Authors Note: Welcome to the 100th page of 'Woe!' Yup, you've read 100 pages of the latest entry in my long, torrid saga. Okay, so it hasn't really been all that dramatic… but, really, it will be! I'll even give you a 100th page hint. Look for three characters who were introduced, or reintroduced during 2004 to appear here, none of which are Diego.
Story-
Morgan Household-
He never thought that it was such a bad tree. It was a good looking tree. It was a tree that, while more than a little oversized, was still a nice touch to the room. Jason would be the first to admit that his home wasn't exactly the most decorated place on the face of the Earth. He probably would have gotten away with not having any furniture in his own house if he didn't live with anyone. That was because Jason Morgan was a man who didn't rely on material possessions. He had grown out of that phase of his life, a part of his life that he couldn't even recall, but a part of his life that he was finished with regardless. No longer was he the type of person who valued a person because of what they could do for him, he valued them because of who they were, how they could help him when he needed it. He didn't even have to ask for help, and they didn't even have to know that they were giving it, simply by being there, by not judging him for the person that he was before and the person that he had become… that was all that Jason needed, all that Jason wanted.
"What are you doing?" Courtney yawned from atop the stairs, dressed in her nightgown, covered by a robe that dragged only slightly on the ground. Despite all the times that she had done it before, when she rolled over and didn't feel her hand touching her husband's body she would always worry about him. It was rare that he was actually still in the house, more often than not he was already running off, doing errands for people, Sonny more than likely. Of course, Jason, even if he had just gotten up, wasn't about to be seen walking around in the clothes that he slept in. It was one of the only times he wore something that exposed parts of his body. Courtney didn't mind, though. It was like he was keeping it just for her. A gift that she could receive all year long.
"I woke up," Jason's answer, like just about everything else that he said, was filled with the most obvious level of simplicity. He would give the bare bones answer whenever possible, people asked less questions that way. "I didn't want to just lay in bed while you slept."
"I wouldn't have minded," Courtney walked down the stairs and clutched her hand in his. "Sometimes I just watch you sleep, you know? The way that you stay in one place for hours at a time. It is the only time that I can actually feel that I'm watching over you, protecting you."
"You're always protecting me, Courtney," Jason didn't know that his wife had such an unusual quirk, but since it was because she loved him so much, he didn't mind. Other people watching him sleep would have been unnerving, but not Courtney. "Even when you're not there beside me, you watch over me, I know that."
"You just never say anything like that, sometimes I'm not sure if you even think about me…"
"You're the first thing in my mind, you have been since the moment that I met you and you will be until the moment that…"
"Don't say it," Courtney begged, putting her index finger on Jason's lips. "We have this wonderful moment between us, don't ruin it, please."
Jason saw it in her eyes. She was afraid of losing him. It was a fear that was reciprocated. He was afraid of losing her. More so himself leaving, never coming back, than worrying about her being the one that could never open her eyes again, but it was always the chance that was open. Someone could take Courtney away from Jason, and that would be the hardest thing that he would ever have to endure. It was no secret that they were married, that they were in love.
Courtney looked for an escape from the harsh reality of the world that they lived in, and, as she often did, she found that escape in the sweet embrace of her husband. Lifting herself up only slightly to make up for the difference in height, Courtney kissed Jason tenderly, closing her eyes, trying to preserve the moment in her mind's eye, knowing that with every kiss that they did have it could be their last.
Jason wrapped his arms around Courtney. She was the one thing that he knew he could rely on whenever he was at his darkest moment. Before… there had been nothing. Elizabeth, as much as he did love her, wasn't able to make him feel the same way that Courtney made him feel. She wasn't able to help him in the way that Courtney could. Elizabeth ran away when it got too dangerous. Courtney cared enough about Jason to tough it out, that meant something to him.
Courtney finally pulled away, more out of necessity to breathe than out of a desire for the kiss to end. "Now I'm kind of glad that you got out of bed, Jason. We would have never had the chance to do that if you had stayed in bed."
"There's always the option of kissing in bed, Courtney," Jason's blank face finally changed to an impish smile.
"Or, other things," Courtney turned around, trying to play coy, but she saw something that caught her eye. A box. She didn't remember there being any extra boxes from her tree shopping spree, which meant that someone had to have brought the box. "Jason, what's this?"
Jason grabbed the box and held it out to her, "Why don't you open it and find out?"
"It's a little early for a Christmas present, Jason…"
"I never said it was a Christmas present," he retorted. The box had not anything that she would think to be a Christmas present, although the theme of the holiday would be apparent once she did take a look at the contents inside. "Just open it, please."
Courtney, curious as to what Jason was hiding, grabbed both ends of the white box and opened the lid. She turned her beautiful blue eyes up to him when she saw what was inside, "Oh my God…" she pulled out a single bulb, one of the many that were inside the box, "Jason, they're gorgeous…"
"Do you really like them?" Jason wasn't one for sentimentality, but doing something like that for his wife just felt right.
"I love them," Courtney examined each of the ornaments. There were so many different colors and they were all etched in different designs. "But... why did you get them? We have enough ornaments on the tree already…"
"I thought that we should have something that had meaning to just the two of us, Courtney," Jason put the box on the counter, save for the one bulb that was in her hand. He took it from her and placed it on the tree. "I never thought that I would need to have something like this in my house ever again. It just didn't feel right after the accident… it didn't feel like it was something that I couldn't be without, but when you and Dillon and everyone else took the time to do this, partly because of me, I realized that it was something that I was missing, at least since you came into my life. I only wish that I would have realized that sooner."
"Better late than never, Jason," Courtney was touched by the speech that he gave. He appreciated what they had done for him. He didn't think that they had forced a tradition down his throat like the Quatermaine's had all those years ago. What they did they did out of love, and he saw that. "Did you wake up early just so that you could find something like this for me?"
"That's not the only reason."
Courtney's eyes lowered, "You had to work, didn't you?" It smothered the touching feeling knowing that she may have come second, that touching her didn't take precedence over doing whatever assignment was on his mind.
"No, Courtney, I woke up early because you snore and I wouldn't have been able to go back to sleep…"
Courtney laughed, "I do not snore!"
"How often do I lie?" Jason's grin returned.
"I can't believe this…" Courtney was amazed. She didn't think that she snored. "How long have I been doing this?"
"Long enough…"
"And you never told me?" She was more amused than hurt, but she would have told Jason if he snored. He didn't. He slept peacefully, it was one of the only times that he looked like he was at peace, but Courtney had a feeling that, even while he was resting his eyes, Jason Morgan was battling the inner demons of his soul, it was one of the battles that she could never help him with. She couldn't get inside her head… maybe he dreamt of her, and she helped in that way, but it wasn't the same.
"It's… cute," Jason said after a pause.
"Did you just say that something was cute?"
"What did you want me to say, Courtney?" Jason shrugged his shoulders. "That you snoring is something that takes you away from being the perfect beauty, that it gives you a flaw? While those things may be true, the fact that you do have a quirk like that is cute, I don't mind admitting it."
"So if I told you that when you slept you looked like a baby, you wouldn't mind?"
"I don't think I could look that innocent…" Jason looked at the ornaments. His innocence was long since shattered, and even when it came back it was taken from him. Most people didn't have to lose their innocence more than once, but he did.
"Thank you…" Courtney rubbed her hand up and down his back.
"For what?"
"For being you," she said. "For loving me, despite the fact that I snore. For understanding how I feel about what you do, even though we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. But, most importantly, for helping make this Christmas even better than it was going to be by buying ornaments that I'm always going to cherish."
"It wouldn't have happened if you didn't get the idea to get the tree…"
"It wasn't my idea."
"I know, it was Dillon's, but you helped him by saying that it was okay. You took a chance on how I would have felt about it, and it paid off in the end. I'm glad that you took it."
"You don't think it makes the house smell too much like pine?" Courtney asked, she could smell the pine from her room.
"I like the smell of pine," Jason grabbed another ornament. "Where do you think this one should go?"
"A little to the left…"
"Here?"
"Higher," Courtney walked over and guided his hand with her own. "See? Doesn't it look great there?"
"Anywhere that you would want to put it would be perfect," Jason pulled his hand away and looked at the ornament. They had their problems. All married couples did, Carly and Sonny had enough to make up for about five couples, but they would always come together when it was needed. They would always be there for each other.
"How spirited are you?" Courtney wondered. If there was ever a time to propose what she was going to ask, it was that moment.
Jason didn't like the question, "Courtney…"
"No, I'm not going to ask you to dress up like Santa Clause or anything. Your eyes would give you away…" anyone who met Jason kept the image of his eyes in their head, his eyes were his and his alone. "It's just… we can do so much more than just the tree, you know? We can bake cookies… make gingerbread houses… decorate the house…"
"Don't go overboard," Jason imagined how the house would look. Stockings by the fireplace. They'd probably want to take his pool table out, and he wasn't about to have that. "You want to bake, go ahead, bake… if you know how."
"You're probably right… Sonny's the one who knows how to cook. I can just make chicken pot pie."
"I like chicken pot pie, especially yours."
"You know just what to say about my cooking, don't you?"
"What did I just tell you earlier, when do I lie? Your pot pie is good. Maybe you can make it for lunch on Christmas Day."
"Maybe… but I don't think Sonny will like the competition."
"We just won't tell Sonny then." Jason's phone went off. Sighing, he answered the phone. "Yeah?" A moment passed as the person on the other end spoke. His eyes turned to Courtney and he spoke once more, "I'll be right there."
"What's wrong?"
"Just something that I need to take care of, nothing big, but it needs to be done. Sorry, but…"
"No, its okay," she smiled, trying to shield her hurt. "You need to go, you should go." Jason closed the door and Courtney saw the ornament that they put on the tree fall off the branch. She reached out and grabbed it, saving it from eminent shattering.