In the Aftermath
Head + Heart Series, Part Three
Sequel to lonely (too long)

I need a quick fix
I don't want to feel this
Come into my arms and make everything alright

-Digital Daggers, Spark

Chapter One

Shutting the door behind her Georgie leaned back against it and let her purse drop to the floor. The house was quiet. Mac was at the station leading the hunt for "Mr. Craig" and her sister was with Robin at the hospital, where her cousin was still recovering from the gunshot wound she'd sustained at the hands of that same maniac. Wrapping her arms around her waist Georgie slid to the floor and letting the silence surround her like a blanket she gradually began to process what had happened.

While she was relieved that her sister and cousin were going to be alright, the knot of fear that had formed in her heart during the hostage crisis was still there. She had come so close to losing two of her best friends in the same night. Taking in a shaky breath Georgie reminded herself that while they were a little worse for wear they were alive. But not everyone was.

Alan Quatermaine was dead.

Tears sprang to her already red eyes and pressing her face into her knees she cried quietly. While she had never been particularly close to the man, she still admired him as a doctor and she had lived in the same house with him while she was married to Dillon. She knew he could be pretty funny and that he could hold his own in a battle of wits with his father and his sister. She knew that he cared very deeply for his children and that he loved Monica with all of his heart. She knew that he had his flaws, everyone did, but underneath it all he was a good man.

Letting out with a shuddering breath, Georgie wiped at the remaining tears on her cheeks and grabbed the strap of her purse, standing up she ignored the fatigue that enveloped her body and made her way to the stairs. She planned on taking a quick shower and grab a bite to eat before she resumed her search for Jason.

Trudging up the stairs she tried to think of where else he might be.

When she heard of Alan's death, at first Georgie had assumed that Jason would be with his family, with Sonny or Carly, or maybe even Sam. But, she learned through hospital gossip that Jason had disappeared after visiting with his father one last time and no one had seen or heard from him since. Unlike the last time he left, he hadn't even made an attempt to contact Georgie. A new fear for Jason threatened to overwhelm her and as soon as she could she left the hospital in search of him.

Her fear had only grown after visiting his apartment, the docks, and anywhere else she could think he might go. But determination kept her from giving up, even now, as tired as she was, she wasn't going to stop until she either found him or heard that he was okay.

Maxie and Robin couldn't have been saved only for her to lose Jason.

Making her way down the dark hallway like a sleepwalker Georgie opened the door to her bedroom. Shutting the door behind her she looped the strap of her bag over the handle and looking up she let out with a startled gasp as she took in the shadowy form sitting on the edge of her bed.

She recognized Jason almost immediately and relief filled her.

He was safe.

Slipping off her shoes Georgie padded softly across the room, rounding the corner of the bed she made her way to Jason's side. A soft glow, coming from the flood light on the back of the neighbors garage, allowed her to see him clearly. Kneeling down in front of him she took in the way his shoulders were hunched forward and his vacant stare as he gazed out of the window just behind her.

Once again Jason was sitting before her, more vulnerable than she could have ever imagined a man like Jason could be and once again her heart ached for him.

"Jason." She said his name quietly but it was enough to draw his attention to her and as soon as his gaze locked with hers his eyes filled with tears.

"Alan is dead. My father's dead."

With those words the dam holding back his tears broke. Standing, Georgie meant to take a seat next to him on the bed, to hold him, instead he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist. Pressing his tear stained face to her stomach Jason poured out his grief.

His pain broke her heart.

Shutting her eyes tightly Georgie fought her own tears; he needed her to be strong for him right now. Threading her fingers through his hair she held him as close as she could as she struggled to find words of comfort, but as articulate as she usually was she could find nothing to say. Instead she tried to convey through her hands and through her very physical presence her support.

Just like the previous summer, Georgie wasn't sure when Jason's tears had stopped only that they had and that he was only letting out with deep shuddering breaths. Not knowing what to do, she awkwardly bent forward and pressed her lips to the crown of his head. The sigh he emitted and the loosening of his shoulders and arms let her know that it had been the right thing to do.

Jason slowly pulled away from her and resting his hands on her hips he looked up at her, his eyes swimming with a mixture of sorrow, guilt, and anger.

"I should have been with him," he said, his voice raw with emotion. "I should have been by his side, I should have told him-, but I wasn't instead I went to kill the man who did this," Jason admitted.

Georgie flinched at his words but her hands never left his leather clad shoulders where she had placed them once he'd pulled away from her. Instead she withheld her judgment and gave his shoulders a gentle and what she hoped was a supportive squeeze.

"I should have been there with him," Jason repeated, but this time his voice was filled with venom and his grip on her hips tightened. "I should have told him I loved him. He should have known that," he finished with a mixture of resolution and resignation.

Baffled, Georgie shook her head. "Jason, Alan knew," she told him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

But judging by the look on his face she could see he didn't fully understand.

"Alan knew that you loved him. After you left last summer, he was so worried, especially when he found out that neither Sonny nor Carly knew where you were. But when you called him, and when he could tell them that you were okay, it was as if world peace had been declared," she explained. "It meant the world to him."

"Georgie, I did that for you."

Surprised by his admission, Georgie stood in stunned silence for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't believe that. Yes, you called him after I told you but I think you cared, in fact I know you did. You didn't have to call him, you could have called Sonny, or Carly, and it would've gotten back to him that you were safe. You called him." She watched as he began to process her words. "He knew."

Jason nodded slowly and repeated her words, "he knew."

"He loved you too and you know that," she finished.

"I do," he admitted. Jason lapsed into a brief silence before murmuring, "we only get one father."

"What?" Georgie asked, the word coming out a little harsher than she wanted.

"We only get one father, that's what the gunman said to me before I let him go," Jason explained.

Georgie started to pull away from him, but stopped herself when she realized what she was doing. He didn't need her shutting down, not now, not over her own issues. Instead she pushed them aside and brushed her cold hand over his warm forehead.

"Jason you may not have had the best relationship with Alan, but the one you did have mattered," she said gently. "It mattered because underneath it all there was love."

Lifting his gaze to meet hers, Jason searched her eyes. She knew that he knew there was more to what she was saying but he wasn't going to find the answers he was unknowingly looking for.

She wouldn't let him.

And when the answer he was searching for didn't immediately appear, she could see the second he let the matter go. Instead he thanked her.

"For what?" She asked, instantly missing the heavy weight of his hands on her hips when he finally removed them.

"For everything," he replied. "For being there when I need you, for knowing exactly what to say, for being my-," he faltered in his explanation as he struggled to find the word he was looking for. She waited but he never finished his sentence.

"Friend," she supplemented.

"Right," he replied reluctantly.

Georgie moved a step back as Jason finally stood, his gaze shot to the door. He rubbed his hand roughly over the back of his neck before saying, "I should probably go."

Hearing the reluctance in his voice and noting the sheer exhaustion etched onto his face Georgie said timidly, "you don't have to." Shrugging she continued, "You could stay."

"Here?" He asked, indicating to her room.

She nodded a little uncertainty and said, "You'll probably want to leave in the morning. Maybe out the window," she added lowly, slightly embarrassed by how juvenile it sounded. "Mac will be at the station all night and Maxie said she was going to stay with Robin, so you can stay. If you want."

"Are you sure?" He searched her face looking for any reluctance.

"Yes," she assured him. "I trust you."

Nodding slowly Jason began pulling off his jacket and nervously Georgie pulled back the comforter and top sheet. Moving to the other side of the bed she too took off her own jacket and hooked it over her purse on the door knob as Jason removed his shoes. Busying herself with removing her jewelry she heard the sheet rustle as Jason slid into her bed. Not wanting to seem like she was hesitating Georgie turned around and made her way to her side of the bed.

Jason was lying on his back facing the ceiling, one arm resting on his stomach and his eyes already closed as she slid in next to him. Curling up on her side facing Jason, in the fetal position as she always did, she watched him in the dark.

Very quickly his breathing became slow and even as sleep overtook him. She wanted to reach out to him, to grasp the hand that lay limp between them, but she didn't. She didn't want to disturb him, not when he seemed to find some peace in sleep. Instead she settled on observing him and trying to analyze her own chaotic emotions.

There was a spark, a small spark growing inside of her for Jason, for this man who had shown himself to be vulnerable to her, who trusted her, who she knew implicitly that she could trust. A spark for someone so different than her, someone so dangerous. It was a spark she was reluctant to name and even more reluctant to snuff out. If she were completely honest with herself she wanted to nurture it, to watch it grow but while the prospect gave her hope it also terrified her.

For now all she was brave enough to do was leave it untouched, a small pinprick of light in the dark.

Apologies for the delays between stories but I started this series when I had a lot going on in my life, particularly selling and buying a house. I hope to lessen the time between additions to Head + Heart now that things have calmed down a bit.

Special thanks to Kathy0518 for your continued interest and support of this series.