Blind to Love: Tumble

Thanks for the reviews last chapter!

(I noticed that the site had a little glitch last time with the update alerts, so if you're a little lost, maybe go back a chapter and make sure you've seen it.)


---Corinthos Apartment

Honestly, he couldn't have been surprised. He'd known, of course, that once the details of what had happened to Jason were confirmed and spread, as the trial had done, that there would be threats to his territory. Even if Jason wasn't one of the best seconds in any organization, an opening in such a high ranking position would be an invitation against any organization.

That these threats were coming in so quickly was frustrating and worrying, but not shocking.

"Benny says that he's been hearing talk around some of the new guys." Johnny commented as he looked over an invoice for their next shipment.

"New blood doesn't matter to me." Sonny said easily. "They don't know shit about my organization until they've proven themselves."

Johnny nodded, his jaw tense. They'd been through challenges to the territory and even war, but not without Jason, in some capacity or another. He didn't need to tell Sonny that a lot of the whispers were that Sonny didn't have the power without Jason. He was sure that his boss already knew. "Are we putting extra men on this shipment?"

"Yeah, but keep them in the warehouse. We can't show that this is affecting us at all." Sonny said, no hesitation. He'd thought over all the possibilities that he could, over the last few weeks. Normally, he think aloud with Jason, the younger man pointing things out that he hadn't thought of.

Now, the last thing that Jason had advised him on as his right hand came ringing back… Johnny has good instincts. Trust him.

So he started talking. Instead of confining his preparations to his own head, he spoke aloud. If Johnny thought that was strange, he didn't say anything. And when eventually, long after Jason would have jumped in and in the complete sentences that Jason knew Sonny didn't need, Johnny added something useful, that Sonny hadn't thought of, he didn't smile.

It was a good thing, Sonny reminded himself, that Johnny could follow his train of thought. Still, it felt wrong and he couldn't forget why.

Silently, he cursed his own sister.

--- Morgan Penthouse

"So how's this week been?" Elizabeth asked before sipping her hot chocolate.

"You'd know the answer, if you'd of been by more than once." Emily muttered darkly.

Elizabeth sighed. Emily was right of course, she had only come to see them once, early in the week and hadn't even stayed long. It wasn't as if she didn't want to be there, because God did she, but more because she had decided that he needed the time to himself. She didn't regret giving him the space, but it hadn't been easy. "Emily, he wouldn't even talk to me when he came home…"

"So you weren't going to talk him for a week?" Emily asked, incredulous. Elizabeth glared at her, and she relented. "Okay, I get it. Calm down."

"I just wanted to give him the chance to get to know his own penthouse again, without me hovering." Elizabeth half-defended, then she grinned. "Besides, I figured he was getting enough of that from you and Carly."

Emily grinned. "He told her to leave yesterday. A full day ban."

"She couldn't have liked that." Elizabeth laughed.

"She didn't," Emily reported happily. "And told him so this morning."

Elizabeth laughed again, relieved to hear that he was still fighting, in any sense of the words. "But really," She continued, sobering up, "How has it been?"

"You could ask him yourself." Emily hinted.

She nodded, "I'm going to, but I still want to hear how it's been going for you, Em." This, of course, was completely true. It couldn't have been an easy week for Emily.

"Not so bad, actually. At least, not as hard as I thought it would be." Emily admitted. Elizabeth looked surprised, so she elaborated, "Oh, it's been awful watching him and knowing why, but that's nothing new. I just meant, he's really just wanted to stay here and walk around a lot."

"You guys haven't been outside?" Elizabeth asked, surprised.

"Nope." Emily said, shaking her head. "I was sure I was going to have to grit my teeth with Max down on the docks or something."

Elizabeth nodded, agreeing. Jason wasn't the sort of person to stay inside for very long. When they'd left the hospital for the first time to go to the trial, he'd stood outside the doors for a full minute, just letting the breeze hit his face. She had been sure that he would want to go outside as much as possible now that there was nothing to stop him.

"I think he's making the penthouse the first priority." Emily theorized. "I mean, outside is going to take some time to conquer, right? This has to be easier."

"Jason generally doesn't choose the easy road." Elizabeth observed.

Emily grinned, "I've noticed."

"I guess I understand what you're saying, though." Elizabeth conceded. "The penthouse is the more immediate concern."

When Elizabeth lapsed into silence, Emily finished her week wrap-up, "Otherwise, it's kind of the same as the hospital. Most of the time he's really focused and sometimes he's really pissed in general. If he starts getting really annoying, I tell him about how worried Grandmother's been and that usually gets him out of his funk."

Elizabeth nearly snorted her hot chocolate. That was such an Emily trick… "He has to have noticed."

"Well, I only did it twice," Emily admitted, "But I'm sure he knows."

"And when in doubt, use Lila?" Elizabeth laughed.

Grinning, Emily nodded, "You act as if she doesn't know."

They laughed again, probably a little loudly this time, and then Elizabeth heard a thump from upstairs. Jason hadn't come down when she'd gotten there, something she had immediately decided was on purpose. He had mentioned to her that he could hear a hell of a lot better now that his eyesight was gone, and so she refused to let herself believe that he just didn't know she was there.

That was exactly why she hadn't let Emily call him down when they hadn't heard him coming when she'd first gotten there. She had vowed at the hospital that she wasn't going to push and so if he wanted to putter around upstairs ignoring that she was downstairs ready to help in anyway or just sit in silence with him…

She let that thought trail off with a sigh. She wasn't annoyed.

When she snapped out of her little pity-party, Emily was looking at her with a far too knowing look. "Be quiet." Elizabeth said half-serious, half-teasing.

"Hey, I didn't say anything." Emily defended. "More chocolate, I think." She said, grabbing Elizabeth's near empty mug and getting off the couch to head towards the kitchen.

The noises upstairs got louder, but Elizabeth refused to get her hopes up. If he felt like what he was doing up there needed to be done, then she wouldn't push.

Instead, she stood up and went to the window. She could remember looking with him one night, trying to be what he needed, but slowly coming to the realization that he wasn't going to let her, even if he wanted her. This time, he was going to let her and she reminded herself of that.

"Elizabeth?" Emily called from the kitchen. "Do you want whipped cream?"

Normally, she'd say no. Now, however, she might as well just give in. "Yes! Please!" She called back, right as she heard Jason steps on the stairs.

She whirled around, trying not to look anxious but then remembered he wouldn't actually know if she did. "Hey, Jason!" She greeted brightly, and was pleased when her voice didn't betray anything more than she wanted it to.

But instead of a greeting, Jason, who was noticeably without his cane, turned his face towards her and lost whatever rhythm he'd had going down the stairs.

"Jason!" She yelled, which only seemed to make it worse.

He stumbled again and missed the railing, falling down the last four steps and onto the ground below. "Dammit." He muttered.

Elizabeth ran over and fell to the ground next to him. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"You didn't do anything wrong." Jason said quietly right as Emily ran in the room.

"What happened?" She called, then, on seeing Jason on the ground said, "God, Jason, would you just hold the railing when you go down the stairs?"

Elizabeth turned to her best friend, a little shocked. Jason slowly sat himself up, shaking out his wrist, but otherwise seemingly unharmed. "Weren't you doing something in the kitchen?"

"Weren't you told to use your cane?" Emily countered, but rolled her eyes to Elizabeth. "Did I mention he's not using his cane inside anymore? He's apparently decided he shouldn't have to."

Jason grunted at Emily. That was seemed to be enough for his sister/roommate, and she turned back for the kitchen. "I'm going to make you something to drink, Jason, and I'm not telling you what."

Elizabeth watched Emily retreat back to the kitchen and Jason pull himself to his feet. She followed, a little overwhelmed. "You're okay?" She ventured, giving him a purely medicinal once over. Right…

He nodded, "Are you?"

"Me?" She asked, surprised, "I'm not the one that nearly cracked my head open on the tiles."

"I was fine." He countered, "I've done it before, so I know how to fall."

She raised an unnecessary eyebrow. "I take it that this has happened before."

It wasn't a question, but he answered all the same. "Couple of times. I'm getting better."

"At walking without a cane," She asked, "Or going down the stairs?"

"Both." He answered. Before she had a second to think, he carefully reached out for where he thought she was and touched her shoulder. Then, he let his hand travel down her arm until he reached her hand, and pulled her to the window she'd been at a moment before. "What were you looking at?"

Before she could even marvel at him walking forward with no cane, but missing the pool table all the same, she was pulled in front of the window. She smiled a little shakily, "The harbor."

"Tell me." He requested, his eyes closed with his face in the sun. He put a hand on her shoulder again, closer to her neck then frowned. "Your heart is beating fast."

"You just fell down the stairs." She reminded.

"You were scared?" He asked, his eyes open again.

She didn't answer, since she was sure he knew what she would have said. "Why no cane?" She asked instead.

"I don't want to use it." He said quietly, "At least not here."

And that made sense, she decided. She couldn't even fault him for it, not just for walking around without the cane in his penthouse. The stairs however… "Not even for the stairs?"

"Anyone can do stairs blind. Your body knows what to do." He answered as though he'd given it a lot of thought and consideration. He probably had. She didn't say anything, skeptical of such a claim. He picked up on it, without her saying a word. "You look down every time you're on the stairs? You never go down them with something big in your arms that keeps you from seeing where you're stepping?" He stopped and smiled then, "Rolls of canvas maybe?"

He had her there. There were plenty of times that she'd done exactly what he'd said. "Even holding something, I can see if there are things in my way." She countered smoothly.

"Emily wouldn't put something on the stairs." Jason said confidently.

She wished she felt the same way he did about it, but he'd been right when he'd touched her skin – her pulse was racing because she'd been afraid for him. She sighed, trying to sound like she was giving in to the argument, but it came out almost a sob.

"Hey," He said, sounding alarmed. "Don't cry."

"I'm not." She assured, her voice shaky. "I don't know why I'm…"

Jason didn't ask for the rest of the sentence, didn't even wait for it, before he'd pulled her into his arms. "I'm okay." He whispered into her ear. "You're okay too."

"I know."

"I'm going to use the cane everywhere else. I just need to know that I don't have to here." He said, "I don't know why, but I need it."

She smiled against his shoulder, glad that he'd admit something like that to her. "I know." She said again.

"I fall sometimes, on the stairs and I bump into things if I'm not paying enough attention." He told her, "I was glad that you didn't come earlier, Emily said I had a big bruise on my arm."

That made her smile again, more glad than she could admit. She'd been right to give him time – to give him the chance to do what he needed to do to re-learn his penthouse without worrying about what it would look like to her. "I understand, Jason, I really do."

"Just don't let it freak you out too much." He suggested, rubbing his hand down her back.

"Emily didn't seem to mind, so I guess it takes about a week to stop worrying." She laughed.

He pulled away, but kept an arm around her. "Emily threatened to take me to the hospital, the first time." He said, rather loudly.

"Well, excuse me for worrying." Emily said, coming out the kitchen all of a sudden. Elizabeth laughed, realizing that his sister had been hovering, waiting for them to finish.

Jason smiled, "Worrying is okay. Ambulances are not."

"You didn't!" Elizabeth gasped, moving to accept her drink from Emily.

"I didn't." Emily said, a little defensively, "I just offered."

Jason chuckled a little at the memory, as though he was making fun of her. He probably was. Emily seemed to decide the same thing, and pushed a mug into his hand. "Here's yours Jason, it might be hot chocolate or it might be melted cheese with mustard…who knows? Elizabeth and I will be by the couch, so you can just work your way over. Try not to spill!"

"It's hot chocolate. I can smell it." He said.

"Yep, you're right. It's a nearly overflowing mug of really hot chocolate."

That of course, was to remind him that he had to make it to the couch with the mug. Jason just grinned though, as though he liked the challenge, burnt hand or no.

I hope you liked the liason interaction and the update on Jason in the penthouse. I wanted to move things along a little.

Reviews are love!