse for lunch, so I can get all the details."

Courtney shook her head in disbelief.  It was safe to say, she had never met anyone quite like Carly, and she grew up in Atlantic City for God's sake.  She was about to decline Carly's offer when, and a guy on roller blades stopped in front of them.  He looked at Courtney like he recognized her.  "Courtney?  Courtney Quartermaine?"

"Yes?" she answered, confused as to who this man was, and how he knew her.

He pulled an envelope from his windbreaker and handed it to her.  "You've been served," and then rolled away.

~

Jason gave Johnny a nod, as he opened the door to Sonny's penthouse.  He came in to find Sonny, pouring himself a brandy.  "Hey, what's up?"  Jason asked.

"We've got trouble.  The kind I don't like," Sonny said before taking a sip of his newly made drink.  Jason waited for Sonny to continue.  "Drugs Jason.  All over Port Charles and down the coast.  And I've been told, it's coming out of our piers."

"What?  But how?" he asked.

"I don't know, but this isn't good especially now."

Jason nodded.  "I'll look into it."

"No way."

"But Sonny…"

Sonny raised his glass and pointed a finger at Jason.  "You are to stay away from this Jason.  You are about to go on trial for attempted murder, you can't afford to get caught with your hands dirty."

"Sonny, I know how to be careful…"

"Oh like you were careful with AJ?"  he snapped.

Jason's head moved backwards slightly, like Sonny's words had somehow slapped him.  His voice got soft, masked with hurt.  "That was different… Do you not trust me anymore?"

"What kind of question is that?  You know I do, but Jason you haven't been thinking clearly.  Neither of us can afford carelessness right now.  Johnny will handle this, and you are to go nowhere near it.  That's an order, understood?"  Jason nodded, not happy about the idea.  "Good, now what did you have to tell me?" he asked.

"It wasn't important, I gotta go," Jason said before running out the door. 

"Damn it," Sonny muttered before downing the rest of his drink and looking towards the closed door.

Outside, Jason pulled Johnny aside.  "Look, I know Sonny has you looking into this drug thing.

He nodded, "Yeah but Jason you gotta know I would never want to overstep…"

"Yeah, yeah I know.  It's fine John, but promise me something."

"Anything."

"If you run into any trouble, think you're over your head, or just don't have any leads, you'll come to me."

"I don't know man, Sonny was pretty clear on you not getting involved."

"Johnny…" he gave him one of his icy stares.

"Ok, I promise."

Jason patted Johnny on the shoulder, "Good, alright, see you around."

~

Jason came into the loft and nearly jumped when the dog ran to his feet.  It was going to take some time to get used to that.  "Court!" he called out, when he didn't see her on the couch or in the kitchen.  She came out from the bedroom with papers in her hand, and he could immediately tell something wasn't right.  "What's wrong?"

She held the papers up.  "I've been subpoenaed."

"What?  I told Justus not to ask you to testify!"  He made a beeline for her, and took the papers out of her hand.

"Justus didn't!  The prosecution did.  Jason, they want me to testify against you!"