Fire Away Ch. 4

A/N: After much consideration. This story isn't coming together quite like I envisioned it would. I think this will be the last chapter and I am going to try to end it on a happy note.

Back in Port Charles Courtney and Jason had unpacked and changed clothes, they were sitting on the couch talking about what the plan of action was to get Courtney the help she so desperately wanted and needed when Carly and Sonny both walked into the penthouse. "How could you both just up and go to the island and not let anyone know you were leaving?" Carly accused. "We had to find out from Johnny that you had left." "Not now Carly." Jason told her. The accusing tone from Carly and the way Jason jumped to defend their actions was enough to set Courtney off again. She didn't need anyone accusing her of something and Jason didn't need to defend her, she was capable of that all by herself. "Carly, it doesn't matter that we left. We don't need your approval to go away together. We are grown adults that can do whatever we want, including not clearing it with you." She fired back at her best friend. Jason looked from Courtney to Carly then back to Courtney. "Fire away Courtney. Fire away at me, not Carly." He told her as he put an arm around her waist. Glaring at Jason she let him have it. "Fine, how dare they come in here and accuse us of having to tell them every move we make. We don't owe them any explanation. We can do whatever we want. We don't need their approval. We can go to the island, go for a ride on your bike, go to Kelly's for coffee, anything. We don't need their approval! And I don't have to stand here and take the accusations!" She said as she pushed Jason away and grabbed her keys off the desk and stormed out slamming the door behind her. "Courtney!" Jason yelled after her but she wasn't listening. "Go after her Sonny. Just talk to her. Calm her down. The mental breakdown is bad. "Sonny nodded in understanding and took off after his sister hoping he could talk her down and back to normal.

"What is going on with Courtney? I've never seen her like that before. She reminds me of Sonny when he…" She let the sentence trail off into the air as it dawned on Carly what was going on with her best friend. "Jason, how bad is it?" She asked hugging her best friends husband. "It's bad, Carly. Really bad. We've come to some understanding over the last couple days. When she gets like this I've just started telling her to fire away. Those words seem to focus whatever she is thinking in my direction and she lashes out, then seems ok after I just let her throw whatever words come at me. It got bad on the island though. We made love last night for the first time since she lost the baby. Then she tried to drown herself in the ocean." He didn't know how else to tell Carly what was happening except coming right out with it. "Wow, so just like Sonny. "Carly stated flatly. "Have you talked her into talking to someone at the hospital?" She asked her concerned best friend. "Yes, we were discussing an action plan for that when you guys came in." Just then Jason's phone rang. "Ok, got it. We will be there soon." That was Sonny, we should go. He found Courtney by the docks. She agreed to let him take her to the hospital. Thank God." He said as he grabbed his keys and held the door open for Carly to exit before him.

"How is she?" Jason asked as he spotted Sonny standing in the hallway of GH has he and Carly got off the elevator. "She will be fine now I think. She told me everything that happened. Everything she was thinking and feeling. For someone so broken right now I think she opened to me because she knows I know what it's like. I hope I helped her in some small way. Jason, I'm proud of you. You found something that works for her to release whatever the feelings are and she accepts it. It works to keep her from going just over the edge. That's the best you can do until she is evaluated and gets on medication that will work. Where did you come up with that phrase anyway? Fire away, seems fitting." Sonny asked his best friend, his partner, his right hand. "I was having a tough time dealing with losing the baby myself and one night I went for a ride on my bike and ended up at Jakes. I had just sat down to have my first beer and this song was on the jukebox. Not something I would ever listen to but for some reason I listened to it and it stuck in my head. It stuck with me so much I found myself still singing it in my head the next day so I downloaded it onto my phone. Here." Jason said as he handed Sonny his phone.

Fire Away

Chris Stapleton

Honey load up your questions
And pick up your sticks and your stones
And pretend I'm a shelter for heartaches
That don't have a home
Choose the words that cut like a razor

And all that I'll say

Is fire away
Take your best shot
Show me what you got
Honey, I'm not afraid
Rear back and take aim
And fire away

Well, I wish I could say
That I've never been here before
But you know and I know
That I'll always come back for more
Your love might be my damnation
But I'll cry to my grave

Fire away
Take your best shot
Show me what you got
Honey, I'm not afraid
Rear back and take aim
And fire away

Ah, fire away

Take your best shot
Show me what you got
Honey, I'm not afraid
Rear back and take aim
And fire away
Fire away
Ah fire away
Fire away

Sonny listened to the song intently. Listening to the words, not just hearing them, but really listening. Sonny wondered if that's how Carly feels about him and his mental illness. He hated that phrase, mental illness, but that's what it was. There was no denying it. He had come to terms with it, and he hoped and prayed Courtney would too. "I think Courtney needs to hear this. It may help her understand where you are coming from in dealing with her outbursts, and if she really listens it may help her understand a bit about what's going on inside her head.

Jason slowly opened the door to Courtney's room not wanting to wake her if she were sleeping. "Hey." She said as she gave him a weak smile. At least it was a smile non-the less. "Hey, how are you feeling?" "Pretty good for the moment. The doctor gave me a low dose sedative to help with the anxiety for the moment until we can figure out a treatment plan. Jason, I feel so helpless and sorry for all the pain I've caused you over the last few days. If I had figured out what was wrong when it started then I wouldn't have had to go through all of this, mostly alone, or put you through all the hell I have over the last few days. Especially with the suicide attempt." She looked away as she said the last words. "I have to face what I tried to do. That was the first time I've said it. Suicide attempt. I got so low, so down on myself and thought everyone around me was out to get me. I can't believe I thought ending my life was the answer to the loss of our baby. After spending the last couple of hours with the doctor and a professional who has seen worse than me, telling me that I will get better and eventually be able to have children again really helped me see that I can deal with this. It will take a lot of time figuring out how to deal with the stress and anxiety but I can get it under control. Thank you, Jason. Thank you for being there for me, not giving up on me and for helping me the only way you could. Just listening and letting me get all the emotion out. No matter how irrational it was to you at the time." She told him. This is the most Courtney had talked and really opened up over the last couple of days so Jason just let her talk. Listening to every word grateful that it wasn't anger or hostility like it had been or just completely shutting down like she had done over the last few weeks as well. "It wasn't a problem Courtney. That's why I'm here, to listen to whatever thoughts come to your mind, or be your punching bag or whatever. I'm your husband and I love you." He said as he leaned down and kissed her. "How did you come up with the fire away thing anyway? You never did tell me." He pulled out his phone and told her the same story he had told Sonny. She listened to the song that he had downloaded on his phone. As tears crept out of her eyes she wiped them away and just looked at her husband. This man risked everything he knew, every instinct he had to protect her and just yelled at her. She knew in that moment that that was the only thing that saved her, him telling her to fire away.

The End

A/N: Thank you all for reading. This was not my best work, I haven't written anything in almost 10 years. Thank you all again for reading.