Because of You

This is a JasLexis fic with Sexis triangle implications. I was inspired by the songs on the Album the Year of the Gentleman by Ne-Yo; however, this is not a song fic. (BTW, the whole Ned is the father story has not happened and is not going to happen.) I hope you enjoy and as always, replies are greatly appreciated.

FYI-The bolded dialogue is actually from the July 2002 JasLexis scene from which the story is based.

Chapter 1 – Part of the List

Alexis's mind raced a thousand miles a minute. She, Alexis Davis, had just heard her baby's heartbeat for the first time. Alexis Davis, who never thought she'd be a mother, was now slightly more than six months away from giving birth to her best friend's child. The same best friend who told her things wouldn't change between them if they gave into their desire. The same best friend who'd just reconciled with his ex-wife.

Touching her still-flat stomach, she spoke, "Well, little one, how am I going to tell your daddy about you? Should I even tell him? He's a dangerous man, but he's a decent man and you're all he's ever wanted."

Alexis closed her eyes. In her mind, she pictured Sonny and her on his sofa. In her head, she speaks the words, "Sonny, I'm pregnant." In response, a tear falls from his deep, dark brown eyes with the endless lashes.

"Are you sure?" his voice gravels

Her reply is a nod. Sweeping her in his arms, he whispers that everything will be alright; just like he did the night they made love. Her vision is so real, she feels the soft kisses he places on her face; she can even smell his cologne. After a moment, she pulls back from his embrace. "What about Carly?"

"It's over. She's already gone. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get you out of my system and she got tired of it and left."

"What are you saying, Sonny?"

"I'm saying I'm in love with you and I want the three of us to be a family."

Alexis shook her head. "That's just a dream little one. In fact, given your papa's line of work, it's a dream I'm sure I don't actually want to see come true. I would like us to be close enough for you to know whether you have his sense of humor or my temperament."

In her mind, she continued to make a list of Sonny's attributes: the qualities she hoped their child inherited and those she prayed their baby did not. Dimples and charm topped the list; temper and stubbornness landed near the bottom.

A knock on the door interrupted Alexis's thoughts. A pair of large men, holding a random piece of her furniture, stood on the other side. She tried to remain calm, until she heard the first vase break. With great futility she moved toward the sound of the crash. Seeing that her efforts were fruitless, she simply screamed to the first large man in her path. "You know, maybe if you can just -- you know, you can actually just drop it anywhere, it's ok. I didn't really mean that literally."

To her surprise, she looked up and saw Sonny's right hand man, Jason Morgan. Even with all that transpired between her and Sonny, seeing Jason, with his pleasant face and spiky blonde hair typically brought a smile to her face. Though today, he'd seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "Um…Jason."

Always the master of understatement, Jason simply responded, "Hi."

"How did you get in?"

"The door."

Alexis called out to the movers that stood in the immediate vicinity, "Did any of you guys see him come in?"

The first mover, a stocky man with no neck, called out, "No, I didn't see him."

A second man, who was clearly aware of Jason's reputation as Sonny's enforcer called out, "Neither did I, ma'am."

Alexis responded, more to herself than to anyone in the room, "Great. I have nervous movers." She turned to Jason, "What are you doing here? Did I forget something at the penthouse?"

"I need a lawyer." Jason thought of Alexis as the best attorney around. She first represented him two years before when Carly turned on him during their fight to keep Michael. With no biological rights to speak of she'd nearly won him shared custody.

"I -- I don't work for Sonny any longer." Now, she understood Michael Corleone's cry about trying to get out of the business but continually being sucked back in.

Jason knew things had been tense between Sonny and Alexis since a short time before he returned. It became more apparent when she voluntarily moved from the Penthouse across the hall from Sonny to this condominium across town. Still, he knew she was a professional and he suspected she would help him get the information he needed.

Another crash sounded from the bedroom.

"I think your movers dropped something. You want me to take care of these guys?" After all Alexis had done for him in the course of two years, it was the least he could do.

"No, I don't want you to take care of it. I will. I'll be right back," she snapped without really meaning to.

Jason couldn't help smiling. Alexis was not a woman you wanted on your bad side. Suddenly, he was grateful that he was not one of the men who was about to encounter her wrath. He leaned against her table and accidently knocked her purse off of the table. In the process, some papers fell out. Jason could hardly believe his eyes. The papers said Alexis was pregnant and the father was unknown. He hadn't realized he was staring at the papers until Alexis walked in and grabbed the papers from his hands.

"Uh -- you know what? Why don't you let me handle that?" She didher best to keep from hyperventilating.

Still dazed, Jason could only mumble, "Yeah, sure."

"Attorney/client privilege and all," she continued to cover.

Jason launched into the information he wanted Alexis to find. Reluctantly, she agreed. Still, Jason's mind continued to spin. As he prepared to depart, he turned to look at her. For some reason he never expected Alexis to be a mom. She was so independent and controlled. There seemed to be no room for a baby in her life. "Alexis, if there's anything Sonny and I can-"

"There isn't." Her heart began to race with the fear that Jason had seen the papers from her appointment with her obstetrician.

"Do…" he started, but he didn't know what to say.

"I'm moving. I'm settling. I'm giving you back your penthouse," she cut him off. She couldn't do this; not now and particularly not with Jason.

"If you ever want to move back in…" Though he suspected Sonny had no idea about the baby, he knew Sonny would want to keep his child as close to him as possible.

"Right. Thanks." Alexis nodded and placed a hand at Jason's back. She attempted to usher him out of the door. "I'll get back to you with the information you requested.

Jason continued to stare at her. Inside, he was torn. His first instinct was to head straight to Sonny's penthouse and tell him what he'd learned. Still, it was complicated. Alexis had been extremely good to him in the past and he felt he owed her. He turned to face her. "Look Alexis, I saw the papers: You're pregnant. Is it Sonny's?"

"Jason, you have no idea…this is complicated." One of the things she used to like about Jason was his straight-forwardness. Today, it had lost its charm. "My sister doesn't even know."

"All I know is Sonny would like to know if he is going to be a father. I think he'd take it better from you than from me."

She sighed. It seemed Alexis's days of putting off the inevitable had come to an end. "Give me until the end of the week? Please?"

Jason nodded and moved to the door. Before he left, he touched her arm. "Alexis, if you need anything before you tell Sonny; let me know."

Alexis nodded. The ding of the elevator simultaneously announced Jason's departure and the arrival of her sister, Kristina.

Perpetually nosy, the energetic redhead pushed past Alexis and flopped on the sofa. "So, he was hot. Who was that?"

Alexis sighed, "That was Jason Morgan. My worst nightmare."