Chapter Seventeen: For Love or Family

Courtney woke up talking in her sleep while she was in Lorenzo's arms.

He looked down at her, startled out of his own thought process.

"Courtney, I'm here" Lorenzo stroked her soft face, wiping the fresh tears away.

"Lorenzo? Was I talking in my sleep?" Courtney asked, sitting up & wiping her face.

"Yes, you were, but everything is okay now" Lorenzo put his hand on her head.

"Were you with me this whole time?" She asked, wondering if he had taken care of Luis.

"Yes, I wouldn't leave you alone Courtney" Lorenzo smiled.

Courtney smiled. "Where is Sage?"

"She's still asleep"

"Does she know anything?" Courtney asked concerned.

"Not yet, I'm not sure how I will tell her any of this" Lorenzo turned his head.

"Hey, when the time is right, we can tell her together" Courtney placed a hand on his.

Lorenzo looked back at her and nodded.

Ring Ring.

"Excuse me" Lorenzo reached into his suit pocket.

"Yes?"

"We've located Luis, he's north of Port Charles, on his boat"

"Typical of him. Okay, thank you" He hung up, anger beginning to fill his eyes.

"They've found him" Courtney said, bringing her knees close to her.

"Courtney, don't be afraid, I'm going to fix all of this, please trust me" Lorenzo put his head down on her kissing her it.

"I hope your right" Courtney told him, but at the same time, she was really worried. 'I know Lorenzo told me he was going to pay, but he is his brother...'

Luis's Boat

"Any luck with them?" Luis asked relaxing in his chair over looking the water.

"Lorenzo has been looking for you all night and morning, I think he has succeeded"

"Good, I'll be expecting him" Luis put his shades back on.

Sonny's

"Sonny. What are you doing?" Carly asked walking down the stairs.

"I'm thinking" He answered.

"About?" She asked sitting next to him.

Sonny was hesitate to answer.

"Sonny, come on, I know your angry with them, but Courtney is your sister" Carly told him.

"She's not my sister, I'm finished with her, Carly! How many times do I have to say that?" Sonny took a huge gulp of his liquor.

"Sonny..." Carly shook her head and got up. "I'm going out"

Sonny remained quiet, thinking.

Nearby

"Jason, I need to talk to you" Carly asked meeting him at the elevator.

"What is it?" He looked up, obviously grief stricken.

"I know your hurting, Jason, I can see that. Sonny is too, but of course he will take it out in anger. I know you Jason, please, talk to Courtney. This isn't like her, and Im worried something terrible has happened to her" Carlys eyes told him all he needed to. Courtney was in fact in trouble. But could he do this without Sonny knowing?

Lorenzo's

"Courtney, I need to take you to the hospital to get your wounds attended to" He told her as she came out dressed. He also noticed she was holding her stomach again.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Lorenzo" Courtney stopped.

"Please, Courtney, don't argue over this, you need to go" Lorenzo took her hand in his and walked towards the door.

Courtney followed, she didn't want Lorenzo to worry, so she didn't argue over it again.

Lorenzo's Car

"Are you feeling any different?" He asked, looking over at her. She looked somewhat pale.

"I feel okay" Courtney answered closing her eyes.

The rest of the trip to General Hospital was silent.

"We're here" He told her, unbuckling her. "Can you stand up?"

Courtney nodded.

"I got you" he held onto her.

"Lorenzo" Courtney fell into him.

"Damnit" He picked her up, and rushed inside the doors. "I need a doctor, hurry, she's losing blood"

"What happened?" Dr. Steven Webber asked horrified.

"It's a long story, she has a deep cut underneath her ribcage, I think that's what caused her to faint on the way here" Lorenzo held her hand as they put her on a stretcher.

"How long has this been here?"

"Since last night...She was doing fine until this morning" He answered.

"Why didn't you bring her in last night then?" He became curious.

"Look, I said it was a long story, now please help her!" Lorenzo shouted.

"Okay, Courtney, if you can hear me squeeze my hand" Steven asked her, holding her hand.

"No response" Steven whispered.

"What?" Lorenzo asked, taking Courtney's hand. "Courtney, wake up"

"I'm sorry Mr. Alcazar, but you're going to let us handle this" He said, pushing the stretcher into the room.

Lorenzo couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't hold his anger in...He was taking care of this now.

"Please, call me if anything changes, there's something I have to take care of" Lorenzo told Steven and disappeared.

"Hmm" Steven thought shaking his head. "Call her family" he ordered.

"Dr, her wounds have been stitched not to long ago, but are beginning to open, widely"

"Okay, get the infection out, We're going to re-stitch. Give her something now damnit, she's not responding!"

"She's flat-lining"

Lorenzo's

"Alcazar open up!" Jason knocked.

"Can I help you?" Sage answered.

"Where's your uncle" Jason asked.

"I, dont know, and that's none of your business!" Sage yelled.

"Look, Sage, I need to find Courtney, do you know where she is?" He asked.

"No, I dont. Now leave" She slammed the door.

"Damnit" Jason said to himself.

Hospital

"What the hell is going on? I got a call from the hospital on my cell...What happened to Courtney?" Carly asked, frantically, bumping into Steven.

"Carly, slow down. Lorenzo Alcazar brought her in, not to long ago, said she fainted, and had a deep cut beneath her ribcage. I don't know exactly what happened, but we almost lost her"

"WHAT?!" She freaked out.

"Carly, wait...She's stable, but needs rest. I'll talk to you here" He walked her over to a chair.

"I can't believe...who did this?" Carly asked, looking over Steven.

"He said it was a long story, my hunch tells me he or one of his enemies had something to do with it. She's not safe with him. Carly, I don't know everything that is going on with you guys, but she needs you" Steven said seriously.

Carly nodded. "I know, I know she does...She isn't acting like herself at all. Oh my god, Courtney. Please can I see her?" Carly stood up.

"In a minute, let me get this paperwork in" Steven stood up and walked away.

Carly wiped the tears from her face and sat down.

"Jason, you need to come to the hospital right now...Its Courtney."

Luis's Boat

"Luis" Lorenzo called out angrily.

"Hello, Lorenzo" He stood up.

"Why? Why did you do this to Courtney?!" Lorenzo got up in his face.

"To prove my point. She is your weakness, and weaknesses need to be eliminated from the Family" Luis frowned.

Lorenzo shook his head.

"I knew I couldn't talk to you. You look at everything as Business, well listen to me, Luis, Courtney isn't business, I love her! I swear to God, if you touch her again I will make you pay, brother or not" Lorenzo threatened and walked off.

Luis stood there, shocked. His BROTHER chose Courtney over him, just like that.

"You'll be sorry, Lorenzo" Luis said to himself.

Hospital

"Steven, Can we see her?" Carly asked, Jason standing next to her.

"Yes, you can go in, for a moment" Steven directed.

"Courtney, Oh my god" Carly rushed by her side, taking her hand.

Jason stood at the door and looked at her. He didn't know what to do, he couldnt help her, she wasn't his Courtney anymore.

"Jason, come here" Carly said between sobs.

"I can't do anything for her, Carly" Jason said emotionless.

"How can you say that, Jason?! You love her!" Carly argued.

"Carly, please, just be here for her...I need to go" Jason began to walk out.

"Jason?" Courtney whispered, opening her eyes slowly.

Surprised, Jason turned to look at her.

"Courtney, you're okay!" Carly exclaimed hugging her.

"Carly, it's good to see you" She smiled and hugged her back.

"Becareful" Carly said, looking at the bandages around her stomach.

"What are you guys doing here?" Courtney asked, realizing why she was there.

"We heard you were hurt, Courtney. We care about you, please tell us who did this to you" Carly pleaded.

Courtney shook her head. "Carly...You can't help, Im sorry"

Carly frowned and looked over at Jason who was staring right at Courtney.

"Im glad your okay, I need to go though" Jason turned.

"Jason, why do you have to be like that?" Courtney asked. "Why must you do everything my brother tell you to do? Can't you just do what you feel in your heart is right?"

Carly was silent, she was damn right.

Jason, had no answer, he walked right out and didn't look back.

"That's just Jason, Courtney. I know he cares about you, no matter what" Carly held her hand tight.

Courtney shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Do you want me to let you rest and we can talk about it afterwards?" Carly asked, concerned.

"Okay, Carly" Courtney answered.

Carly gave her a kiss on the forehead and walked out greeting Steven.

"She won't talk about anything" Carly sighed.

"That's perfectly normal for her condition. But, if she doesn't talk as soon as she can stay awake longer, I'm going to have to get the police involved" Steven told her.

"Right, well, I know Courtney, she'll talk to me. Can I wait here?"

"Sure, I'll let you know how she is doing later" Steven said, walking off.

Carly sat in the chair and put her head in her hands. She couldn't believe this had happened to Courtney, yet again, and she knew just who to blame.

"Lorenzo..." Carly said, as he came out of the elevator.

"Carly, not now" Lorenzo answered walking past her.

Carly grabbed his arm. "Don't you dare go near Courtney, or I'll call the cops"

"Carly, stop it, Im not the one you should be making threats to" Lorenzo cut loose.

"Look damnit, she almost died, because of you...AGAIN!" She shouted.

"Carly, keep your voice down. I am not discussing this with you" Lorenzo warned.

"The hell you aren't" She slapped him hard across his face.

Lorenzo looked up at her. "Carly" he grabbed her hands. "I did not do anything to Courtney, you can choose to believe that or not, I have no time for this game. Now excuse me" He let her go.

Carly was speechless, what more could she do? Yell, scream, fight the shit out of him, but that wasn't going to keep him away from her. She had no choice, Sonny and Jason weren't going to do anything about this.

"Ah, Mr. Alcazar, guess your wondering how Courtney is doing?"

"Yes, any changes?" Lorenzo asked folding his arms.

"Well, I allowed Jason Morgan and Carly to go in and see her not to long ago, she was awake for awhile, then went back to sleep" Steven said.

"I see, did they upset her?"

"I dont think so, but I'd give her some time to speak with anyone else, especially you" He shrugged.

Lorenzo shook his head. Everyone was acting like "he" had something to do with hurting Courtney.

"This could be bad" He said to himself.

An Hour Later

"Lorenzo?" Courtney called out.

"Courtney, it's Dr. Webber, how are you feeling?"

"I feel okay, where is Lorenzo?" She raised her head.

"Take it easy, I'll get him for you" He said leaving the room.

"Courtney is asking for you" He pointed.

"Thank you" He rushed in the room.

"Courtney, Im here" Lorenzo sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Am I okay?" Courtney asked looking into his eyes.

"The doctor said you're going to be fine, but you need to take it easy and rest some more" Lorenzo held her hand.

"Lorenzo...what happened to you? You look bothered" Courtney asked raising her eyebrow, confused.

"Don't worry about me, Courtney. I am fine..." Lorenzo lied.

"Please dont lie to me, I want to know" Courtney replied.

"I went to see Luis...No, I didn't kill him, but I did threaten him...Look Courtney, you are more important to me than he is, I have no respect for Luis anymore...What he has done to you is inexcusable, and I will never forgive him for that. You won't have to worry about him anymore, okay?" Lorenzo finished.

Courtney remained silent, she knew it wasn't over, far from over.

"You did the right thing, Lorenzo. I'm proud of you, for once you didn't take care of a problem by eliminating it, like Sonny and Jason do" Courtney smiled and tightened her grip on his hand.

Lorenzo smiled, and kissed her. "You need to get more sleep, I promise when you are fully well, you are coming home"

"Promise me" Courtney asked not wanting to let go of his hand.

"I promise sweetie" He kissed her hand and walked out of the room.

Courtney watched him until he was out of her sight, and slowly shut her eyes.

Lorenzo's Apartment

"Yes?" Sage answered, annoyed.

"Sage..." Luis stood before her.

Sage turned pale. "Dad?" She fainted.

Luis grabbed her and picked her up.

"It's time to come home, Sage" He told her.

Nearby

"What the hell?" Carly asked herself, seeing Lorenzo carrying Sage.

"I thought he was at the hospital, and what happened to Sage?" She questioned.

Carly followed closely.

Luis made sure the coast was clear, and proceeded towards his car.

Carly watched intently.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"Who?" Alexis asked.

"Alexis, geez, you scared me"

"Eavesdropping again, Carly" Alexis looked directly at her watch, not meeting her eyes.

"Alexis, shh, Im trying to figure out what Lorenzo is doing with Sage" She looked back there way.

"Why does it matter?...." Alexis stopped.

"Um, Carly..that's not Lorenzo..." Alexis's skin began to crawl. Could it be...Luis? She thought.

"What?" She looked at her as if she was crazy.

"That's Luis Alcazar"