Part Fourteen
Gia groaned and turned over once more. She was trying vainly to fall back asleep after being woken up by her cell phone. She hadn't answered it, instead at laid there until the person gave up. She and Carly had gotten home later than they planned. After Carly banned men from the conversation they had really let loose. They had hit the dance floor again, grinding up a storm. Then they had gotten Carly's driver to take them get some ice cream. Gia was pretty sure it was close to three thirty when they landed back home.
Gia slowly began to wake up. According to her clock, she had only been sleeping for five hours. She needed more sleep than that. She ached a little from dancing in her high sandals. She reached over to the bedside table and grabbed her cell phone to see who called. She groaned again when she saw the name. "Marcus…" She dropped the phone back onto the table. She wasn't in the mood to talk to him.
She crawled out of bed and headed for the shower. The hot blast woke her up as soon as it hit her. She worked out all the kinks and then got dressed. She had a meeting with the PR department at Deception in the afternoon. They were getting ready to shoot for the Nurses Ball. Elizabeth Spencer had designed the t-shirt again.
Until then, she wanted to relax. Actually she wanted to sleep but she forgot the turn her cell phone off. When she went back to the room, she saw that her brother had called again. "Good Lord, Marcus. I really am not in the mood for your lecture today." She figured she was due for another one soon. He had left her alone for a few weeks, but she knew that he hadn't given up on the idea of getting her out of the penthouse. Thank God her mother was visiting relatives or she would be swamped with family who thought they knew best.
She was fixing her hair when the phone rang again. "Dammit Marcus, get a life." She said reaching for it. She may as well answer it and get it over with. She put the phone to her ear and spoke in a sweet voice. "Hello."
"Gia, where were you?"
"Hmm, it's just after 8:30 in the morning. Some people like to sleep in." She informed him.
"Gia, we need to talk."
"No we don't." Gia told him. "You don't want to talk you just want to tell me what a fool I am being for living in the same place as Jason Morgan. You want to tell me that I am stupid for wanting Carly Corinthos as a best friend. I don't get a say…that's not talking, that's a lecture. And I have had quite enough form you."
"Look, Gia, there is something I want you to see." Marcus said. "I just want you to know something. Just meet me at Kelly's. I'll buy you breakfast."
Gia sighed. "The moment I feel like I am being treated like a child I will leave the diner. Agreed?"
"Sure, anything you want." Marcus said. "See you in twenty minutes."
Gia hung up her phone. She really hoped that Marcus would keep his word and not yell at her again. If that was what he was going to do over the fact that she was living with Jason, how would he react when he found out that she might have feelings for Jason?
She gathered her things together and headed downstairs. Jason was sitting on the couch, reading the paper. "Good morning."
Jason looked at her and smiled. "Hey…how was last night?"
"A lot of fun, just what I needed." Gia told him. She took a deep breath. She had decided she was going to say what she had been thinking lately. "I have to meet my brother for breakfast at Kelly's. Will you still be here when I come back?"
"Yeah, why?" Jason asked.
"I wanted to talk to you about some things." Gia said. "It's kind of important, and I really don't want to get into it now seeing as I only have twenty minutes. See you later."
"Sure." Jason said as he watched her go. He put down the paper, wondering what Gia would have to say. He hoped she wasn't planning on moving out…
****
Carly smelt coffee brewing. She cringed a little and then opened her eyes. She was overtired, and she knew it. Too much partying for her…It's not as easy as it used to be, she thought. She looked at the clock. She was missing the morning routine!
Scrambling around the room she made it downstairs just in time to see Michael off. Sonny laughed when he took in her appearance. "Carly, go back to bed."
"I don't want to." She said putting her head down on the table. "I can't sleep the whole day away. What a waste!"
"I'm sorry I didn't wait up. I thought you would be home earlier than that." Sonny admitted. "How was it?"
"Fun but I was hoping that I could get Gia to talk about Jason more. She did say that he was hot." Carly mumbled, mostly in the direction of the table.
"Jason talked out Gia last night."
Carly's head shot up. "That's great. Now we can…"
"Carly, I really think that they can do this on their own." Sonny told her. "If they are made for each other like you say then they will figure it out. So, we will mind our own business."
"Okay." Carly said without a fight.
"Now would you please go back to bed?"
Carly didn't answer…she was asleep on the table.
****
Gia fought a yawn as she finished off her breakfast. She would have to go to bed early that night. Marcus hadn't mentioned why they were there yet. He wanted to have a nice breakfast with his sister before he talked to her about Morgan and Corinthos.
"How are you, Gia?" Marcus asked. "I mean…really, how are you?"
"I'm really okay." She assured him. "Yes, I miss Nikolas but I am getting better everyday. And I am happy with the new life I am building."
"That's what I am here about." Marcus told her.
"Well, obviously." Gia pushed away her plate so the waitress would take it. "I really would like this to be quick."
Marcus nodded and pulled out a file. "Gia, I wanted you to see this because I wanted you to know the odds. I wanted you to know what goes on in the world of Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan. I want you to see how dangerous it is…on paper at least so you never had to see first hand."
Gia looked at her brother before reaching across the table and taking the folder. She opened it and scanned the first page. "What is this?"
"That is the name of someone who was killed by Sonny Corinthos or because of him." Marcus explained. "You might actually remember him…Deke...he was my mentor."
"Do you know that Sonny killed him for sure?"
"You can never be sure with the mafia." Marcus told her. "But I have always known in my heart that Sonny had something to do with it."
"But you can't be sure." Gia closed the folder. "This is crazy."
Marcus opened it back up and turned the page. "So that wasn't a good example. Let's move on to the next one."
Gia read the name. "Lily Rivera Corinthos."
"She was killed in a car bomb along with her and Sonny's baby."
Gia's heart sank. Sonny lost his wife and baby… "That's horrible." Gia whispered.
"It was meant for Sonny." Marcus added.
For the next while Gia flipped through profiles of people who where injured or killed. Gia felt like she was being overloaded. She read how Jason and Sonny were both hurt numerous times. Each was shot more than once. She read how Robin Scorpio was injured while she dating Jason. She flipped to the next page and gasped. "Nikolas Cassadine."
"A shoot out in front of Luke's club. Nikolas was hurt pretty badly. He was lucky some of Jason Quartermaine emerged in Morgan in time enough to save him." Marcus explained.
Gia closed the folder. That was enough for her. Nikolas had never told her that. "How did you put this together?"
"I went through the files on my own time." Marcus told her. "I wanted to you to see how many people over the years were affected by being close to Corinthos and Morgan. Gia, I just wanted you to know that you could end up a part of file like this. I just wanted you to be aware of this."
"I was aware before…" Gia stood up. "Now I am painfully aware. I know what Sonny and Jason do. But I can't help but like them. I want you to just stop all this."
"Gia, I care about you. I won't be the one who identifies you in the morgue. I won't be the one who tells Mom you're dead." Marcus stood up to. He could see that she was upset. Maybe he had gone too far or maybe she was coming to her senses. "If I can't change you mind, just promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise." Gia pulled him into a hug and then walked off.
****
Jason looked up when the door opened. Gia was standing there. He could tell something was wrong. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Gia muttered. She had planned to tell Jason something but her meeting with her brother changed a lot of things. "Jason, I still need to talk to you. I'm really confused right now."
Jason took her hand. Gia felt the same spark she always felt when she was around him. They sat on the couch facing each other.
"Jason, I had this all planned out. I knew what I wanted to tell you." Gia said struggling to find the right words.
"Gia, it's alright, please just tell me what's wrong…"
"I wanted to talk about us…I still want to talk about us." Gia began. "A month ago I was stuck in a rut with Nikolas. I thought I lost it all when he decided to leave me. But you picked me up and helped me see that I hadn't lost it all. You did so much for me. Each day that I am around you I find myself smiling more and more. When we kissed the other night I pulled away but I realized something." She was about to lay it all on the line. "I want something more between us Jason. I want to try…" Gia trailed off not sure what else to say.
Jason felt his heart leap. She wanted to be more than friends. "Gia, I want the same thing."
Gia smiled a little. "I know we didn't do this the right way. We moved into together first and then we decide to date. But I can't help myself. I think I am ready to move on."
"Then why did you say you were confused?" Jason asked.
"I just came from seeing my brother. He didn't try to lecture me; instead he had the hard facts on what it is like to live in your world." She told him. "I heard about Lily…and Nikolas. I learned about how you saved him." She bent her head down.
"Gia, I want you to know that I would never let anyone hurt you." Jason said reached out and touched her face.
"That's not what got me upset." Gia said. "I'm not worried about that." Her hand moved to touch his face. "I am just confused. I mean I really don't know if I want to take the chance. I just lost Nikolas. If I let myself open up to you, what if something happens to you? I will have lost you too. I can't have my heart broken again. On my way back here I was thinking about it. I want to be with you, but if we try and we find that there is something there I can't lose you. Do you understand?"
Jason nodded. He pulled her into his arms so her head was rested against his chest.
"I am really scared Jason. I am scared of opening up...and I am scared of losing you." She said leaning against him.
Jason kissed the top of her head. "Gia, I promise you won't loose me. I know that what me and Sonny do is dangerous but it has been really quiet for the last few years. Sonny and I have the respect of many people and no one would want to start something. Think about it Gia…Sonny would never put his family in danger. He knows it is safe. I would never ask you to start anything with me if I thought that you would get hurt."
Gia felt herself calming down. She looked up at him. "I feel so much better. I feel better knowing that I have gotten this off my chest."
Jason nodded. "I couldn't agree more. No more tiptoeing around." He grinned and leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
She move to return the kiss and the two became lost in a kiss. All the feelings that had been building up for awhile poured out. Gia pulled back and laughed a little. "I was also thinking that we should take it slow. I mean, I know my feelings are pretty strong but I don't want to rush anything."
"I think that would be a good idea too." Jason said. "But by moving it slow does that mean you will move out?"
"I don't want to." Gia admitted. "Do you want me to?"
"No!" Jason cried. "I was worried that was what you were going to tell me."
"I love it here." Gia said. "I love the fact that I am close to Sonny and Carly and the kids. And that I am close to you…" She lightly kissed him again. "In fact I think that we should make it more permanent. I am tired of running for my stuff at Club 101. Do you think we can move it here?"
"Sounds like a plan." Jason said. "I can do it. I haven't got anything planned for today."
"I have a Deception shoot for the Nurses Ball this afternoon." Gia said. "I should be done early evening. Why don't I meet you there and we can get it together?"
Jason nodded. "I'll go over and tell Carly."
"Please tell her that she can also stop trying to push us together…we figured it out on our own." Gia felt his lips on her cheek and closed her eyes. Things were finally falling back into place.
****
AJ knew he was a ticking time bomb. He knew he was going to snap. He also knew that he wasn't going to do anything about it. He was going to let himself explode. He wanted to.
Maybe if Jason hadn't forced his way into his room and threatened him a month ago…maybe he would have cooled down from his confrontation with Gia and just went back to brooding. But Jason had to push him and he was ready to push back. It had taken some time but AJ Quartermaine wasn't going to take it anymore. He knew that he was right…he just couldn't compete with men like Sonny and Jason. They had money and power. AJ had neither. Without his family's support he was nothing, or so they told him.
That was all going to change. He was going to show everyone that he could be someone and defeat Sonny and Jason.
****
Jason knew he was early when he pulled the car to Club 101. Carly's favorite employee, Danny, was standing there with the key. The club didn't open to the public for another few hours so no other employees had arrived yet. Danny usually oversaw the preparations for opening. He handed the key to Jason.
"I'm going over to Kelly's for some dinner. I'll be back in about an hour to get the key back from you." He told Jason, before getting into his own car.
Jason opened the back door and went up to the storage room. He used the key to unlock it. Gia wouldn't be along for a little while so he decided to start on his own. If he got it all done before she arrived then they could spend more time together.
He had gotten most of the boxes into the car when he heard the footsteps on the back steps. He smiled. She was on her way.
He turned around and his smile disappeared.
AJ was standing there with a wild look in his eyes.
