Disclaimer: I do not own General Hospital or any of its characters

It was almost 9:30 when Jason finally returned to the penthouse. It had been one of the more stressful days he'd had in a while. Not only was he tracking Ric, who had managed to vanish without a trace, he was also conduction all normal business without any help from Sonny. Of course it was perfectly understandable why he would take a break to be with Carly, but it didn't make things any easier for Jason. It also meant it would be longer until he could take some time for just him and Courtney. He realized how hard this time had been on her. Her wedding, a day meant to be the most special one in her life, was canceled and her best friend was missing. And to his knowledge not one person had been there for her to lean on, or even ask how she was holding up, she had stood alone and was strong for everyone else. She reassured everyone else and received nothing in return. He felt so guilty about that, he had shut down, and become obsessed with finding Carly.

"I should have been there for her more," He thought. Adding more stress to himself. He tried to push all thoughts out of his head as he opened the door to the penthouse desperately craving a good nights sleep.

When he opened the door he spotted Courtney curled up on the sofa writing something. At the sound of the door her head shot up to see Jason's fierce blue eyes and a smile exploded onto her face.

"Hey" she said

"Hey yourself," he replied tiredly as he took of his jacket and joined her on the couch.

"So, I was thinking, now that Carly is back and all we can start re-planning the wedding an-"

"Court," he interrupted "do we have to talk about the wedding right now, I mean we just sat down"

He cut himself off realizing how terrible this must sound to her. Confirming his suspicion were two stunningly blue, tear filled eyes staring back at him. "That's not what I meant," he thought in a panic.

"Court, I just meant that-"

"No, your right" She cut him off, "You had a long day and we don't need to talk about this right now. Anyway I'm really tired so I'm just going to head on up to bed."

He knew she was lying, it wasn't even 10 o'clock yet. And the feeling that she would lie to get away from him ripped his heart apart. She looked like a kicked puppy as she climbed the stairs with her head down and soft blonde hair covering her face.

When Jason went up to check on her an hour later and his heart dropped when he saw her tear stained cheeks. "I made her cry" he though and was almost sick to his stomach, "So much for a good night sleep" Knowing that every time he closed his eyes he would see her crying the tears he'd promised to keep away.