Author's Note: Here we have it. Shamira finally takes a stab at another fic. This one, unlike The Fallout, is purely Journey! I don't know how I'll manage writing a single couple :( Ah well, anyway...

Summary: JOURNEY story inspired by the film Save the Last Dance. When tragedy strikes, Courtney Matthews gives up what she loves most and moves to Port Charles. Will she find family, love, and inspiration in this strange city or only end up lost and alone?

As I said above, this fic is inspired by Save the Last Dance, which I saw for the first time a couple nights ago. It's an awesome movie! I'm gonna have to buy it :p Anyway, in case you haven't seen it, here's a bit more information: What if Courtney wanted to be a ballerina? What if her mom was killed in a car accident while rushing to make it to her biggest audition ever? What if Courtney gave up dancing because of this and then found out about her dad and went to Port Charles to fins him, only to discover she has a half-brother and whole family she doesn't know about? Can Jason convince her to pursue her dreams? Will they find love on this Journey?

This story is set in October 2002 and everything that happened on the show has happened in this fic, except Courtney coming to town. I.E., Liz has dumped Jason over non-death; S&C are together; Mike's mad at Sonny for letting him think he was dead. The only thing different is that Emily has been back in town for a month or so, she does not have cancer, and Jason hasn't married Brenda. The rest will be explained in the story. Any questions, please ask. If you like it or not, please review, and keep in mind I do not take ballet and have never seen a ballet :p

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with General Hospital or ABC, and none of the characters in this story, aside from the few I may or may not create, belong to me. The dialogue of the prologue belongs to the writers and ABC, and Save the Last Dance belongs to Paramount Pictures and MTV Productions. I am making no profit from using dialogue, ideas, or characters from any of the above.

Reflection

Prologue

Carly paused halfway out of the kitchen and smiled. She hadn't thought Sonny had noticed her, but then he addressed her without even glancing her way. "You spying on me?"

He'd caught her. Except she wouldn't exactly call it spying. Carly walked over and locked her arms around his neck. "No. I am just taking a minute to appreciate how much I love you and how happy I am to be able to watch you do something as mundane as reading a paper. You know, the thing I hated most about pretending you were dead was I thought God was going to punish me and he was going to take you away for real."

Sonny tossed the paper on the desk and stood up. "Well, it's over. You're back in my life. You're right in the center, right where you're supposed to be."

Carly took the moment to just enjoy having his strong arms around her. God, she'd missed him. "Guess what?" he asked.

"Hmm?" she hummed.

He stepped out of her arms. "Got to run."

So much for being the center of his life. "Where are you going?"

"I got a meeting with Sammy Tagliati and the other reps to clear up any misunderstandings that might have occurred while I was gone."

"Oh, ok." In other words, to make it clear to the Five Families that he was very much alive and very much in control of his territory, which in turn meant his wife was not. She couldn't resist rubbing in the point. "Oh, wait, hold on one second!" She ran over to the fireplace and grabbed the baseball bat she'd slammed like a gavel in the middle of a meeting with the Five Families. What could she say? Grating on Sonny's nerves was her favorite past time. She held it up like she was showing off a product on The Price Is Right! "Ta-da! You might need this, if you want. I found it very useful in illustrating a point."

"Right." Sonny didn't bat an eyelash, smile, or give off anything except an aura of disapproval. She hadn't exactly told him she was going to be attending that particular meeting and he hadn't exactly been thrilled at how she'd involved herself in his business.

"It's good," she insisted, moving it just a little closer to him. What was that they said? It's the little things that count. Especially when it came to marriage. What fun would married life be if you couldn't bug your husband?

Sonny turned around and opened the door. "Goodbye, Carly."

"All right. Suit yourself," she said, lowering her arms from the display position they'd been in.

"I am," he called over his shoulder, and closed the door.

Smiling, Carly went over to the table and checked out the headline. The article concerned the unexpected resurrections of her husband and one name she despised even in print.

"Brenda Barrett," she read with much disgust, looking at the picture of the perfect, pint-sized ex-model who was no doubt going to try her best to steal her husband because that's what Brenda did. "Very nice." Carly swung the baseball bat, bringing it down hard on the photo. "Take that, bitch." Satisfied, she let the bat hang at her side.

~*~

20 minutes later...

She'd been pondering what else she could do the photo. She could tear it up, or burn it, but nothing would compare to clawing the real Brenda's eyeballs out. A knock on the door interrupted her constructive past time and she whirled around as the guard stuck his head into the room. She hid the bat behind her back. "Sonny's father is here."

Carly tossed the bat under the coffee table and wiped her hands of it. "Yeah, show him in." She had known this day was coming.

Her father-in-law stepped into the room, sending the guard a dark look as he did so. "How considerate of you to let me into my own son's house. I'm honored. I truly am."

Paulie paused uncertainly. It was obvious Mike was furious, and he had every right to be after what she and Sonny had done. "Would you like me to stay?" he asked.

Carly shook her head. She could deal with Mike. She had to, because this wasn't a problem that was going to go away. "No, we're fine, thank you." The guard closed the door and she turned to Mike, trying her best to be gentle. She cared. She really did. "Hey, Mike, Sonny's not here right now, but he'll be back soon. Why don't you sit?"

"That's good. The concerned daughter-in-law act. It's almost as convincing as the bereaved widow."

The words stung, as they were supposed to. "Mike, that's—"

"And you were in on it from the start, weren't you?" Mike's voice was rising with his temper.

Carly sighed. Yes, she had been. For weeks she had pretended to grieve for her husband when he wasn't even dead. "I did what I had to do to support my husband." And to keep him alive. "I know you're hurting, but taking it out on me isn't going to make you feel any better."

"I'm trying to spare you pain. Cut your losses, Carly. Walk out of Sonny's life before he forces you out."

Carly didn't even have time to tell him that he was completely and totally wrong. The door slammed. "She's not going anywhere."

Mike turned to Sonny. "Well, if it isn't my one and only son risen from the dead. That is some act."

Carly bit her lip, not enjoying the glowering contest between father and son in the least. This was Sonny's battle to fight, and she had to butt out, as much as she wanted to stand by him and defend what they had done. "Okay, you know what? I think the two of you need to talk, and I have to talk to Jason, so we'll just step out." She grabbed her best friend's arm and dragged him into the hall.

"So, do you feel good about yourself, Sonny? You know, in one grand gesture, you managed to deceive all the people who love you. I mean, did you have us under surveillance? Were you rating our grief, our pain?'

Sonny sighed. Here we go again. Except Mike was the one ticked off for once, and he was the one trying his best to make amends.

~*~

In the hall...

Carly pressed her ear to the door.

"Carly," Jason said, trying to pry her away. She fought him off, whacking gently at his arms and twisting from his grasp.

"Stop talking or I won't be able to hear!" she snapped, returning to her post.

Jason didn't stop. Instead, he grabbed her arm and yanked her away. "Would Sonny want you eavesdropping?"

"No, but that's the point."

"This isn't your—"

Carly interrupted him, as much from concern as to cut off the lecture she'd heard a thousand times or more. "You hear that?"

Jason listened intently for a moment. "Hear what?"

"That's exactly my point. They're not yelling."

Jason shrugged. "So?"

Carly reached for the door handle. "So, that can't be good." She dodged around him and into the penthouse.

~*~

In the penthouse...

"Mike, I'm sorry that I hurt you. I, you know, I did what I had to do, so I don't know what you want me—"

"That is the final and biggest irony of all. I finally get it, Sonny. I get what you've been telling me all these years. 'Sorry' isn't good enough. 'Sorry' means nothing at all."

There wasn't much Sonny could say to that, because it was true.

Carly and Jason came in, catching the tail end of Mike's rant. She looked from her father-in-law to her husband worriedly. Somehow she had a feeling this wasn't a rift that would be mended quickly or easily. An uncomfortable silence hung in the room, a silence none of them were going to break. When it hung for a moment too long, Mike stormed out of the penthouse.

Carly didn't know what to say. So she settled for giving her husband a hug and telling him, "I love you. It's going to be okay," even though she wasn't sure it was.

~*~

In the hall...

Mike punched the button for the elevator. When had his son turned into this selfish jerk? Mike had hurt him by walking out and now Sonny was inflicting pain on everyone else around him.

His cell phone rang, shaking him from his angry thoughts but not his anger. He answered it with a less than pleasant, "Yeah?"

He could hear breathing on the other end of the line, rapid and shallow. "Who is this?" he asked. The caller hastily hung up. He shook his head and did the same. Teenagers and their crank calls.

~*~