Choices Chapter 1, a general hospital fanfic

Summary

This is a story about how the choices that we make can ultimately affect our lives and the lives of those around us. This is a story about how one choice has brought together 4 different people and another choice has torn 4 people apart. This is my story starting from the point where the episode on 6-27-05 left off.

Ch.1

The Choice of Giving Life

Lucky gave Elizabeth a reassuring kiss as the nurse came to get her from the waiting room. Looking back to Jax and Courtney with a smile Liz let go of Lucky's embrace and walked away with the nurse. Lucky sat down in a chair with a heavy sigh, he still was really unsure about this whole thing. He wanted to be there for Elizabeth but he just wasn't sure he could handle the idea of "if something went wrong" with the pregnancy would she ever be able to have a child of their own? But he wanted to support her in every way he could. Or did he? Just as he was about to voice these very concerns to Jax, who was the only one left sitting there because Courtney had left, his pager went off and he had to go to the station. He asked Jax to bring Elizabeth home and excused himself. He would have to wait to talk to Elizabeth about it at a later time.

Jax was left setting all by himself when Lucky got called away. He was sitting in the chair so grateful for the choice Elizabeth made to help him and Courtney have a baby. At the same time however he wished deep down inside that he could be getting Courtney pregnant instead of Elizabeth. He wanted a child of his own so bad that at this point however getting pregnant by artificial encemination was all he could think about or want. At that point he didn't care about the effect that it really may be having on Courtney, he just wanted Elizabeth to get pregnant. As he was thinking all of this Elizabeth came down the hallway. "Where did Courtney and Lucky go?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, Courtney decided to go home and Lucky got called away to the station. Do you need a ride home?" "No, that's ok, I'll just call a cab." Liz said. "No, I can't have that. For all we know you are carrying my child so please let me take you home." Jax said as he held out his hand to her and they walked out of the hospital.

Elizabeth turned the key in the lock and walked into the living room of her and Lucky's apartment. She set her purse down on the table and noticed Lucky sitting on the couch just kind of staring into space. "Hello, earth to Lucky." She said waving her hand in front of his face. "Huh," was all that Lucky could manage to say while he realized where he actually was. "Where did you go. You act like you were abducted by aliens or something." She told him with a giggle. He wasn't sure what it was that was wrong with him but all he knew was that he wasn't really happy about Elizabeth doing this in the first place, even if it is to get them out of debt, but now she was sitting here making jokes about aliens when he is worried sick about how all this is going to effect her. That was the last straw with him, he let her have it. Not really meaning to he really ripped into Elizabeth for throwing caution to the wind and doing this without really thinking it through. "Are you really sure about what you are doing?" he asked her in the heat of the argument. "Are you sure you know what you have done? What you have done to us?" And with that he grabbed his keys off the table where Elizabeth had set he purse and walked out the door slamming it behind him.

Before he knew where he was going Lucky ended up in front of Jakes. Deciding that a beer and some alone time would do him some good he parked his car in front of the bar. He walked in the door and right up to the bar. "Could I get a beer please Coleman?" he asked. "Sure thing Spencer, just a sec." Coleman said as he poured a drink for a lady sitting a couple stools down from Lucky at the bar. "Thanks." Lucky told Coleman as he took a long sip of the beer that Colman gave him. After he set his beer back on the table he finally took a good look around the bar. Other than himself the only other person sitting at the bar was the brunette woman that Colman poured the drink for. It took Lucky a minute to realize that it was Sam sitting beside him.

Ch. 2.

The Choice of Betrayal

When Courtney left Jax in the waiting room she wasn't sure where she was going she just knew she needed to get out of there before she suffocated. Before she knew it she was on the roof of the hospital, she walked over the edge and looked over. It was so peaceful up there looking out at the lights of the city. She let out a sigh of relief and felt like she could just fall over the edge and then she would be totally at peace with herself. She was so tired of hearing Jax say how much he wanted a baby and knowing that she couldn't give him one. Then she got tired of hearing about how wonderful it was that Elizabeth was going to carry a child for them. Sure she was grateful that Elizabeth agreed to do it but she still wished with all her heart that it could be her carrying her own child instead of someone else. She knew she had to tell Jax all about the way she was feeling before things really got to far but she just couldn't do it tonight. She would wait until they found out if the procedure was successful or not before she said anything.

As she got in her car to go home she realized that she just didn't want to go home just yet. So she started driving, just letting the car take her where ever it felt like going. She just drove until she felt herself start to stop at the all to familiar building. She wasn't sure what in the world she was thinking when she pushed the elevator button but she did it anyways. Then she was really having second thoughts about what she was doing when she raised her hand to knock on the door. She let out a heavy sigh, "What am I doing?" She thought to herself as the door opened and the man standing before her gave her a reassuring smile and motioned her to come inside.

"What's wring Courtney? You don't look so good." Jason asked her. "Jason I don't know what I'm doing here I just needed to get away from the hospital. All that baby talk was making me crazy! I just needed to clear my head." She told him as she plopped herself down on the couch. "I even forgot to ask, are you busy? Is Sam here? Do I need to leave?" She asked secretly pleading with herself that he would say she didn't have to go. For some reason she just didn't want to go. She knew that her and Jason were over, she is married to Jax for crying out loud but she just couldn't help but want to be wrapped in Jason's arms. " To answer your questions, no I'm not busy, no Sam isn't here, she's out with Emily and NO you don't have to leave. I will be glad to help you in any way that I can. I do still care about you you know." Jason said, he said the last part without thinking. He didn't mean for it to come out like that. He wanted her to know he still cared just not in casual conversation like that. "Yea I know you do, I think that is part of the reason that I came here. You are one of the only ones who know me better than myself." she replied. Before Jason knew what he was doing he sat down beside her on the couch and put his arms protectively around her. She instinctively cuddled herself closer to him. Neither one realizing or caring that they were with other people it just still felt so right to both of them that neither one said anything. They just laid there on the couch like that for what seemed like an eternity until Jason leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Then she leaned up and looked into his eyes and they both knew what the other was thinking. They leaned in for the most passionate and forceful kiss that either one had experienced in a long time. There passion just grew until neither one of them could control it. They made there way upstairs never breaking the contact with each others lips. Before they knew it they were naked on Jason's bed and he was trailing kissed down her body as she was stroking him with all the love and passion she had in her. It didn't take long after Courtney started touching him that he had to be inside her. He slipped himself inside her and moaned with the pleasure and comfort of being inside of the woman he still so deeply loved. They both went over the edge together just as they used to, Jason fell back beside Courtney panting to get his breath. "I'm sorry." Courtney said. " I shouldn't have let it go this far." She hurriedly got up and got dressed. "Courtney, it wasn't a mistake. At least I don't think it was. I love you, I know we are with other people but we can work past that." he pleaded with her as she got dressed. "No we can't Jason. You are with Sam and Elizabeth just left the hospital possibly pregnant with mine and Jax's baby. There is nothing to work past, it is over we made a mistake and it will never happen again. You are happy with Sam and my husband and I are going to be parents. We have to let us go." She said as she stormed out the door. Jason didn't know what to think. He just sat there completely bewildered he loved Courtney, more than he cared to admit at times but he loved her still. He had to tell Sam what happened no matter the consequences. He had to be truthful with her. Just as he was thinking this he heard Sam call him from downstairs. "Jason are you home." she said. "It's now or never" he thought to himself as he dressed and went downstairs to tell the woman he thought he loved that he had just slept with someone else.

Ch. 3.

Revealing a Choice

Jason just sat there completely bewildered he loved Courtney, more than he cared to admit at times but he loved her still. He had to tell Sam what happened no matter the consequences. He had to be truthful with her. Just as he was thinking this he heard Sam call him from downstairs. "Jason are you home." she said. "It's now or never" he thought to himself as he dressed and went downstairs to tell the woman he thought he loved that he had just slept with someone else.

"Yea I'm here, I was just taking a shower." he lied to her. "Damn, I can't lie to her, I have to tell her." he thought. "Sam, wait." He said stopping her from walking in the kitchen. "I didn't just take a shower, I lied to you." "Jason, why would you lie to me about taking a shower?" she said laughing. "Sam, there's something I need to tell you and it isn't going to be the easiest thing in the world for me." Now Sam was worried, she slowly sat down on the couch and for some reason deep inside she felt her world start to crumble. "Ok, you have my attention, what is it you need to tell me?" Sam said worriedly. " This isn't going to be anything that you want to hear but I have to be honest with you. Courtney stopped by a while ago and she was upset. She isn't sure how she really feels about Elizabeth having a baby for her and Jax. So she came here to talk." he told her. He took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face before he continued. "Courtney and I slept together. We didn't mean for it to happen but it did. And Sam, I think I'm still in love with her." He said as he got up and walked over to the fireplace and ran his hand across the mantle. "YOU did WHAT!" How could you? After all the bullshit you told me about loving me and trusting me and how devoted you were to having a family with me. How could you go and sleep with your ex-wife?" she was asking Jason all these questions demanding answers and he didn't have any to give her. All Jason knew was that he still loved Courtney and he had to find a way to tell Courtney how he really felt. "You know what Jason, forget it, I don't want answers after all. I can clearly see that you didn't want to be with me and instead of being a man about it you took the cowards way out and slept with someone else behind my back. Well I hope you and Courtney will be very happy, you do know after all she is MARRIED to another man!" Sam screamed still furious. She wanted to whine and cry to him that they could work it out. If it were any other woman but Courtney they might have been able to work past it but Sam just couldn't bear the thought if working past this. She grabbed her purse off the table and turned towards the door. " I'll tell Max to send my things to Kelly's. Don't bother doing it for me. I'm on my own now!" And she slammed the door behind her as she walked out of Jason's penthouse.

Jason waited for a few minutes before slamming a vase against the wall in frustration and grabbing the keys to his motorcycle and walking out. He had to find Courtney and somehow get through to her.

Jake's

"Hey Sam, what is the matter with you? You look like you have just lost your dog." Lucky said to her trying to lighten her mood as well as his own. "No, Lucky I didn't lose my dog, I just lost the man I love." Sam said as she gulped the last of her 6th drink. "Jason told me something tonight that is way beyond forgivable. I just want to drown my pain at least for a while." She said as Colman handed her another drink and she took a big swallow. "What are you in for?' she asked Lucky curious about his reason for drinking. "Elizabeth and I got into a fight over her carrying Jax and Courtney's baby. I very bluntly told her I didn't approve." He told her. "Well I can't say that I blame you. I don't particularly like the idea of Courtney being happy right now." Sam said. "She is the reason that I lost Jason tonight. It turns out that she was upset about Elizabeth carrying Jax's child and turned to Jason for comfort. They ended up sleeping together. And don't worry I don't care if you run and tell Jax because those two are the last one's I want to see happy right now." Sam stated bluntly. "Now if you will excuse me Lucky I have a new home upstairs that is calling my name. It was nice talking to you and I hope that you and Elizabeth can work all of this out. Someone in the hellhole of a town deserves to be happy. Nite." She said as she stumbled off her barstool and up the stairs. "Nite." Lucky called after her. He finished his beer and knew that he had to get home and tell Elizabeth what he had just heard. Maybe this was just the information he needed to keep Elizabeth from carrying Jax's child. Assuming that the procedure wasn't successful.

Ch. 4

A/N: I have decided to make this story a lot shorter than I originally intended. I'm going to take the end in a completely different direction and in the end make it a complete Journey story. Originally I was going to follow all of these couples but I haven't gotten the response that I thought I would get from it. So I'm going to skip a head about 2 months into the story and go from there.

The Hospital

It had been two months since the encimination and everyone was at the hospital awaiting the results from Elizabeth's test. Jax and Courtney sat on the loveseat in the waiting room holding hands anxiously waiting for Dr, Meadows to come out and tell them the results. Courtney had still not told Jax about her faithful night with Jason and she had not planned on ever telling him. Sam had not spilled the beans either although when Courtney found out that Jason told Sam the truth she really thought that telling Jax would be the first thing that she would do but it wasn't she left town the next day after her talk with Lucky.

Lucky sat in the chair next to Courtney and Jax and was still not so thrilled with the idea of the whole process. After his talk with Sam at Jake's a couple months earlier he did go home and tell Elizabeth what Sam had told him. Elizabeth felt differently about the news though. She never liked Jason with Sam so she was happy that they were split up but she was so convinced that having this baby for Jax and Courtney was there only way out of debt that she told Lucky to keep his mouth shut. If Courtney wanted Jax to find out about her night with Jason it wasn't going to come from either one of them. Elizabeth was bound and determined to have this baby for them.

Just as Lucky's thoughts returned to Elizabeth's health and well being Dr. Meadows came out to tell them all the results. "Could you all come back to Elizabeth's room please? What I have to say is something that needs discussed in private." She said as they all stood to follow her back to Elizabeth's room. Lucky went in first behind Dr. Meadows and went straight to Elizabeth's side. Jax and Courtney stood at the foot of her bed holding hands, they both had a look of worry in their eyes. "So Dr. What is the verdict are we pregnant or not?" Lucky said with a frown on his face. "Well that's what I wanted to talk to you about."Dr. Meadows said looking at everyone in the room. "Yes Elizabeth is pregnant." she said looking at Elizabeth who was smiling at Jax and Courtney. "But," she continued "the procedure didn't take. She was already pregnant at the time of the procedure but she was only a couple of weeks along so the tests didn't show it." Dr. Meadows said. Dr. Meadows looked at Jax and Courtney, they both had a look of disappointment on their faces. Jax so desperately wanted this baby that he couldn't hide his emotions. Courtney just looked very somber and somehow relieved Dr. Meadows thought. "Well, I"ll leave you alone now. Elizabeth I want to see you back here in a couple of days to do your monthly exam. I'm very sorry." She told Jax and Courtney as she walked out the door. "I'm sorry for both of you." I had no idea I was pregnant or I would never have agreed to do this. I'm really sorry for putting you both through this." Elizabeth said. "That's ok, you had no idea, Courtney and I will just try some other way of having a child." Jax told her as he reassuringly squeezed her hand. "If you will excuse me I'm just going to go ahead and go home." Courtney said. "Elizabeth, thanks for trying. It means a lot to me that you even went this far for us. I'll see you at home." She said to Jax as she kissed him lightly on the lips and left the room. As she was closing the door behind her Dr. Meadows was coming out of the room across the hall. "Dr. Meadows may I speak with you for a moment?" she asked. "Sure, what can I do for you?" she asked looking worriedly at Courtney. "I was wondering if you could do something for me. I know you said that it would be a slim to none chance of me ever getting pregnant again but I was wondering if you could give me a pregnancy test. I have felt like I have had the symptoms for a few weeks now and I thought it was maybe just sympathy for Elizabeth but now I'm not so sure." She said pleading with Dr. Meadows. "Well you know what you chances are for getting pregnant and I don't want you to get your hopes up but I haven't seen you in a while and if you say your having symptoms it won't hurt to run a test. Come with me it should only take a few minutes." she said.

Courtney followed Dr. Meadows down the hallway into an exam room. Courtney went through the motions of the test and was waiting for the doctor to come in with the results. She was fidgeting with her fingernails nervously waiting when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in. " she said not looking up from her fingers. "Courtney, are you alright? I've been waiting to talk to you but can never seem to catch up to you at the right time." "Jason! I didn't expect it to be you coming in here, I was waiting for Dr. Meadows." she said the last part before she thought about it. "Why?" was all Jason got out before the doctor walked in. "Courtney I have the results of your pregnancy test." she said before she noticed Jason in the room.

The Choice of Truth

Ch.5

"Courtney I have the results of your pregnancy test." she said before she noticed Jason in the room. Jason just looked at Courtney with a puzzled look on his face. Courtney just gave him a look that said "We'll talk later." "Well Dr. Meadows what are the results?" Courtney asked. "Are you sure you want Jason in the room?" she asked giving Courtney a look like you know your husband should be here. "Yes, it's ok, Jason and I are still close. He can hear this." Courtney told her. "Well in that case, I have the results and I have to say that they really aren't what I expected. Courtney you are in fact going to have a baby. We need to do an ultrasound so I can make sure everything is fine. We need to do it as soon as possible." she told Courtney. Courtney was still in such shock that she couldn't say anything. She knew who the baby belonged to but she didn't know how she was going to tell Jax.

"Well Courtney I'll leave you to get checked and congratulations." Jason said before he walked out of the room. He slowly shut the door behind him knowing that what he was thinking was totally the wrong thing. He was wishing that the baby that Courtney was carrying was his but he knew that it was a slim to none chance since they had only been together one night and that her and Jax and probably slept together, well he didn't want to think about how much but he knew that there was no way this baby could be his. So Jason just rubbed his hands over his face in frustration and walked down the hall to the elevators. He really needed to go home and have a beer to calm his nerves.

"Well Courtney, it looks like this baby is just fine. From what I can tell you are roughly 8 weeks and 4 days along. Wait a second, I see something here." she said as she studied the screen more closely. "What is it?" Courtney asked with worry in her voice. "Is there something wrong with the baby?" "No as a matter of fact it is just the opposite. It looks like you are going to have twins Courtney. You see the faint heartbeat right behind this one here." she said pointing it out to Courtney on the screen. "Oh wow, yes I see it. I can't believe this I have waited so long to be able to have children of my own and now I'm having twins." She said more to herself than Dr. Meadows. "Well it looks like everything is fine so I will leave you with these and let you get dressed." dr. Meadows said handing Courtney the first pictures of her babies.

Courtney was still on cloud nine. She was so happy with the news that she didn't hear someone come in the room. "Courtney what are you doing in here?" Jax said as he walked over to her. "I just had Dr. Meadows check something out for me. After all we have been through I'm not sure how to say this." she paused not sure how to continue. She decided to just come out with it. "Jax, I'm pregnant, with twins." she said knowing he was going to be thrilled. "Courtney that is amazing. After we just thought that there was no hope of us ever having children and now you're pregnant. These babies are going to have such a happy life. They will never want for anything and they will have the best of everything." Jax said as he gave her a huge hug and twirled her around and around. "Jax," she said knowing she had to continue her thoughts, "we can't be married anymore." she said with no emotion what so ever in her voice. "What, why? Why would you say that Courtney? We are going to have children why would you not want to be married to me?" he asked afraid of the answer she would give him. "Because Jax these babies aren't yours. The night of Elizabeth's procedure when I ran out of the hospital I slept with Jason, it was a mistake at the time and I never thought in a million years that one night would result in this but the date matches the length of this pregnancy." she told him very bluntly. " I will be by later tonight to get my things but right now I have somewhere to be. So if you will excuse me." She said as she walked right past Jax and out the door. "That's it run to your precious Jason!" Jax screamed after her. He was so furious that he didn't know which way was up. He stormed out the door and headed home. He had nothing, Elizabeth was already pregnant with Lucky's baby and now Courtney had left him pregnant with another mans children. He decided to just leave for awhile and let himself cool off. He booked a flight right then for Italy.

Ch 6

The Choice of Love

Courtney wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say to Jason when she got to his penthouse but she knew that no matter what happened she had to tell him. Even if it meant that he would never love her again she had to do the right thing and tell Jason that they were going to be parents together. She finally heard the bell to the elevator ring and knew it was now or never. She decided that she wouldn't give him a speech she would just wing it and say what was in her heart. She slowly stepped off the elevator and started towards his penthouse. Before she could knock on his door she was stopped by none other than Carly. "Courtney, what are you doing? Going over to Jason's I see. You do know that he kicked Sam out a couple of months ago right?" She said with that Carly twinkle in her eye that told Courtney the wheels in Carly's head were turning. "Yes Carly I know she isn't with Jason anymore." Courtney said not really wanting to deal with twenty questions right now. "So...Why are you going to see Jason?" Carly asked. "Carly that is none of your business, now if you will excuse me." She said turning away from Carly and knocking on Jason's door. Little did Carly know that she had just given Courtney all the courage she needed to face Jason. All she had to do was piss Courtney off and Courtney could face anything. "Wait, you can't just leave and not tell me..." Before Carly could finish her sentence Jason opened the door. "Courtney, what are you doing here?" He asked. "Man, that seems to be a REALLY popular question with everyone around here tonight!" Courtney said starting to get annoyed at hearing it. "Jason may I come in, I need to talk to you about something." she asked. "Sure, come in." he said, before Carly had a chance to come in behind Courtney Jason shut the door in her face. "That is SO not fair you two. I WILL find out what your talking about one way or the other." she screamed through the door. When the couple inside heard the door across the hall slam they knew they were safe from prying ears.

"So, what is it you want to talk to me about?' He asked her curiously. He secretly wanted to just wrap her in his arms and kiss her all over but he kept his cool and waited for her answer. "Well..." she paused, not quite sure where to take the conversation first. Should she tell him about the babies, or how much she still loved him, or that her and Jax are FINALLY over, or that she wanted to be his wife again? She decided to start with the smallest thing first and just see if he could recall their night together. "You might want to sit down, this could take awhile." She said. He motioned for her to follow him to the couch where they both sat, her at one end and him at the other. "So what is it, your kind of starting to worry me." He said honestly. "I don't mean to worry you it's just that I have no clue where to begin, so much has happened in a few short hours that I still can't really believe it." she told him.

"First of all I want to ask you, do you remember the night we spent together?" she asked. Boy did he ever! That was all he has been able to think about these past couple of months. He remembered the way she smelled, way she felt and the feeling of being inside her. It was all coming back to him like a wonderful daydream. He had to stop his mind from wandering and answer her question. "Yea Courtney of course I remember that night." he said not sure where she was going with this he wondered if his response was to over anxious.

Good she thought from the way he said that he still has feeling for me. I just hope that he will be happy about what I have to say instead of lecturing me on the dangers of a family in this "business". "Jason, I'm not sure how to say all of this so I'm just going to start at the beginning and just say it." she said. "Jason the night we spent together was the best night of my life. I just knew that you were with Sam and I was married to Jax and that it could've never worked. Or at least that's what I thought. After a few weeks of not being able to get you out of my head I realized that I still do love you Jason Morgan." She paused here for a second to get her breath before she went on not really expecting a response from him. "I still love you too. With all my heart Courtney, I love you and I will do what ever I have to to make things right between us." He said as he scooted closer to her on the couch. "Really? You still love me? But I thought you were in love with Sam?" she said not really wanting an answer to the last question. "Yes Courtney I love you, I always have, what I had with Sam I thought was love but it was never the love that I felt for you. I want to try to work things out and just take it one day at a time." he said. "Well it might not be just that simple, we might have to take it a little faster than that." she said smiling. "Why?" was Jason's only response. "You didn't let me finish what I was telling you. Tonight when we went to find out the results of Elizabeth's tests we found out that it wasn't successful." "Courtney I'm sorry, I know how much having a baby means to you." Jason said sympathetically. "That's ok, anyway, like I was saying," Courtney said getting more excited as she talked which puzzled Jason but he let it slide and let her continue. "Elizabeth did in fact find out she is pregnant but with Lucky's baby. Well I was heartbroken so I told Elizabeth congratulations and left the room. To make a long story a little shorter that was right before you found me in the exam office waiting for Dr. Meadows.' This wasn't the part Jason wanted to hear, she knew he was pregnant but he didn't need to hear it again. "After you left the room and she gave me my ultrasound she told me the most amazing thing, I'm having twins. I couldn't believe it and I'm still in shock." she said. "Wow twins that's really great Courtney. I'm happy for you."Jason said. "Well...Jason look at me." He couldn't look her in the eyes and see how happy she was carrying another man children. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. But he felt her hand slowly lift up his chin until he was looking her in the eyes. "You better be happy for me because the two babies I have inside me are yours." she said with a smile from ear to ear. Jason almost couldn't comprehend the words. Was what she telling him the truth or was this some kind of sick joke, no Courtney would never lie to him so what she must be saying is true. Then it hit him like a tone of bricks. Courtney was having his baby, his babies he corrected his thoughts. Wow he couldn't believe it. "Their mine? Are you sure? What about Jax?" he asked. "Yes they're yours and yes I'm sure Dr. Meadows gave the apporximate date of conception and it matches perfectly to the night that we spent together. And as far as Jax goes I told him I wanted a divorce and that our marriage was over." she said still smiling.

Jason grabbed Courtney but the hand and pulled her over to him and crushed his lips down on hers with so much happiness and passion that he could control himself. They both went tumbling to the floor with a loud THUD!

Just then the door opened and revealed the two people who had heard the noise in the hall. "What in the world is going on in here?"