A/N – A huge explosion tears the Corinthos/Morgan organization apart. Brenda and Jason lean on each other to survive the aftermath. Will it lead to love? And what happens when someone from her past shows up? Who will she choose? This is a whole lot of angst and drama. Please make sure you review!

Chapter 1 – Survival

The building was creaking and moaning under the stress of the explosion and subsequent fire. It was hot and the smoke was starting to get to him as he coughed and pushed forward. Jason shouldn't even be in there but he knew that Brenda was still inside and there was no way Sonny would forgive him if he didn't try to find her. Her guard, who had just been pulled out, had let him know that she was inside. Jason had pushed his way past firemen into the building in order to gain access just as they were bringing some man out. Right now, he couldn't even think about how bad he had looked. It would haunt him forever.

He walked even further into the building. There was wood and debris scattered everywhere and he struggled to maintain his balance before he gasped and dropped down to his knees. Jason crawled towards Brenda. Her eyes were closed. The only reason he even noticed her was because her diamond engagement ring sparkled when he shined his flashlight over her.

"Brenda." Jason yelled.

Brenda looked towards his voice. "Jason?"

"Don't move. I'm almost there." He said loudly.

Brenda whimpered and cried softly. She was trapped under a beam and couldn't move even if she wanted to.

Jason finally made it over to her. He grabbed her hand. "Talk to me." He said softly.

"I'm trapped." She said weakly.

He surveyed the area and tried to lift the heavy beam as Brenda cried out in pain.

Jason took a few deep breaths. "Brenda, I'm going to need your help. I'm going to try to move this again and I need you to move out from under it as I lift it up okay?"

"Okay."

Jason grabbed the beam which was wedged under a lot of debris and groaned as he finally lifted it off the ground. "Now." He yelled as his body shook from the stress of the weight on his muscles. Brenda moved and Jason dropped it and tried to catch his breath.

"Now what?" She asked.

"Just give me a minute."

"We don't have a minute Jason. We need to get out of here." She yelled.

"Brenda! Shut up." Jason growled. The minute it had left his mouth, he regretted it. He knew she was just scared. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. Can you walk?"

She tried to get up and almost passed out with pain. Jason grabbed her. "It's okay. I'll carry you."

He picked her up and Brenda clung to him. "Sonny." She said weakly.

"They are looking for him right now. I don't know his condition." He said trying to maneuver around the debris. It took a while and they had to rest a few times but he finally stumbled out of the building and laid her down on a gurney.

"Please don't leave me." Brenda pleaded.

"Okay." Jason said softly. He climbed into the back of the ambulance with her and it sped off to the hospital.

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Jason sat down in the waiting room. Monica saw him and ran over to him. "Jason are you okay?"

Jason looked up at her. Ignoring her question, he asked, "Is Sonny here?"

Monica looked away from him. For years she had wished Sonny was dead, and finally he was and she had no idea how her son was going to take it. "I'm sorry Jason but they brought a body in that was burned badly. We believe it was Sunny because of his ring and a partially burned driver's license. His injuries were just too catastrophic."

Jason felt like he had just crashed into a brick wall. He had just lost his best friend and mentor and he had no idea how he was going to tell Brenda.

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Brenda watched Jason walk up to her. She could tell that he had been crying. "Jason?" She said holding out her hand. She watched him take it and his eyes filled up with tears again. He was scaring the shit out of her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know how to tell you this." He said softly as a tear flowed down his face. "But, Sonny didn't make it."

Brenda gasped and just started to repeat, "No….no, no no…," over and over and then she screamed it one last time before breaking down completely. Jason held her as she sobbed. And finally, too exhausted to cry anymore, she passed out. Epiphany ran into the room to check her vitals and Jason stood back and watched. He wiped his face and leaned back against the wall. He wasn't sure how Brenda was going to survive this.

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Elizabeth walked into Brenda's room. It was around 11:30 a.m. Jason was sitting next to the bed with his head on it and he had fallen asleep. She had heard what happened to Sonny when she came on her shift and knew Brenda and Jason would be a mess. The explosion was all over the news and people had already started reacting to Sonny's death.

Jason's head jerked up and he saw her. "Hi." He said sitting up.

"Hi." She said softly.

Jason studied her for a moment. They had dated for 6 months but after a threat to her life she had broke it off with him and now she was with Matt Hunter and they were engaged. He still cared about her but he was glad that she had moved on and found happiness. They had remained friends.

"Have you eaten?" She asked.

Jason shook his head. "No. I'm really not that hungry."

"Jason, you will be no good to Brenda if you don't keep your strength up. I'm going to get you a sandwich from the cafeteria will you please try to eat it if I do?"

Jason nodded. "Okay." He said softly.

Liz put her hand on his shoulder and left the room. She came back about 15 minutes later and handed him the sandwich and he began to slowly eat it. He was only doing it to appease her. He watched Brenda sleep as he ate. They had sedated her the night before so she would rest. She had a concussion and was bruised on her back. She also had a cut on her leg that was infected so they were dealing with that as well. Mainly though, she was heartbroken over losing her fiancé.

A few hours later, she woke up.

"You look like hell." She said to Jason.

"Like you look any better." He said squeezing her hand.

"Please tell me this is just a nightmare."

"I wish I could."

Her eyes filled with tears. "When can I get out of here?"

"Patrick said that he would release you when you were more stable. They have you on antibiotics and you're going to have to take it easy for the next few weeks." Jason said softly.

"Okay but I can't go back to the house."

"I know. I had them move your clothes to my penthouse. Spinelli decorated the room for you and it will be ready if they let you leave tomorrow."

"You don't have to take care of me Jason. I know that I drive you crazy."

Jason frowned. "I do have to take care of you. It's what Sonny would have wanted."

"But, it's not what you want."

Jason sighed. "Yes, it is. Would you just let me take care of you?" He said softly. Brenda did drive him nuts but he felt like he should have somehow stopped this from happening and he didn't. He owed her.

"What happened to Luis? I assume he's the one that did this?" She said changing the subject.

The man had an unhealthy attachment to Brenda. She had shown up at the warehouse on a whim. And he was probably freaking out that he had almost killed her.

"Johnny is on it. They haven't located him yet but we'll find him."

Brenda knew that the safest place for her would be Jason's. "Okay, I'll come with you."

Jason breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"No, thank you Jason." She said sincerely.

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They released her the next day and Jason took her home. He carried her upstairs and gasped when he saw the color of the guest room. "Spinelli." He yelled after placing Brenda down.

"Yes, Stone Cold." Spinelli said running up the stairs.

"Pink?" He said as his face twisted and he looked like he had just eaten a piece of rotten fruit.

"I think it's beautiful." Brenda said smiling. "But, the paint fumes are a little much."

Jason picked her up again.

"Where are we going?"

"You can sleep in my bed."

"No." Brenda said protesting.

Jason stopped for a moment. "You want to sleep on the balcony instead?"

Brenda glared at him. "You wouldn't."

"You sure about that?" He asked as he continued on and then sat her down on the bed.

"Where are you going to sleep then?" She asked nervously.

"The couch." Jason said before walking out.

"Is there anything that I can do for you Divine One?" Spinelli asked walking into the room.

Brenda smiled. "Can you help me take my shoes off? I want to lie down."

Spinelli took her shoes off and helped her get situated.

"Thank you Spinelli."

He nodded and left. Going downstairs he sat down next to Jason. "I'm sorry to hear about Mr. Sir."

"Thanks Spinelli."

"Do you need me to hang around tonight?"

Jason shook his head. "No, I know you were probably headed over to Ellie's. Go have fun."

Spinelli patted him on the shoulder and grabbed his bag. "Just remember, I am just one phone call away." He said before leaving.

Jason closed his eyes and laid back onto the cushion. Sonny's funeral needed to be organized and he had no idea where to begin. And just as his mind was going over his to do list, a bloodcurdling scream came from upstairs.

He ran up the steps and threw open the bedroom door and Brenda screamed again as she held her hands up in front of her.

"Brenda?" He says softly as he slowly moved towards her. "It's okay."

She fell into his arms and he grabbed her and picked her up and then sat her back down onto his lap. Waiting for her to calm down, he gently held her in his arms.

"You okay?"

"Everything was falling down around me. I'm sorry." She said as she wiped her tears away.

"You don't have to apologize. I understand." He said standing up and placing her back on the bed. He covered her up as she tried not to cry.

"Don't leave me." She says quietly.

"Okay. Let me go turn off all the lights." He says before walking out the door. He returned a few minutes later and took off his boots. He grabbed some sweats from the drawer and went into the bathroom and changed.

Brenda watched him walk towards the bed and she moved over and pulled back the blankets. Jason slipped into bed and laid on his back. He closed his eyes and within a few minutes, Brenda moved towards him and he pulled back his arm and she settled her head on his chest. And soon the rise and fall of his breathing lured her into a restless sleep.