Thank you for the reviews! Rest assured this IS a Casper story. I'm just trying to address some of the issues that GH always creates, but glosses over. It's a real injustice to the couple.

Part II

"Hello, Mrs. Jacks. I hope that you are well." Courtney had stopped cold in her tracks at the bottom of the porch steps. She looked up at Lady Jane who was standing in the doorway with the screen door closed, looking decidedly unwelcoming.

"I was very well before you showed up."

In the awkward silence that ensued, Courtney tried to think of the best way to broach the subject of her upcoming wedding with her estranged son. She thought it best if they were on more level ground first. "May I come inside?"

"I suppose you may," Lady Jane said turning around and walking back inside. Courtney followed and shut the door behind her.

She had stepped into a time capsule with pictures of the Jacks family all over the walls of the foyer and the living room where Lady Jane was seated watching her. Courtney was immediately drawn to a picture of a little boy with thick blond curls, bright red chubby cheeks and the bluest eyes that looked back out at her familiarly. She knew it was Jax and her heart automatically began imagining a child that looked just like him. Oh, Jax, she thought to herself longingly, if we ever get the chance to have a child and he's a boy, I hope he looks like you in this picture.

She also saw family portraits through the years, the four of them together when Jax and his brother were just boys, and later as they matured into handsome young men. "What a lovely collection of pictures," Courtney told her politely. Lady Jane nodded noncommittally. There was also a picture of Jax and Alexis from their short marriage. Also on the wall there was what seemed to be a recent picture of Brenda—she could tell from the absence of the Groucho Marx eyebrows. Turning to Lady Jane she raised a delicate eyebrow, "You still keep in touch with Brenda?"

"Even though she and Jax never made it to the alter…at least not legally…in my heart she will always be my true daughter-in-law."

Taking that as a call to arms, as it was meant to be, Courtney retorted. "You do realize that Jax is no longer in love with her don't you?"

"He's nursing a broken heart and he's using you to do it," Lady Jane replied levelly. "Did you know that he saw Brenda when he went to London and bought you that ridiculously large diamond you're wearing?"

Courtney gasped in shock, but tried to hide her surprise.

"I see you didn't." Her lips turned up in a triumphant smirk. "Don't you think it's a little odd that your fiancé didn't think to tell you that he saw his former fiancée on the trip where he decided to ask you to marry him?"

"I trust Jax."

"As you should. You on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. How do I know you won't break Jax's heart?"

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know enough."

"Well, then I hope that you know that I don't take kindly to being told who to love and who not to. And I love Jax with every fiber of my being. He's the reason why I wake up every morning smiling and the reason why I go to bed at night satisfied and happy that I'd lived the day to the fullest. And Jax loves me, too. Everyday he shows me in some new fantastic way just how much. We are going to get married and hopefully start a family, and I came here today to ask you in person to be a part of our life together because I know how much it would mean to Jax. But I will not stand here and let you insult me and our love. And if you don't want to be a part of it, then the only one who will be breaking Jax's heart is you!"

Courtney stood there, chest heaving, eyes glaring at Lady Jane who sat there coolly returning with a steady gaze. Then she raised her hands and began to clap slowly and rhythmically. "What an amazing performance. Your impassioned speech almost convinced that you really love my son. I really and truly wished that were true, but I don't believe it. If you're anything like your brother, then I know you're incapable of it. Sure…you can put on a good act, you can be seductive, and even just a little dangerous…something my son can't resist, unfortunately, but you can't actually love someone. You're too selfish for real love, which is probably why your other two marriages didn't work."

"You're discrediting me because of my brother? I can assure you that I know what real love is. I know that it can make you smile so much your face hurts and feel like you can fly and yet dizzy from giddiness all at the same time. And I know that love doesn't come without its problems…but Jax and I…we work them out together because we can't imagine our lives without each other.

"It was obviously a bad idea for me to come here. I had hoped that I could surprise Jax with the news that his mother, the one woman in the world that he loves just as much as me, had agreed to share a really special moment in his life. But I suppose I won't be able to do that."

Lady Jane did not say anything to that, but looked away.

Courtney turned around angrily to leave, but not without one last parting rejoinder. "And as far as my brother goes, if he was incapable of loving your precious Brenda, that's probably because she didn't deserve it! She certainly never deserved Jax!"

Lady Jane watched impassively as Courtney walked out of her home. She got up and went to the window to watch her taillights become small red dots on the horizon until they finally disappeared. Then she picked up her phone.

"Murphy, get over here as soon as possible. I'm going to Port Charles."


Why didn't I use the telephone? Courtney admonished herself as she turned the key to her and Jax's apartment.

Opening the door she found the apartment empty, so she flopped on the sofa, and tried to think of ways to tell Jax that his mother was not going to be coming to the wedding. Thinking of how she had recklessly gone to see Lady Jane, confident that once they got to really talk to each other, she would be able to convince her that she was going to make Jax happy, made her cringe. Instead she had gone to Alaska to be insulted, and basically guaranteeing that she and Lady Jane would never get along. "That went really well," she said aloud sarcastically and let out a deep sigh.

"What went well?" Jax asked, startling her from her reclined position as he walked into the room from the hallway. He leaned down and kissed her neck from behind in a welcoming gesture.

Courtney groaned in pleasure, but let out a dejected sigh when he came around the couch to sit beside her.

"That bad, huh?" Jax asked, noticing her mood. "If the foundation is that bad off, maybe it will help if I take a look at it—"

"No, Jax, it's not that."

"What is it then?" he asked rubbing her thigh.

"I…I lied to you when I told you that I was going away on business."

Jax stiffened at her words.

"I didn't go away on business. I flew to Alaska to ask your mother to come to our wedding."

Jax relaxed at hearing the truth. It was a perfect segue for the surprise he wanted to share. "It's all right, Courtney," he told her smiling.

"It's all right? It's not Jax. It was a disaster. From the moment I got there she was extremely rude to me, and you know how I get when people are rude. Of course it escalated from there, and now I'm pretty sure you're mother will never ever like me. Let alone accept me as her daughter-in-law."

"Aww, Courtney," Jax responded pulling her into a hug. "Lady Jane will come around. She just has to get to know you. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. You must not have stayed long since you are back so soon. But I really appreciate that you would go all that way for me. It means a lot to me."

"I just wish that your mother could be happy for us. I know how much she means to you."

"She will, when she sees how much we love each other and how happy you make me."

"I hope you're right," she said, relaxing into his side. She was glad that he was taking the news about his mother so well. She still remembered how hurt she was when her father did not accept their engagement at first. But that wasn't the only reason she still felt disquieted by her visit with Lady Jane. Niggling in the back of her brain was the possibility that Jax and Brenda were still close, just as Lady Jane was obviously close to her.

"Do you remember when you asked me to marry you?"

"Of course I do!" he said, laughing into her hair.

"I mean, do you remember why you decided you wanted to marry me?" she asked nervously. "I hadn't even told you that I loved you yet."

"I just knew in my heart that you loved me. I knew how hard it would be to admit it because you'd been so hurt before, but I trusted you. I trusted that one day you'd tell me. And I knew that when you did that I would want to marry you because I already couldn't imagine not spending the rest of my life with you."

"Are you sure that's it…that there wasn't any other reason?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you sure there wasn't another person?"

"I still don't understand."

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, Jax. You're mother told me that you saw Brenda in London."

"Are you jealous?"

"NO! Of course not. I just want to know why you never thought to tell me before."

"I didn't think it would matter to you."

"It doesn't," Courtney replied quickly. But she was still clearly agitated and got up to walk around the couch.

"It does matter," Jax replied, wisely noticing how uneasy Courtney seemed. "But what I can't understand is why."

"I'm not jealous, if that's what you're thinking," she said looking him straight in the eye.

"Courtney, she came to visit me. She had heard that I was in town and wanted to catch up. She knew that we were together and seemed genuinely happy for us. I told her that I foresaw us getting married, and I showed her the ring. She told me that I'd always had good taste. Then she left. That was it."

"That's not the way your mother made it seem. And if that was it, why didn't you tell me before? We're about to be married! This kind of stuff is important," she exclaimed, throwing her hands up angrily.

"Why didn't I tell you? I'll tell you. Because I didn't think it was any of your business. And it might make you unnecessarily jealous…which it seems to be doing."

"None of my business? You almost married her THREE times! How is that not my business?"

"It's not your business the way you didn't think it was my business to know that you lied for your ex-husband about asking him to pick you up at the Metro Court the day we were both SHOT at."

Courtney gasped. "How did you know?"

"You're a terrible liar, Courtney, did you know that? I knew that you never called Jason. We had made plans to go to the ceremony together. And I didn't think Jason would pick you up even if you had asked. But I also knew why you would lie to me about it. It wasn't because you were in love with him. But despite the fact that he treats you as an afterthought, you still feel obligated to him…probably because you still feel guilty about the way your marriage ended and because you miscarried. And you didn't want me to get jealous. So you tried to spare my feelings. Well I knew. And I still hate that you feel obligated to that jerk, but I love you more. However, I won't sit here and let you make me feel guilty about talking to the woman I used to love, when you're constantly trying to protect the man who almost got you and me both killed!"

"If that's the way you really feel then maybe we shouldn't get married."

"Courtney, you're blowing this way out of proportion."

"No. I'm not. I'm finally seeing that your mother was right about me. Maybe I am incapable of loving anyone the way they deserve. I did the one thing I knew AJ wouldn't be able to forgive, and that was turn to Jason. With Jason I couldn't handle his life or carry his child. And I can't seem to stop lying to you."

"Courtney. Don't be so hard on yourself—" Jax got up to try to comfort her, but she would not let him touch her.

"No, Jax…I…" She was not even able to articulate what she wanted to say as tears streamed down her face. Courtney had just grabbed her purse and was about to leave when Janine came bounding through the hallway.

"Courtney, I just heard about your upcoming wedding. Congratulations!" She drew Courtney into her arms and hugged her ferociously.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

"Jax flew down to Atlantic City to personally invite me to your wedding."

Pulling away from Janine Courtney responded, "I'm sorry but it seems to have been a wasted trip. Jax and I are no longer engaged." With that she turned and left the apartment.

"What did you do to my baby girl!" Janine asked.