Author's Note: Wow! A really really fast update. Shocking, eh? Actually I wrote this right after I posted last chapter and made you wait a couple days for it, ha ha. Anyway, thanks for reading and here's the next chapter! Love you guys!

Reflection

Chapter Twenty One: Even More Than You

Jason ran a hand over his face. Carly was just what they didn't need right now.

"Carly…" Sonny breathed on top of a sigh.

"What's more important to you?" Carly continued. "Your sister or your ex-girlfriend?"

"Carly, can we not do this right now?"

Outrage shone from Carly's flashing brown eyes. "When do you want to do it then?" she screeched. "After Alcazar decides Courtney is of no use to him anymore?"

The words rang too true to Jason. "Carly, we don't have time for this! We have to find a way to make Alcazar think he's getting what he wants, and get Courtney back without handing over Brenda!" He turned to his best friend. "How much time do we have?"

"Twenty-four hours."

Jason blew out a breath. Twenty-four hours. It wasn't a lot of time. Not nearly as much as he would have liked. But it was enough. Any amount of time was enough, because he'd stop at nothing to get Courtney back. "We need to tell Brenda."

"What's the point, Jason? What's that going to accomplish? We can't hand her over to Alcazar anymore than we can leave Courtney with him, and if we tell Brenda, she's going to want to do anything she can to help."

Jason tried to contain his frustration. "Exactly, Sonny. She can help us fake a trade-off."

Sonny turned away, shaking his head, and echoed the word that brought Carly from her eavesdropper's hiding place. "No. It's too dangerous."

Once again, the world triggered Carly. "Too dangerous? And Courtney isn't in danger being held captive by this obsessed freak?"

Jason tried the more rational approach. Maybe he could reason with Sonny. "Think about it, Sonny. Alcazar loves Brenda. He's done everything to keep her for himself. He's hurt the people she loves…you, Jax. He's taken Courtney to get her back. If anyone's in physical danger, it's not Brenda…" Jason hated to say the words around. After all, saying it made it real. But he finished the thought anyway, "…it's Courtney."

"What if Alcazar decides if he can't have her, no one can?"

"If it were like that, Alcazar wouldn't be coming after Brenda through Courtney."

Sonny shrugged, as if that meant nothing. "So what? We have guards on her. Alcazar isn't suicidal."

"What are the chances that Alcazar has changed his standpoint on Brenda? And even if he has, isn't Courtney worth the risk?" She was to Jason.

The words, spoken so emphatically, hung in the air, pressing down upon them all as if they were dead weight. "All right," Sonny finally spoke. "Fine. I'll go talk to her." He hung his head resignedly and moved toward the door.

"Why do you have to?" Carly immediately reacted. "Why can't Jason?"

Jason glared at her. "Carly."

She threw up her hands. "Okay, fine, this is me butting out. But I swear, if anything happens to Courtney…"

"You'll file for divorce and sue for alimony," Sonny said over his shoulder. "I know." With that, he closed the door behind him.

In a split second Carly was turning to Jason. "You have to promise me you won't sacrifice Courtney for Brenda."

Jason ran a hand over his face again.

"You have to promise me, Jason. Come on, Jason. You have never failed me. Don't fail me now."

"I won't let it happen, okay?" Jason snapped. "I care about Courtney even more than you do. I won't let anything happen to her." Not even realizing the magnitude of what he just said, he turned and left the penthouse, leaving a surprised Carly wondering about the underlying meaning of those words in his wake.

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Alcazar knelt before his captive. "It's only a matter of time now, princess. Soon you'll find out just how much you mean to your big brother."

"Sonny and Jason will rescue me," Courtney forced between gritted teeth. Her eyes flashed with hatred and defiance.

"You best hope they care about you as much as I think they do."

Courtney was suddenly filled with doubt. How much did she mean to her brother? How much did she mean to Jason?

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