*

Jason opened the door, only to find Courtney in the same place she was when he had left early that morning. He let out a heavy sigh, then turned on the lights and headed straight for the couch. He jerked the blanket off Courtney, which made her roll over reaching out for it.

"Courtney," Jason groaned "Courtney, come on, get up."

"Jason, I was sleeping," she mumbled "Give it back."

"Get up, we're going out," Jason headed toward the staircase.

"Where?"

"Anywhere you want, but I'm not going to let you stay here."

He disappeared upstairs, as Courtney pulled herself off the couch and stumbled up to her feet. The last thing she wanted to do was get ready and go out, pretending that she felt happy, but she wasn't going to argue with Jason. After taking two more pain pills, she trudged up the staircase to take a shower.



Brenda flew down the stairs and checked herself in the mirror in the foyer. As she smoothed down her dress, she caught the reflection of a stranger. She turned around to find a teenage boy, with spiky blonde hair and a confused expression in his eyes.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Um, hi."

"I'm Brenda," she extended her hand.

He took it, after some hesitation and then folded his arms over his chest.

"I'm Dillon...um, do you live here?" he asked slowly, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, well..."

"She does now," Ned came down the staircase "Brenda this is my brother Dillon."

"Brother?"

"Yeah, a little surprise Tracy forgot to tell us about," Ned patted Dillon on the shoulder "Dillon, this is Brenda Barrett. Just think of her as an honorary Quartermaine."

"So, you're moving in?" Dillon raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well I used to live here a long time ago," Brenda nodded "I'm just here for a visit. I'm not really moving in."

"We're heading out to The P.C. Grille for dinner," Ned began to walk toward the door "You want to join us?"

"Oh, no, I have plans with Georgie so..."

"Well, it was nice to meet you Dillon," Brenda grinned as she followed Ned out the front door.

"How come nobody around here ever tells me anything?" Dillon asked aloud as he walked out of the room.



"This was a good idea," Courtney smiled, as she took a bite of her salad "I feel better."

She really did. Jason had brought her for a quiet dinner at The P.C. Grille and it felt good to be all dressed up, out with the man she loved. She almost felt like things were back to normal for a minute.

"I'm glad you like it," Jason returned her smile.

"Thank you for making me do this."

Just then, her eyes caught sight of two people entering the front door. One was Ned Ashton and the other, was Brenda Barrett. Correction, the ex-Brenda Barrett Morgan.

"I thought she was still in Paris," she said to herself.

"What?" Jason raised an eyebrow "What are you talking about?"

He turned around and Brenda waved at him as she had Ned were being taken to their table nearby.

"Yeah, she came back for a visit, to see the Quartermaines," Jason took a bite of his steak.

"Wait a minute, so you knew she was here?" Courtney could feel her impending jealousy creeping up again.

"Yeah, I saw her today, why?"

"Why didn't you tell me she was back in town?"

"I don't know," Jason shrugged "I just didn't think about it."

"Is that it? Or did you not want me to know your gorgeous ex-wife was back in town?"

"Where is this coming from?" Jason dropped his fork onto his a plate "You know the reasons for me marrying Brenda...I'm sorry I forgot to tell you I saw her, but I really don't see why you're getting so upset."

"You don't expect me to get upset?" she raised her voice.

"Courtney, calm down..."

"Hey!" the two looked up to find Brenda walking over to them. Courtney felt sick. She was so beautiful, and she had known Jason for so long, and Courtney knew they had felt something for each other when they were married; She had sensed it at the trial. Brenda was too close for Jason not to want to spend time with her. She bet he had even forgotten about Elizabeth now.

"Excuse me," Courtney said gruffly, as she tossed her napkin on the table.

"What was that about?" Brenda watched her go into the bathroom.

"I don't know," Jason shook his head "I don't know anymore."