Chapter 2

Courtney walked behind Carly as they made their way down the stairs and towards the docks. They had just cleaned out every single boutique and department store known to man on their side of town and they were exhausted –well, Courtney was.

"Carly, hold on, let's sit for a while," said Courtney walking over to a bench and sitting down.

The brunette took a seat next to her and dug into her bags. She pulled out the baseball mitt she had just purchased for Michael. "He is going to ilove/i this, don't ya think?", she asked admiring it in her hands.

Courtney always respected Carly's attitude towards her children and their current situation. It had been almost a year since Sonny had somehow one-upped her in court and was granted full custody of Michael and Morgan. The more Carly started to marvel about the simple gift in her hands, the sadder she seemed.

"You really miss them don't you?" said Courtney but was surprised when Carly's expression went from solemn to annoyed.

"Oh, God, don't start with the loneliness talk!" replied Carly getting up and walking towards the water. "You're lonely, you have no one to hold you, you live by yourself, and I get it Courtney! But what you need to get is how to just deal, alright? You and Jax have been divorced for months. He's out of the country, obviously not losing sleep over you, so I don't understand for the life of me why you are over him. There are plenty of men in this town, eligible men, who would be perfect for you, but no, you just look right past them if they're not Jason, you ex-husband who just so happens to be married and expecting a child! Shit happens, Courtney. You're not the only one crying yourself to sleep at night!"

Carly stopped herself, observing the silence between the two. She turned around and looked at Courtney who was staring at the ground before her, completely speechless.

"I am … so sorry, Courtney," said Carly walking over towards her.

Courtney put her hands up to stop Carly from talking. "No … you're right," she looked at her. "You're absolutely right. I need to stop … wallowing in my self-pity and just grow up. Jax isn't going to come back and neither is Jason. And you what? There are other men out there, I just … I just need to open my eyes more."

Carly smiled. "There you go." Her look of happiness quickly faded and her eyes moved from Courtney to the stairs. Courtney turned around in time to see Sam coming towards them. She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Sam said cheerfully. Courtney and Carly just stared. "Again … when the hell did we become friendly?", Courtney thought to herself.

She put on a fake smile as Carly just stared. "What are you doing out here by yourself, Sam? I'm sure Jason doesn't want you just out and walking around," said Carly, clearly irritated.

Sam motioned behind her. "No, Max is back there … lurking or something, he's watching me. The last thing I want is Jason nagging about the safety of this baby and me." Her tiny doll-like hands went to her growing stomach and Courtney watched her every move.

"So, you're just walking outside, enjoying lovely Port Charles?" responded Carly rolling her eyes.

"Well, it's sort of nice outside, Jason had business. He's been on the phone all morning, so I decided to just come out, being that its such a nice day and all," replied Sam.

Carly scoffed then smiled sweetly. "Ah, well, don't choke to death on the pollen," she said before picking up her bags and leaving.

"I try not to mind her," laughed Sam lightly. Courtney nodded. "I just focus on my marriage and the baby," continued Sam.

"Yeah …" was all Courtney could say … or would say. Sam finally noticed the rather tired expression on Courtney's face.

"Oh … I'm, I'm sorry," said Sam. "You probably have somewhere you need to be … and I'm keeping you …"

"Yeah, actually … I have somewhere to be," Courtney answered, not able to stop the lie before it had escaped her mouth.

"Oh, okay," replied Sam. "'l'll see you around." And with that said, the petite woman walked off.

Courtney laughed at the conversation; her excuse for getting Sam out of her face. The truth was: she hadn't had a place to go in quite some time –months even. Her days sort of just floated by her, just as life did. At times she felt as if she had nothing to live for. What reason was there to get out of bed? To spend yet another tiresome day completely numb to everything and everyone? She had no husband … no children. No real place to belong. She wanted acceptance. To be able to have something, someone, to look forward to. But that something or someone was non-existent … or out of reach.

She was in the midst of her thoughts when the small object caught her eye. She walked over to it, kneeled down and retrieved it. A wallet. Courtney opened it up. 'Samantha Morgan' read the license. Rolling her eyes, she stood up and proceeded to walk to Harborview Towers to be the Good Samaritan everyone would expect her to be.

Harborview Towers

The ride up to the penthouse had seemed all too familiar. All the staff was the same, most of the cars in the structure … but times had changed. Feelings and emotions had been ignored, suspended into the air and then eventually forgotten. And Courtney was no longer the same bubbly blonde who giggled while on the back of his bike. Or the same bubbly blonde whose eyes lit up at just the sound of his name.

And that's when she heard his voice. The door of the penthouse was slightly ajar. That old familiar conversation of business and enforcement became clearer as she neared the door. Courtney peeked inside. Jason was standing by the balcony doors with his back turned to her. For a split second, she considered sliding the wallet onto the floor and making a run for it. But a part of her wanted to feel a sense of home for just a moment and for some strange reason –she found it near him.

She took a deep breath then softly knocked on the door. Jason turned around and their eyes shared a glance before he broke the stare. He beckoned for her to come in before letting the person on the other end go.

"Hey," she said in a voice as almost as low as a whisper. She waved the wallet. "Sam dropped this and I was, um … just returning it. Is she here?"

Jason shook his head. "No … I'm the only one here."