~ Stuck ~

~ By Vicky ~

Author's Note: This story takes place New Year's Eve 2004 going on 2005.  Nicole, I had a little fun with your requirements.  I hope you don't mind.  Enjoy!

Courtney stepped into the living area of her once spacious loft.  Clad in only her bathrobe with her hair done up in a simple but elegant twist, she stepped over the many opened boxes and gifts that cluttered her floor.  All this just to get to her makeup bag that sat on the coffee table.  Her loft wasn't so spacious anymore.  No, now it was filled with Christmas wreathes, garland, lights, jingle bells, and presents, too many presents.  Jax had outdone himself.  He gave her a different gift every day in December leading up to Christmas, each one better than the one that came before, ending with the gorgeous diamond necklace that adorned her neck at the moment.  Her fingers came up to the hard cold gems and she sighed.  How could a loft filled to capacity leave her feeling so empty inside?  There was a void inside her that no material object could fill, a void that hadn't been filled since…

There was a knock at the door that Courtney was suddenly very grateful for.  All this thinking wasn't doing her any good.  She opened the door to find Carly standing on the other side.  "Oh damn! I'm blind!  I thought I told you not to wear that thing around me!" She breezed past Courtney and tried to make her way to the couch.

Courtney rolled her eyes at her friend's exaggeration over her necklace.  Nothing Jax ever did seemed good enough for her.  "Well if you would have called and told me you were coming, I would have spared your eyesight."

Carly finally got to the couch, after stepping on two boxes and kicking some tissue paper.  "Damn girl, what elf threw up in here?" she said looking around.

"I told you Jax went a little overboard."

"Still trying to buy your love I see."

Courtney sighed and sat next to her friend.  "Carly… why are you here?"

"I just stopped by to see if you were going to the New Year's Eve bash at the MetroCourt?  You're obviously getting ready to go somewhere."

"Yeah, Jax and I will be there.  You?"

"Yup, Sonny and I are going.  We're trying to get Jason to come too, but I don't know."

"How's he doing?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

"You mean since the evil bitch we aren't allowed to mention ran off with 2 million dollars of his money?"  Courtney grimaced at the thought.  She didn't believe it when she heard it at first.  "He's fine, you know Jason he doesn't even care about the money."

"Yeah, but his pride…"

"That's the thing, but you know what we all tried to warn him.  He was a fool and got played for one." 

Courtney shook her head at Carly's attitude.  There was another knock at the door, and the women looked at each other.

"You expecting someone?"  Carly asked.

Courtney shook her head as she got up to answer it.  On the other side of the door was a tall man with dark features wearing a tuxedo.  Courtney gave him a puzzled look.  "Hi?"

"Ms. Matthews?"  Courtney nodded.  The man revealed a bottle of imported Cristal champaign from behind his back and held it out for her.  "Jasper Jacks sends his regards."

Carly rolled her eyes from the couch. 

"Thank you." Courtney took the bottle from him, before closing the door and heading back to the couch.  "There's a card," she said as she began to open it. 

My meetings are running later than I expected.  I'm so sorry, but I will have to meet you at the party.  I can't wait to see you.  Wear something sexy and bring the bubbly.

Love,

Jax

She sighed and tossed the card on the table.  "Jax is going to be late."

"Figures.  Hey why don't you come with Sonny and me?  Oh and if we get Jason to come it could be like a double date!"

"Not happening," she said in a singsong voice.

"Come on! It'll be so much fun, just like old times.  And can I just say the timing couldn't be more perfect…"

"Carly!  I'm meeting Jax at the party.  Besides, I'm sure the last thing Jason wants to deal with now is you trying to force us back together."

"I wouldn't be so sure…"

"Don't you have to get ready for tonight or something?"

Her eyes snapped to the nearest clock.  "Crap it's six-thirty already?  Don't think I am letting this go," she said as she headed for the door.   "See ya tonight."

"I'm almost afraid too!" she shouted at the door as it closed.  Carly's laughter could be heard from the other side.

An hour later, she was dressed and her makeup was done.  Now all that was left was the finishing touches, a splash of perfume here and there, and her diamond teardrop earrings that would mostly go unnoticed above the sparkling necklace.  She wore a fitted midnight blue dress that shimmered in the light.  It had a diagonal neckline that left her right shoulder bare and the hemline stopped about mid-thigh.  The dress hugged her curves perfectly.  She looked at herself in the mirror.  Sexy enough she thought, and grabbed her shawl and purse.

~

Jason stepped into the hotel and groaned.  There were people buzzing around all over in their finest eveningwear.  He couldn't believe he let Carly convince him into actually coming to this thing.  He hated parties.  It was Michael's fault really.  Since when did 9 year olds have New Year's Eve sleep over parties?  Too bad Morgan couldn't stay up and watch the ball drop on TV with him.

Courtney stopped in her regular suite at the hotel to drop off her overnight bag.  She predicted that this bottle of champaign in her hand wasn't the only bottle she and Jax would be consuming tonight, so it was probably best that they crash here.  Closing the door, she headed down the hall, ready to ring in the new year.

Jason watched the numbers light up as the elevator ascended upwards.  He so did not want to be here.  The elevator stopped on the 8^th floor and opened to reveal his ex-wife on the other side.  Jason's breath caught in his throat.  She looked stunning in the blue dress that was a few shades darker than her eyes and sparkled with every slight movement she made.  Plus her hair was swept up to reveal her gorgeous neck. 

When the doors opened, her eyes met the deep blue ones of the man she had loved and married.  Their gaze held each other's for a few moments, as it always seemed to do whenever they saw each other.  Courtney snapped out of it first by stepping into the elevator and greeting him,  "Hey Jason.  Happy New Year."

He smiled, "Happy New Year.  You heading up to the party?"

"Yeah."

Jason pressed the button for the 23^rd floor again, and the doors closed.  "So how have you been?"

"Pretty good and you?"

"Alright I guess," he shrugged.

She looked at him again, "I'm sorry about you and…"

"Don't say it…"  He hated talking about it, he hated people pitying him, especially her.

She nodded and diverted her attention to the moving numbers above the doors.  That was until a loud thump and a jolt sent her flying into Jason and made the elevator come to a complete stop.

His arms instinctively came up to catch her.  "Whoa… you ok?"

She brushed a piece of hair that fell in front of her eyes away, "Yeah I think so.  What happened?"

"We stopped."  He moved to the panel and began pushing buttons but nothing happened. "It seems we're stuck," he said looking back at her.

"What?"

"Yeah, don't worry.  I'll just call someone and they'll get this thing moving."  He picked up the emergency phone and waited for someone to pick up.  "Hi, we're stuck between the 12^th and 13^th floors.  Yes, I tried that…  What?  Look, Courtney Matthews is stuck in here too, maybe that could rush things along?"  Courtney rolled her eyes at the name drop.  "Yes, I know it's New Year's Eve…  Fine." He hung up the phone and sighed before turning around to face her. "They say it will take 3-5 hours to get a technician here."

Courtney's eyes went wide, "Three to… but… that's like all night."

"Happy New Year," he said with a slight smile, before sitting down against the elevator wall. 

She let out a nervous laugh, and sat down next to him. "Yeah…"

"Well, hey at least we have champaign," he gestured to the bottle in her hand. 

~

Up at the party, Sonny and Carly were on the dance floor swaying to the music.  "I wonder where Jason is?  Didn't he tell you he'd meet us here?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah, I haven't seen Courtney either…"  They both looked at each other.  "You don't think?"

"Nah…" they said together and continued dancing.

~

"So do you want to pop this baby now or wait till midnight?" Jason asked.

"No time like the present," she said and pressed her thumb to the cork.  She struggled with the bottle for a few moments before handing it over to him.  "Here you do the honors."

After struggling with it himself, he said, "What the hell is this made of?"  He pulled out his pocketknife and began digging at the cork.

"Ah, I don't think that is going to work…"

"Sure it will…" She was right of course, and the cork only seemed to become even harder to free.  "So, we'll just bust it open…" He started to bring the bottle towards the elevator railing.

"You're going to bust a bottle of Cristal?" she yelled.

"Why not? Champaign's champaign."

"I don't think so," she took the bottle from him.  "Besides we'd just make a mess."

He sighed, "Alright, you know Jax is 0 for 2 tonight.  Broken elevator, champaign that can't be opened.  You got yourself a winner there."

"Hey, I wouldn't be talking if I were you!  I've still got all my millions," she said with a smile.

He glared at her before smiling, "Touché."   He looked down at his hands for a moment before looking at her intensely.  "I am sorry you know."

She looked at him strangely, "For what?"

"Lying to you… about the baby.  I don't think I ever apologized for that, but I am, I hated myself for doing it.  Everyday, I had to lie to you, it killed me inside."

"You know that was the worst pain I've ever felt… when I realized you lied to me. Worse than the day I walked out, worse than when you took off your rings, even worse than the night you shut the door in my face, because it was at that moment, I knew what we had was over.  So thank you, for telling me that, because even though it was still wrong, it makes it a little better knowing you felt like shit," she smiled.  His hand came up to her cheek and caressed it, like he had done so many times in the past.  Courtney's eyes fluttered closed and she took a moment to relish in his touch, before taking a deep breath and looking him in the eyes.  "Jason… don't."

His hand dropped from her face and he looked away.  "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I just can't do this."

"Because of Jax…"

"No, because of me.  It took me a long time to accept the fact that we weren't going to be together, longer than it took you."  He shook his head, she had no idea how much he still mourned what was with them and the idea that he would never have that kind of happiness again.  "If you do this, it's going to put ideas in my head, and I can't have that.  I can't get over you again."

He nodded and looked back up at her, "I really am sorry… for everything."

"I know," she smiled and touched his hand.  "Me too."

~

"Ok now I'm getting worried," Carly said as she popped a tiny quiche into her mouth. "It's not like Courtney to be late."

"Maybe she found Jax, and they went off somewhere."

"Ugh, Sonny please!  I'm eating here." 

"Did you hear someone is stuck in the elevator?" a woman from a nearby table said rather loudly.

"Yeah below the 13^th floor.  Talk about unlucky.  Apparently, they've been stuck there for about two hours already," her friend responded. 

Carly looked at her husband, and they both got up at the same time.   After finding out the details from a concierge, both Sonny and Carly hauled it down to the 13^th floor to see if they could help. 

"Jason!  Courtney!  Can you hear us?" Carly yelled into the closed doors.

"Did you hear that?" Courtney asked Jason.

"It sounded like…"

"Carly!" they shouted together, as they stood up and ran towards the doors.

"Carly, I swear if you had anything to do with this…" Courtney said.

Carly laughed, "Babe, I wish I did!   This is genius!" 

"We're going to get you out," Sonny yelled and pulled out his cell phone. "Hi yes I need a maintenance crew at the MetroCourt…" he began to walk away to get better reception.

"So whatcha doin?" Carly asked.

On the other side of the doors, they both rolled their eyes.  "Come on Carly, quit playing games," Jason said. 

"I'm not playing… Oh look Sonny's coming back."

"Uh, guys, so yeah they said 3 hours.  Apparently no elevator technicians live in Port Charles, and at this hour of the night on a holiday… yeah." 

They sighed and looked at each other.  "Ok, thanks for trying Sonny.  You two should just go back to the party and enjoy yourselves," Courtney told them.

Jax approached Sonny and Carly outside the elevator.  "Hey, the hotel manager told me Courtney was stuck.  Is she ok?"

"She's fine Jax," Carly said with a roll of her eyes. "More than fine actually."

"Courtney honey, are you all right?" he yelled down.

"Jax?" Courtney said.

He looked to Sonny and Carly.  "Is anyone else stuck with her?"

Carly smiled knowingly.  "Yeah actually Jason's with her."

Jax rushed to the doors and banged on them.  "Courtney! I'm going to get you out of there in no time.  Don't worry."  He turned back to the couple behind him.  "Ah… just watch them ok?  I'm going to get help," he said before running off.

"Where does he think they're going?" Carly asked, looking at her husband.

"What makes him think his money is going to get someone here any faster than mine?"

Carly laughed and shook her head before turning back to the doors.  "Don't worry the Dingo's gone.  Resume whatever you were doing, we're gonna go party…" she grabbed Sonny's hand and dragged him away.

"She's too much," Jason said, returning to his spot against the wall.

She followed him.  "Yeah, but she means well."  He gave her a pointed look. "What?  She does, her ways of going about things are just a little convoluted."

"You can say that."  He looked over at her, "You look really nice tonight… I should have told you earlier."

Her head popped up, surprised at his comment.  "Thanks.  You don't look half bad yourself.  Put on a dress shirt and everything."

"Yeah well…"

"I was really surprised to see you tonight.  Didn't seem like your scene."

"It's not, but my New Year's plans fell through."  She nodded, assuming he was referring to the unmentionable.  "Michael stood me up."

"Awww, that's really… sad," she tried to hold back her laughter but failed.

"Thanks… like I don't know how pathetic my life has become."

"I'm sorry…  I am…" but she couldn't keep from smiling. "I really hope things get better for you this year."

"It has to…  I think," now he was laughing. 

It didn't take long for them to settle into their old habits of just talking, laughing, and spending time together, and before they knew it two more hours had past.  2005 was just a mere two minutes away.  Jason looked at his watch.  "Wow, it's almost midnight."

She grabbed his watch and looked for herself, "Wow, you're right."

"You sure you don't want me to bust open that bottle over there," he nodded towards the forgotten bottle in the corner.

"No!" she laughed.

They watched his wristwatch for the next two minutes as they sat against the back wall of the elevator, and then counted the final 10 seconds together.  "10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

They could hear the shouts and hollers from the guests throughout the hotel.  They smiled and their eyes fell on one another's.  "Happy New Year Courtney."

"Happy New Year," she whispered, mesmerized by his eyes and the way they were looking at her.

He leaned in and placed a soft slow kiss on her cheek, but on the way back he hovered over her lips and then took the plunge.  The kiss started off light and slow, and then gradually got deeper and needier.  His hand came up to caress her face as his tongue plunged further into her warm mouth.  It had been so long since he had tasted her lips and felt her hands in his hair, as they were now.  It didn't last much longer though, because before he knew it, he felt her pull back, yet their foreheads remained touching, not wanting to break the connection.

"I don't want to stop," she said breathlessly.

"Neither do I."  He went in for another kiss, but was halted.

"Wait… wait… wait…" she pushed him back lightly and stood up, needing some space. 

He followed her up and grabbed her hand.  "Look Courtney, if we do this, it won't be a one-time thing.  I don't think I could do that even if I tried.  I can't have you and then let you go again, no more than you could." 

She looked at him hopeful, "Really?"

"God yes.  I want us again.  I've never missed anything more in my life. I love you, I never stopped."  His free hand came up to frame her face as he drew her near and tears of joy filled her eyes. 

"I love you too."  Their lips came together again, and he walked her back against the elevator wall.  His lips and hands were erratic, moving from her mouth to her cheek, behind her ear and down her neck.  He felt the hard stones incasing her neck and his fingers wrapped around them.  With a quick firm tug, the clasp broke and the chain and diamonds scattered on the floor.

"Jason!" she gasped.

"Sorry, it was getting in the way.  Are you mad?"

Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him and shook her head no.  He buried his face in her neck and feasted, like a man who had been starved for months.  Her head fell back as she allowed his mouth and hands take her over.  His fingers found the zipper on the side of her dress and eased it down her torso, sneaking his hand under the fabric to caress the small of her back.  It didn't take him long to discover she wasn't wearing any underwear, and an audible groan escaped from deep within him.

She smiled and went for the button of his black slacks.  Pushing the article of clothing down, her hands came around his waist to get a firm grip on his bum.  Next she went for his shirt, pulling apart the fabric and sending buttons flying.  Her fingers roamed up and down his rippled chest before heading up into his hair and pulling his head down for another searing kiss.  Their remaining articles of clothing were soon discarded and Jason lowered her to the floor.  He sank in to her and a sense of home washed over him.

Afterwards, they sat spent in the corner of the elevator.  Jason sat against the wall with Courtney in front of him, lying against his bare chest.  He kissed the top of her head and ran his hands along the length of her arms.  Now that he had her, he couldn't stop touching her.  He felt her shiver beneath him and asked, "You cold?"

"A little," she snuggled closer to him.  He reached for his shirt and draped it over her.  She smiled up at him with lazy eyes.  She had forgotten how intense and exhausting making love to Jason was.  "We should probably get dressed.  Who knows when they will get this thing working."  Just as the words left her mouth, they felt the floor vibrate and the elevator start up. 

"Shit!" Jason exclaimed, as they both scattered for their clothes.  Jason found his pants nearby and hopped into them.  Courtney's dress, on the other hand, had been tossed to the other side of the car.  "My shirt!" Jason pointed out was still hanging over Courtney's shoulders.  They felt the elevator come to a stop.  Realizing the doors would be opening any second, Courtney wrapped Jason's shirt around herself and just hoped there was no one on the other side of those doors.  They weren't that lucky though.  The doors opened to reveal Sonny, Carly, and Jax waiting for them. 

Courtney's face turned a deep shade of red, Jason just kind of shook his head at their luck, Carly's mouth was agape, but soon turned into a wide grin, Sonny diverted his eyes, and Jax, well a mixture of hurt then pure anger swept over his face. 

She moved towards him, "Jax, I can explain…" she touched his arm, but he yanked it away. 

"Don't!  I don't want to hear it.  You disgust me," he seethed before storming off.

The remaining four just sort of stood there looking at each other for a moment, before Sonny cleared his throat.  "Carly, now that we know they are ok, we should probably go."  He looked to Jason and Courtney, "Happy New Year guys."

"Ah yeah Happy New Year!  I have a feeling 2005 is going to be a great year!" she smiled brightly before following Sonny out.

Jason came up behind Courtney and gently touched her arm,  "Do you want to go after him?"

She shook her head, "No, it wouldn't change anything, and even if it did, I wouldn't want to."

He smiled, relieved to hear that and took her into his arms.  He just held her and rubbed her back for a few moments, before speaking, "So what now?"

"Well, we should probably get dressed," she laughed. 

He laughed too.

And with that, they headed down to Courtney's suite to start their life together again, hopefully with better results than the last.  Only this time… they took the stairs.