Disclaimer: The characters of GH, as well as General Hospital itself, don't belong to me.

Author's Note: Wow, there's a LOT going on in this chapter, so read carefully! I know it's a little long, but I was still trying to fit everything into these last two chapters, but it's not going to happen. Which means, after this chapter, there's still two more to go! Hopefully this chapter works out okay, and there will be more flashbacks in the next chapter. If you like, let me know what you think.

Song credit goes to Sister Hazel for their song Champagne High.

And for the million hours that we were
Well I'll smile and remember it all
Then I'll turn and go
While your story's completed, mine is a long way from done…

"Momma wake up! Wake up Daddy!" Five year old Macey Morgan jumped up and down on her parents' bed, her blonde curls bouncing all over the place. "Wake up!"

"Macey, it's 6 AM," Courtney groaned, looking at the clock. "We don't get up this early."

"Today we do!" The little girl giggled as she jumped some more. "It's my birthday! Daddy, wake up!"

"Are you sure it's your birthday?" Jason asked.

"Yup! I'm five now!" She held up five fingers to prove her point.

"Well in that case." He grabbed his daughter around the waist and brought her down between him and Courtney. "It's time for birthday tickles!" Macey shrieked as Jason tickled her sides. "Come on Mommy, tickle Macey."

Courtney giggled along with them as she freed Macey from Jason's grasp and pulled her safely onto her lap. "Happy Birthday baby girl," she said, kissing her cheek.

"Can I open my presents now?"

"You know the rules Macey. No presents until after breakfast and when Uncle Sonny and Aunt Carly are here." Courtney yawned. "And it's too early for breakfast."

"Momma's grouchy in the morning," Jason teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Maybe if Daddy hadn't kept her up all night."

"Yeah, yeah. You know what Macey? How about you and I go have some breakfast and let Momma sleep a little bit more? And after you eat, we'll go across the hall and you can wake Aunt Carly up. How's that?"

"Yay!" Macey clapped her hands together, while Courtney tried to protest but was laughing too much.

"It's not like Carly's ever had a problem sending the kids here to wake us up," Jason shrugged. "It's only fair." He kissed the top of her head. "I'll bring you some coffee in a little bit. Come on Miss Macey," he said, swinging her over his shoulder and carrying her out of the room.

"No presents!" Courtney called after them. Jason's reply was muffled but it sounded suspiciously like "We'll see."

Alone in the now quiet bedroom, Courtney raised herself up to a sitting position and looked at the pictures that sat on her nightstand. She picked up one from the day Macey had been born and chuckled. Daddy's Little Girl the frame boasted, and it couldn't have been truer. She should have known from how Jason was with Michael, that their own child would be spoiled, but she had no idea the lengths Jason would go with their own little girl.

"Here you are," Dr. Meadows said, placing the newborn in Courtney's arms. "A perfectly healthy baby girl!"

"Jason, look at her," Courtney whispered. "She's beautiful."

"Just like Dr. Meadows said," Jason said, as the baby wrapped her hand around his pinky. "Absolutely perfect." He tightened his arm around Courtney's shoulders. "How are you doing?"

"I'm great," Courtney answered, unable to take her eyes off of her. And she was. She had gone into labor only about 6 hours ago and things had gone smoother than anyone could have imagined. "Here, you want to hold her?" she asked, tearing her eyes away to look at Jason.

He grinned and took her into his arms. "Well hello there baby girl, we've been waiting for you for an awful long time, did you know that?"

"Okay," Dr. Meadows said, sticking her head back into the room. "Courtney, you need to rest, and we can get that little girl settled in her crib."

"Oh don't take her yet," Courtney pleaded. "Please, there's a whole roomful of people out there that will riot if they don't get to see her right now and I'm not ready to let her go yet either."

Dr. Meadows laughed. "Ten minutes," she granted. "And then you need to rest."

"I will," Courtney promised. She smiled as Jason handed the baby back to her so he could call the others into the room.

"A girl!" Carly could barely contain her glee as she and Sonny and the boys came into the room. "Let me see her!" She pushed past Sonny and took the baby from Courtney. "Well hello there Precious," she crooned. "Sonny, I want a baby girl."

Sonny rolled his eyes as he laughed at his wife. "Yesterday you wanted another boy," he said. "Really, you should have just let Dr. Meadows tell you if it's a boy or girl at your last appointment." He smiled as he carefully took the baby from Carly.

"No," Carly said stubbornly, resting her own hands on her very pregnant body. "I want to be surprised. But I want a girl." Carly herself, was 7 and a half months pregnant.

Courtney laughed. "What do you think of your cousin Michael?" she asked, ruffling the redhead's hair.

He crawled up onto the bed carefully to get a better look. "Did I look like that when I was born?"

Jason laughed. "You looked even funnier," he said and Michael stuck his tongue out at him.

"What are you going to name her?" Sonny asked, returning the little girl to Courtney.

"We still haven't decided on a name," Courtney confessed, looking up at Jason. "She's going to need one pretty soon though."

Jason sat down next to her and looked at their little girl. "Well, Michael and I were going through that name book the other day, and I think we should name her Macey."

"Macey?"

He nodded. "It means gift, and I think that pretty much sums her up."

She smiled and looked down at the baby who was now asleep. "Macey Morgan," she repeated softly. "It's perfect."

"Macey Caroline Morgan, you mean," Carly said, slipping her arm around Sonny's waist.

"Macey Caroline," Jason said. "It's a name fit for a princess."

And a princess is exactly what Macey was. Jason wouldn't have it any other way. While most kids had playhouses or jungle gyms, Macey had a castle in her playroom. Courtney would laugh and tease him that he was wrapped around her little finger, and while he would try to deny it, the glimmer in his eyes would say otherwise.

"Momma!" Macey looked up from the kitchen table to see Courtney standing in the doorway.

"What did I say about presents before breakfast?" she asked, her hand on her hip. Perched on top of Macey's head was a sparkling blue tiara.

"Daddy got me another crown!" The little girl spoke through a mouthful of cereal.

"I see that, how many crowns do you have now?" Courtney asked, coming over to wipe the milk off of her chin. "A hundred?"

"Silly Momma," Jason said. "She only has five. One for every birthday, it's tradition."

"Mmhmm." Courtney tried to look mad but couldn't.

"If it makes you feel any better, I bought you one too," Jason said, handing her a box.

Courtney laughed. "It does. Thank you." She leaned down and kissed him on the lips.

"Can I go wake Aunt Carly now?"

"You sure can!" Jason said as he handed Courtney a cup of coffee. "Come on, I'll walk you to the door and Max will let you in over there, okay?" They headed into the other room and Courtney laughed again as she heard Macey chatter excitedly to Max.

"Aren't you going to put your crown on?" Jason asked, when he saw her enter the living room. He took the box from her hands and set he crown on her head. "There, perfect."

She rolled her eyes. "You keep spoiling her like this and we're going to have a little monster on our hands," she said.

"What are you talking about? Macey's the perfect child. We couldn't ask for a better-behaved little girl. I mean, we could have gotten stuck with little miss Briana over there." Briana was Sonny and Carly's little girl, and so far, she had seemed to inherit every single trait she could from Carly, from her loud mouth to her stubbornness.

Courtney giggled. "You have a point there." She sighed and leaned back against him. "She's five already, can you believe that? She's going to be starting kindergarten in a few months."

"I know, these last few years have just flown by," Jason agreed. He leaned down to kiss her, but before he could, the front door flew open and Macey and Briana came tearing into the room.

"They're always kissing," Briana said to Macey. Briana too, was wearing a purple crown. "Mommy says that they're like a couple of teenagers."

"Mommy has a big mouth, tell her that Briana," Jason said.

"So does your daughter," Carly informed him as she and Sonny shuffled into the room. "Michael never screamed that loud when he was that little."

"Where did you learn how to be loud Macey?" Courtney asked, handing Carly a cup of coffee.

"From Aunt Carly," the little girl said matter-of-factly. "Can I open my presents now?"

Four hours later the kids were playing and Courtney and Carly were busy cleaning up the mess while Sonny and Jason were in Sonny's office going over some paperwork.

"Was there anything Jason didn't buy her?" Carly asked, as she shoved the last bit of wrapping paper into the trash bag.

Courtney shook her head. "Everything she asked for, she got," she said. "To be fair though, I wasn't much better than he was with spoiling her," she confessed.

"Yeah, you'd think it was Briana's birthday too, from the amount of stuff she got as well."

"I know; Jason didn't want her to feel left out." Courtney laughed. "I can't wait until those girls are teenagers and starting to date. Jason and Sonny are going to be so lost."

Carly laughed. "They'll be running background checks and sending them out with bodyguards, no doubt," she agreed.

"Court, the car's here so you can take Macey to Kelly's whenever you're ready," Jason said, sticking his head into the penthouse.

"Let's go see Grandpa right now!" Macey said, overhearing her dad and jumping up and down. "He said he got me a big present!"

"I think you've got enough presents to last you until next year," Courtney said, tugging playfully on one of her curls. "But if you're ready, let's go now." She figured if they went now while it was still early, she'd be able to convince her to take a nap later on this afternoon.

"I'm ready! Can I ride down the elevator with Max by myself?" Macey asked. "You said I could when I was a big girl, and I'm five now."

"All right, go on down, and I'll be right there," Courtney said. She smiled as she heard Max address her as "Princess Macey" and made a mental note to sit Jason down for a talk soon.

"Briana, let's go get you dressed for the day," Carly said, scooping up the dark haired girl. "Courtney, I'll see you later for dinner?" she asked.

"Yeah, we'll be over around six," Courtney confirmed. She closed the penthouse door behind her and headed for the elevator herself. "What are you doing?" she asked, as she saw Jason standing in the elevator.

"Which floor ma'am?" he asked.

Courtney shook her head. "You need sleep," she teased. She giggled as he pulled her into him and kissed her. As the doors closed shut she heard Carly yell something about acting like teenagers.

"All right," she said as they walked out of the building. "We should be back from my dad's by noon, and I plan on trying to get Macey to take a nap after that, and—"

"Good luck," Jason said with a smirk. Courtney pushed him playfully.

"So while she's napping, I'm going to get a little bit of work done, and then the rest of the day I will submit to our little princess's every whim."

"Who's spoiling her now?" he asked. "Macey, come here!" he called, once he saw her sitting in the limo.

"But I'm ready to go!" she called stubbornly. "I even have my seat belt on!"

"Macey, come say good-bye to Daddy," Courtney said. "He needs his hug goodbye."

"But I want to go see Grandpa now!"

"Miss Macey, I said come here," Jason said in a mock-serious tone. He started towards the car as she reluctantly undid her seat belt and got out of the car.

Everything that happened next happened so fast that Courtney wasn't sure what happened first. Suddenly, she heard loud popping sounds and then a bright flash of light and what sounded like thunder, as William, the doorman, grabbed her and forced her to the ground, covering her body with his own. She looked up in time to see the limo was in flames and she could still hear the popping, which she finally realized was gunshots.

Sonny came tearing out of the penthouse with his gun drawn, firing at what Courtney assumed were the hit men.

"Macey!" she screamed, trying to get up, but William held her down.

"Courtney stay down!" she heard Jason yell.

"Macey!" she cried out again. Please God, let her be all right, she prayed silently. She was facing away from Jason so she didn't know if Macey had even made it out of the car.

She had to have; her little girl couldn't have still been in the car that was now completely engulfed in flames.

Finally William moved to let Courtney up, and she scrambled to her feet. She tried to call out to Jason but he was already next to her, with Macey in his arms.

"Get her into the building," he instructed, handing her over and reaching for his own gun.

"Jason—"

"Now!" He turned and took off with Sonny in the direction that the other men had taken off in.

"Courtney? Oh my God, Courtney, what happened?" Carly was standing in the lobby, her face pale.

"Macey, honey are you okay?" Courtney set her down on the floor and looked her over quickly. She tried to wipe some of the gray ash off of her and gasped when she saw her dress was stained red in some spots. "Carly, help me," she said frantically, looking Macey over to see where the blood had come from.

"Momma, what happened?" Macey asked, her blue eyes bright with tears. "Why did the fire start and what was that noise?"

"It's not hers," Carly whispered, looking panic-stricken.

"Baby are you okay?" Courtney asked. Macey nodded. "Are you hurt?"

"My arm hurts but I fell on it when Daddy fell on me," she explained.

"Okay sweetie, you're okay," Courtney looked up at Carly, not sure what to do.

Carly stepped up. "Macey, honey, why don't you go upstairs with Leticia and she'll get you a new dress to put on, okay?" she asked, handing her over to Leticia. Once they were upstairs, she faced Courtney again. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know." Courtney looked back out the front door. "The car exploded and there was gunfire. Oh my God, Jason—he's hurt, he was shot." Before she could say anymore, the doors opened and both Sonny and Jason came in. "Jason!"

"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning against the wall. Courtney saw that he was holding his abdomen. "Where's Macey?"

"She's upstairs with Leticia. We're both okay. Jason, you're hurt, let me see." She moved his hand away and gasped when she saw the angry red stain spreading across the front of his shirt. She heard Carly swear quietly behind her.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," Jason said, but even as the words came out, his face was getting paler and paler."

"An ambulance is on its way," William said. He helped Sonny get Jason to sit down.

"I don't need an ambulance," Jason tried to protest, but his breathing was becoming labored and it was difficult to speak."

"Shh, just hang on Jason," Courtney whispered, as she held the towel William had offered her to his stomach. She could hear the sirens in the distance. She was shaking so hard that she couldn't keep the pressure against his chest and finally Sonny had to take over while Carly led Courtney into the corner.

He was unconscious by the time the paramedics had loaded him into the ambulance and they wouldn't let Courtney ride with him, so Sonny instructed Carly to drive her to the hospital while he talked to the police who had shown up when the paramedics did.

"He'll be okay, right?" Courtney whispered when she and Carly were on their way to GH.

"Absolutely," Carly declared. "Just wait, we're going to get there and he's going to be sitting up in bed and telling us he didn't need that ambulance in the first place."

Silence overtook the car then, as both women tried desperately to believe what Carly had said.

I'm on a champagne high
Where will I be when I stop wondering why…