Hours later, General Hospital-
The night sky was beginning to peak its way out into the world, battling off the waning sunlight and signaling the end of yet another day. Courtney had been by her nephew's side since Sonny had asked her to be with him. She hadn't left. She wasn't having the most exciting time of her life, but she knew that what she was doing was very important. There was no way to know if Damian had a contract out on his life, or, even if he didn't that someone, the person who had managed to hurt him as much as he was hurt, wouldn't know that he just needed to do a little more in order to get the job done. Someone needed to watch Damian at all times. Since Sonny was preoccupied with his trip to Los Angeles that couldn't wait and Jason was still skeptical about staying around hospitals, let alone going along with Sonny to the city of angels, that really only left Courtney. She could fight, she was stronger than people would think. They would look at her and see little more than an extremely beautiful young woman. They didn't expect that she had the skills to put them all on the ground in a few seconds. Her timid composure and nature were things that constantly favored with her, she wasn't going to give them up for anyone.
She looked at Damian, who had his face turned the other way, his head safely nestled in his pillow. He wasn't exactly the strongest and most intimidating person on the planet, but maybe she should teach him how to defend himself. He might not like being taught how to fight by a woman, even if it was someone that he respected. She had never really taught anyone the things that she had learned, but she probably should have started. Damian was a pacifist by nature, Courtney was well aware of that fact, but Damian had to be aware of the fact that his life was always going to be in danger as long as he lived, as long as he still had that tie to their family, a tie that Damian wouldn't give up. It would have been safer for everyone involved if he had just given up and gone back to Los Angeles, wouldn't it? They wouldn't find a way to strike at Sonny from such a distance, would they? Courtney knew what the answer was, and it was unfortunately not the one that she wanted to hear. Now that Damian's lineage had been discovered, there was no way that he was going to get out of being Sonny Corinthos's son. They would find a way to get at Sonny through him, his enemies wouldn't let anything get in their way. They would run through Damian's family like nothing. The Zuniga's would be slaughtered, and it would partly be because of Sonny. Courtney knew that she couldn't let that happen. It might have been somewhat safer if he had gone back to Los Angeles, but it was certainly better that he had chosen to remain in Port Charles, the place where his father could almost surely protect him from just about anything. Provided, of course, that he knew there was a threat. Sonny was good at realizing things, but he was just as human in every respect as anyone else, even though Sonny never wanted to admit that he was a 'mere mortal,' the fact remained the same. He wasn't a mind reader, he couldn't see the future.
She knew that Damian needed to know something... anything in the ways of self- defense. Courtney also thought about teaching Michael and Morgan when he was old enough. She could teach her nephews how to protect themselves, the same way she would have taught her child and her future children if things had gone differently. Courtney took another look at Damian, wondering if he would have been as protective of her children as he was with Michael. Would he have loved her baby? She smiled when she thought about it. She knew that he would have loved the baby no matter what, because Damian loved all his family, even when he shouldn't have. She thought of Ric sitting in the waiting area, if he was still there. There was no reason why he should have been there, but there was also no reason why he was going to leave. Regardless of how optimistic Damian chose to remain about Ric, Courtney knew that he hadn't seen Ric at his worst. She had, she had been affected by it just as much as anyone else. She lost her best friend for months, she lost her baby partly because of him. But she couldn't control anyone's life, and she wouldn't want to control Damian's. As much as she disagreed with his acceptance of Ric, she knew that he would never allow Ric to hurt anyone willingly, especially someone in the family.
Maxie rolled the cart with the medication passed Damian's room. She poked her head in the door and saw Courtney in the chair. She saw Damian was sleeping.
Courtney heard the door open and she was a little jumpy, but when she realized that it was Maxie her nerves calmed. She felt safest around Maxie, for some reason. Maybe because she knew how much they were in love. People that were in love that much couldn't hurt one another. She would never do anything to hurt Jason, ever. "Shouldn't you be working?" Courtney said softly, so as not to wake up Damian.
"I thought I'd check up on him while I was in the area," Maxie replied. "Or, I may have just made a special trip for him."
"You would do that, wouldn't you?"
"Of course," Maxie grinned. "Wouldn't you make it a point to look in on Jason if he were in the hospital?"
"In the extremely unlikely occurrence that he allowed himself to stay in a hospital, I would," Courtney grimaced, thinking about her husband in the hospital. It would be hell on him. He could have just been sick and he would have hated it.
Maxie walked in and made her way to the side of the bed where Damian's head was resting. "I wonder if this is how he looked as a little boy..."
"What?"
Maxie blushed a little, "You know what they say, Courtney. Guys look the way they looked when they were little kids when they sleep."
"I guess," Courtney said. She hadn't seen any baby pictures of Damian. Nobody had. Damian hadn't brought any with him and none of them felt that it would have been right to request such things of the family that had raised him for most of his life. Even if they did ask, there was no telling if the Zuniga's would actually comply and give photos over. Damian's childhood would always be something that was going to be up to Damian himself to talk about. He had only shared a few snippets with them. His past was more a mystery than anything, but it might have been painful. From what they had learned, he wasn't a very open little boy, he was secluded with almost no friends. Courtney couldn't imagine such a thing, being without anyone but the people who you knew loved you. It must have been torturous.
"You haven't looked at Jason and thought about it?" Maxie asked.
"Not really, no," Courtney did ponder the situation, though. She hadn't seen much of Jason's baby pictures. She focused more on AJ when she lived in the mansion since that was who she was married to at the time, although she did think, recalling into the reachers of her mind that AJ did bear a slight resemblance to his childhood self when he was sleeping. Maybe the same could be said for Jason. Maybe it would always be a mystery.
"I wish I knew," Maxie admitted.
"Maybe one day you will," Courtney said, her voice filled with hope. "He trusts you, Maxie. He trusts you more than he trusts just about anyone else that he's ever met. Damian's not the type of person who opens up very often, Maxie."
"I know that..."
"Then you should feel incredibly honored to know that he does trust you as much as he does," Courtney continued. "If he doesn't open up to just anyway it shows how much he appreciates you being in his life. I know how that feels, Jason's a lot like Damian in that respect." Courtney thought back to her relationship with Jason, one of the best things in her life, "He'll tell you things that he never thought he'd tell anyone, because you're the person that he feels the most comfortable with."
"How long do I have to wait for that?" Maxie wondered.
"Hasn't it already happened?" Courtney wondered.
"I... don't know," Maxie recalled various points in their short but very beautiful relationship. "I guess so..."
"See, you'll have more moments like that," Courtney smiled. "Could you do me a favor?"
"What is it?" Maxie asked.
"When you go back to the nurses station, tell Ric and Elizabeth, if they're still around, that he wants to see them," Courtney's face was blank, she was trying not to show the fact that she didn't agree with the idea to see Ric.
"It won't be for a few more minutes, I've still got to go on my rounds," Maxie admitted.
"Don't worry about it, take your time," Courtney didn't mind forcing Ric to wait. In fact, she rather liked the idea of Ric not getting to see Damian right away, as much as she didn't like admitting that dark part of herself.
"Okay, I'll tell them if I see them."
"Thanks," Courtney replied, watching Maxie leave. "You can take all the time you want."
Twenty Minutes Later-
There was a soft knock on the door, Ric opened it a second later. "Maxie said that he wanted to see us..."
Courtney huffed a bit, but she knew she was doing the right thing, "Yeah," She got up and gave Damian a soft tap on the shoulder that woke him up. "Ric and Elizabeth are here to see you."
Damian, his eyes still showing the drain that comes with sleep, managed a slight grin, "Thanks."
Courtney walked out, walking past Ric and whispering, "I'll be right outside. Don't try anything."
"I wouldn't think about it," Ric lowly commented.
Courtney closed the door behind her and wished that there was a window that she could use to look in. She didn't mind invading privacy when it came to Ric Lansing. In fact, she rather preferred it.
Elizabeth was the first to say anything, "How are you feeling?"
"I've had better days," Damian pushed himself up. "But, given the alternative, I'm glad that I'm actually feeling something."
"You had us scared for a few hours, really scared," Ric said.
"Uncle Ric... you saved me, didn't you?"
"Not really, no," Ric said, completely honest. He could have used the situation to make himself out to be the hero, to gain Damian as a supporter in his camp. But he already had Damian's support, and he didn't want to lie, not to the boy. "I was just there with you until the ambulance came."
"Still... if it weren't for you and Elizabeth, I don't think I would have made it," Damian wasn't afraid to face his mortality, but the thought of his being dead and knowing that he wasn't because of two people was extremely humbling. "Thank you, both of you."
Elizabeth hugged Damian, being as tender as possible, "We're both just incredibly happy to see that you're okay."
"Uncle Ric... no matter what happens between you and dad, I don't want it to ever get in the way of us having the relationship that we do, and having an even better one," Damian looked at Ric. "I know how stubborn my father can be, and I know that he's actually got some justification for having such distaste for you, but that doesn't hide the fact that you can be a decent person in life. I know you can, and so does Elizabeth."
"That's all I need," Ric commented. "Two people knowing that I'm a good guy is more than enough, especially if they're two people that I care about very much."
"How long have you been waiting?" Damian asked. "I hope it wasn't long, I know that I end up taking a lot more naps than I thought I would, but that's not something that I can help."
"I'm sure that once you get well enough everything will return to normal," Ric said. "For now, though, we need you to get your rest and get better."
"You really should be sleeping right now anyway," Elizabeth said. "My grandma said that you needed your rest more than anything. I don't want to be the one that keeps you from that."
"Neither do I," Ric agreed. "We'll see you again..." Ric opened the door and looked at Courtney. Nothing was said, but everything was felt. "We've got a strong nephew, Courtney."
"We've also got a nephew with a good sense of morality, and I'm sure he doesn't get that from you," Courtney's comment was extremely snide, but that was her intention.
Ric started to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing," Ric finally said. "I'm just remembering something that Damian told me, and I'm realizing just how true it is." Ric knew that he had the appreciation of the two people who actually mattered to him. That was more than enough for him.
The night sky was beginning to peak its way out into the world, battling off the waning sunlight and signaling the end of yet another day. Courtney had been by her nephew's side since Sonny had asked her to be with him. She hadn't left. She wasn't having the most exciting time of her life, but she knew that what she was doing was very important. There was no way to know if Damian had a contract out on his life, or, even if he didn't that someone, the person who had managed to hurt him as much as he was hurt, wouldn't know that he just needed to do a little more in order to get the job done. Someone needed to watch Damian at all times. Since Sonny was preoccupied with his trip to Los Angeles that couldn't wait and Jason was still skeptical about staying around hospitals, let alone going along with Sonny to the city of angels, that really only left Courtney. She could fight, she was stronger than people would think. They would look at her and see little more than an extremely beautiful young woman. They didn't expect that she had the skills to put them all on the ground in a few seconds. Her timid composure and nature were things that constantly favored with her, she wasn't going to give them up for anyone.
She looked at Damian, who had his face turned the other way, his head safely nestled in his pillow. He wasn't exactly the strongest and most intimidating person on the planet, but maybe she should teach him how to defend himself. He might not like being taught how to fight by a woman, even if it was someone that he respected. She had never really taught anyone the things that she had learned, but she probably should have started. Damian was a pacifist by nature, Courtney was well aware of that fact, but Damian had to be aware of the fact that his life was always going to be in danger as long as he lived, as long as he still had that tie to their family, a tie that Damian wouldn't give up. It would have been safer for everyone involved if he had just given up and gone back to Los Angeles, wouldn't it? They wouldn't find a way to strike at Sonny from such a distance, would they? Courtney knew what the answer was, and it was unfortunately not the one that she wanted to hear. Now that Damian's lineage had been discovered, there was no way that he was going to get out of being Sonny Corinthos's son. They would find a way to get at Sonny through him, his enemies wouldn't let anything get in their way. They would run through Damian's family like nothing. The Zuniga's would be slaughtered, and it would partly be because of Sonny. Courtney knew that she couldn't let that happen. It might have been somewhat safer if he had gone back to Los Angeles, but it was certainly better that he had chosen to remain in Port Charles, the place where his father could almost surely protect him from just about anything. Provided, of course, that he knew there was a threat. Sonny was good at realizing things, but he was just as human in every respect as anyone else, even though Sonny never wanted to admit that he was a 'mere mortal,' the fact remained the same. He wasn't a mind reader, he couldn't see the future.
She knew that Damian needed to know something... anything in the ways of self- defense. Courtney also thought about teaching Michael and Morgan when he was old enough. She could teach her nephews how to protect themselves, the same way she would have taught her child and her future children if things had gone differently. Courtney took another look at Damian, wondering if he would have been as protective of her children as he was with Michael. Would he have loved her baby? She smiled when she thought about it. She knew that he would have loved the baby no matter what, because Damian loved all his family, even when he shouldn't have. She thought of Ric sitting in the waiting area, if he was still there. There was no reason why he should have been there, but there was also no reason why he was going to leave. Regardless of how optimistic Damian chose to remain about Ric, Courtney knew that he hadn't seen Ric at his worst. She had, she had been affected by it just as much as anyone else. She lost her best friend for months, she lost her baby partly because of him. But she couldn't control anyone's life, and she wouldn't want to control Damian's. As much as she disagreed with his acceptance of Ric, she knew that he would never allow Ric to hurt anyone willingly, especially someone in the family.
Maxie rolled the cart with the medication passed Damian's room. She poked her head in the door and saw Courtney in the chair. She saw Damian was sleeping.
Courtney heard the door open and she was a little jumpy, but when she realized that it was Maxie her nerves calmed. She felt safest around Maxie, for some reason. Maybe because she knew how much they were in love. People that were in love that much couldn't hurt one another. She would never do anything to hurt Jason, ever. "Shouldn't you be working?" Courtney said softly, so as not to wake up Damian.
"I thought I'd check up on him while I was in the area," Maxie replied. "Or, I may have just made a special trip for him."
"You would do that, wouldn't you?"
"Of course," Maxie grinned. "Wouldn't you make it a point to look in on Jason if he were in the hospital?"
"In the extremely unlikely occurrence that he allowed himself to stay in a hospital, I would," Courtney grimaced, thinking about her husband in the hospital. It would be hell on him. He could have just been sick and he would have hated it.
Maxie walked in and made her way to the side of the bed where Damian's head was resting. "I wonder if this is how he looked as a little boy..."
"What?"
Maxie blushed a little, "You know what they say, Courtney. Guys look the way they looked when they were little kids when they sleep."
"I guess," Courtney said. She hadn't seen any baby pictures of Damian. Nobody had. Damian hadn't brought any with him and none of them felt that it would have been right to request such things of the family that had raised him for most of his life. Even if they did ask, there was no telling if the Zuniga's would actually comply and give photos over. Damian's childhood would always be something that was going to be up to Damian himself to talk about. He had only shared a few snippets with them. His past was more a mystery than anything, but it might have been painful. From what they had learned, he wasn't a very open little boy, he was secluded with almost no friends. Courtney couldn't imagine such a thing, being without anyone but the people who you knew loved you. It must have been torturous.
"You haven't looked at Jason and thought about it?" Maxie asked.
"Not really, no," Courtney did ponder the situation, though. She hadn't seen much of Jason's baby pictures. She focused more on AJ when she lived in the mansion since that was who she was married to at the time, although she did think, recalling into the reachers of her mind that AJ did bear a slight resemblance to his childhood self when he was sleeping. Maybe the same could be said for Jason. Maybe it would always be a mystery.
"I wish I knew," Maxie admitted.
"Maybe one day you will," Courtney said, her voice filled with hope. "He trusts you, Maxie. He trusts you more than he trusts just about anyone else that he's ever met. Damian's not the type of person who opens up very often, Maxie."
"I know that..."
"Then you should feel incredibly honored to know that he does trust you as much as he does," Courtney continued. "If he doesn't open up to just anyway it shows how much he appreciates you being in his life. I know how that feels, Jason's a lot like Damian in that respect." Courtney thought back to her relationship with Jason, one of the best things in her life, "He'll tell you things that he never thought he'd tell anyone, because you're the person that he feels the most comfortable with."
"How long do I have to wait for that?" Maxie wondered.
"Hasn't it already happened?" Courtney wondered.
"I... don't know," Maxie recalled various points in their short but very beautiful relationship. "I guess so..."
"See, you'll have more moments like that," Courtney smiled. "Could you do me a favor?"
"What is it?" Maxie asked.
"When you go back to the nurses station, tell Ric and Elizabeth, if they're still around, that he wants to see them," Courtney's face was blank, she was trying not to show the fact that she didn't agree with the idea to see Ric.
"It won't be for a few more minutes, I've still got to go on my rounds," Maxie admitted.
"Don't worry about it, take your time," Courtney didn't mind forcing Ric to wait. In fact, she rather liked the idea of Ric not getting to see Damian right away, as much as she didn't like admitting that dark part of herself.
"Okay, I'll tell them if I see them."
"Thanks," Courtney replied, watching Maxie leave. "You can take all the time you want."
Twenty Minutes Later-
There was a soft knock on the door, Ric opened it a second later. "Maxie said that he wanted to see us..."
Courtney huffed a bit, but she knew she was doing the right thing, "Yeah," She got up and gave Damian a soft tap on the shoulder that woke him up. "Ric and Elizabeth are here to see you."
Damian, his eyes still showing the drain that comes with sleep, managed a slight grin, "Thanks."
Courtney walked out, walking past Ric and whispering, "I'll be right outside. Don't try anything."
"I wouldn't think about it," Ric lowly commented.
Courtney closed the door behind her and wished that there was a window that she could use to look in. She didn't mind invading privacy when it came to Ric Lansing. In fact, she rather preferred it.
Elizabeth was the first to say anything, "How are you feeling?"
"I've had better days," Damian pushed himself up. "But, given the alternative, I'm glad that I'm actually feeling something."
"You had us scared for a few hours, really scared," Ric said.
"Uncle Ric... you saved me, didn't you?"
"Not really, no," Ric said, completely honest. He could have used the situation to make himself out to be the hero, to gain Damian as a supporter in his camp. But he already had Damian's support, and he didn't want to lie, not to the boy. "I was just there with you until the ambulance came."
"Still... if it weren't for you and Elizabeth, I don't think I would have made it," Damian wasn't afraid to face his mortality, but the thought of his being dead and knowing that he wasn't because of two people was extremely humbling. "Thank you, both of you."
Elizabeth hugged Damian, being as tender as possible, "We're both just incredibly happy to see that you're okay."
"Uncle Ric... no matter what happens between you and dad, I don't want it to ever get in the way of us having the relationship that we do, and having an even better one," Damian looked at Ric. "I know how stubborn my father can be, and I know that he's actually got some justification for having such distaste for you, but that doesn't hide the fact that you can be a decent person in life. I know you can, and so does Elizabeth."
"That's all I need," Ric commented. "Two people knowing that I'm a good guy is more than enough, especially if they're two people that I care about very much."
"How long have you been waiting?" Damian asked. "I hope it wasn't long, I know that I end up taking a lot more naps than I thought I would, but that's not something that I can help."
"I'm sure that once you get well enough everything will return to normal," Ric said. "For now, though, we need you to get your rest and get better."
"You really should be sleeping right now anyway," Elizabeth said. "My grandma said that you needed your rest more than anything. I don't want to be the one that keeps you from that."
"Neither do I," Ric agreed. "We'll see you again..." Ric opened the door and looked at Courtney. Nothing was said, but everything was felt. "We've got a strong nephew, Courtney."
"We've also got a nephew with a good sense of morality, and I'm sure he doesn't get that from you," Courtney's comment was extremely snide, but that was her intention.
Ric started to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing," Ric finally said. "I'm just remembering something that Damian told me, and I'm realizing just how true it is." Ric knew that he had the appreciation of the two people who actually mattered to him. That was more than enough for him.