Ch 6



Courtney gently bent down and whispered, "I love you. Now and always," in Jason's ear before she closed her eyes and softly brushed her lips against his. A lone tear ran through her eyelashes and fell on Jason's cheek. That's when she felt it.


As her lips lingered in the kiss she could feel Jason's breath against her skin. She then felt something that caught her completely off guard: Jason's lips moved against her own, and he grasped her hand with a power fed by passion, longing and love. Courtney's eyes flew open and her gaze was immediately captured by Jason's icy blue stare. He was awake.


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Jason was drifting through a cloud of memories and illusions. He had thought he was on a golden sand beach, alone with Courtney. As he drifted to sleep, however, his mind took him to another location with the ease typical of transitions within a dream. Slowly he opened his eyes and was greeted by the night sky. Orion raised his sword ready for battle, his belt twinkling and clear above Jason's gaze. Soft whispers of cloud smoldered purple against the brightness of the moon and the stars. He could feel the floor beneath him moving with a gentle sway, and he could hear water lapping against wood somewhere close at hand. Jason raised himself into a sitting position and was greeted by the sight of the mast of a sailboat. Quickly taking in his surroundings he saw he was on a boat in the middle of the ocean. The rays of the full moon illuminated the water in soft, rippling columns. A mild breeze of warm air rustled his hair and brought a smile to his lips. From his right hand side a delicate moan caught his attention, and that's when he saw her. She was a vision in the moonlight, Aphrodite born again from the sea and sleeping on a blanket she shared with him. Her golden hair was spread around her head in tantalizing confusion, and her body was draped in a white dress that moved with the wind and the sway of the sea. She was on her side, curled towards him in a position that was natural and comforting.


Jason was captivated by the goddess that peacefully slept beside him. Leaning towards her he gently brushed a silken lock of hair from her cheek. His touch brought a smile to her face, and her eyes slowly opened, their blue depths still clouded with the mists of slumber. Her voice was a gentle caress, barely louder than the rustle of the wind, "Jason… What are you doing? Why are you awake?"


Jason lowered his lips to hers in answer, capturing her mouth in a sensual onslaught of love. "I just can't believe I'm here with you… " he whispered against her lips. Courtney answered with a soft smile, and confusion infused her tone, "Why? Where else would I be?" She slowly raised herself on her elbow, drawing their gaze level.


Jason's heart was warmed by her simple reply. She loved him, and she proved it in everything she did. "I don't know… I was just thinking. Sometimes I'm caught off guard by how perfect you are, and I needed to wake you up to make sure that you were real. That you were here. That you are mine."


Courtney's cheeks glowed with the gentle rouge of embarrassment, and her sapphire eyes dropped from Jason's gaze. "You always know just what to say to make me forgive you everything… even waking me up in the middle of the night!" she playfully replied, and her eyes climbed to find Jason's again. She lifted her arm and tenderly ran her hand over his cheek and down his jaw. He captured one of her fingers in his mouth and let his teeth graze over the delicate skin before kissing it. He turned his head into her palm and slowly shifted towards Courtney, capturing her mouth in another kiss.


Passion quickly enveloped them as they floated on their oasis in the middle of an abyss. They took their time with each other, Jason moving slowly over Courtney's elegant body as if it were the first time. He mapped out his course with maddeningly slow precision and brought her to the edge of reason and back. She returned the torture, her moist lips tasting every inch of his tanned skin. They took each other through the limit of insanity and back, eager for the release only true love offers. At the end of their journey they lay wrapped in each other, their limbs mingling with such perfect confusion that Jason couldn't tell where he ended and Courtney began.


As Jason drifted to sleep he could hear voices… at first he ignored them, blaming it on the tricks of the wind at sea. But as he drifted further from lucidity the voices became more pronounced. At last he could distinguish one voice, a voice he could recognize anywhere. It was Courtney, but her tone was sad and tinged with fear, a combination he remembered well from their accident in the snow. Suddenly her words rang clear and he could feel her tender lips on his. Using Courtney's touch as a compass Jason pulled himself out of the fog that had enveloped his mind, and he eagerly returned the kiss. His eyes opened and he found himself caught in Courtney's baby blue gaze.


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Courtney jumped from the shock of seeing Jason's eyes open, but he held her hand firmly within his own. Tears spilled over her cheeks as she desperately caught his lips in another kiss. Relief swamped her voice as she fought to form coherent words, "Jason… oh god, Jason! You're awake! I was so worried… I though you might never come back to me." She paused, waiting for a response, "I should go call a doctor… everyone has been so afraid for you."


Jason broke his eyes from Courtney long enough to register his surroundings. "Where am I?" he began, confusion saturating his voice and painting a frown on his features. "Why am I in the hospital?" He fought to sit up, and winced from the surge of pain that shot through his body. Defeated, he slumped back against the bed. He tried to remember what had happened… he had been trying to find Courtney, but she had left their loft. He had gone to the club… and the gun. With a sigh he closed his eyes against the waves of pain that continued to rack through his body.


Courtney witnessed this silent struggled as Jason attempted to make sense of his situation. She could see the pain he was in, and strained to hear him when he spoke. "You left… I went to find you, Courtney, and you were gone." He slowly reopened his eyes, needing to reassure himself that she was actually here and that it wasn't another dream.

Courtney nodded through her tears, and raising a hand she gently caressed Jason's cheek, "I know… I know everything. Carly told me what happened, she told me about Sonny and that night." She stopped and took in a reassuring breath. "Jason, I'm so sorry that I left… I just couldn't do it anymore. I love you too much, and the pain was so bad… I couldn't take another second of you pushing me away."


Jason watched the emotions play across Courtney's features, and he could read the love in her eyes. Lifting his arm he held her hand against his face, "I know… I couldn't do it anymore, either, Courtney. I've tried to stop loving you. I told myself that the hurt will go away. And maybe it will. But the love won't. Not now, not ever." He paused, frowning as he noticed how pale she was, and the dark circles under her eyes, "Courtney, you don't look very good. Are you feeling okay?"


Courtney listened in awe as Jason confessed his love for her. She wanted to throw herself at him and lose herself in his kiss, but she held back. The last thing he needed was her breaking his stitches or bruising another rib. As he went on to comment about her health, laughter filled her gaze, "Jason Morgan, you are the only person I know who can lie at his death bed and notice that I look tired! I'm fine… I've just been so worried about you, baby. I thought I'd lost you."


Jason smiled in response, "You could never lose me. I love you, now and forever." Courtney returned Jason's smile, and willingly followed his lead as he drew her close and claimed her mouth with his own. Neither of them noticed the shadow that darkened the doorway, or the man who cast it.