Disclaimer: I don't own General Hospital or its characters.
Summary: Take the Journey from the beginning.
Author's Note: Another slow-paced chapter, I'm sorry! I needed to use this chapter to set up a few more relationships, ideally the one between Courtney and Carly, as well as (slowly) progress Jason and Courtney, and to introduce the conflicts with Sonny, and most likely Elizabeth, though I'm not sure how far into that one I'll go. Someone asked me what exactly the plot of this is, so just to clarify, I plan on rewriting most of Journey's storyline, keeping some of it the same, but I don't know how much I'll include yet… it's definitely going to be longer story though, and I promise that the pace picks up in the next chapter…. If I don't come through, I'll give up my Sex and the City and Gilmore Girls DVDs.
Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 2
The breakfast rush had been crazy and they had been one waitress short, so by the time ten-fifteen rolled around, Courtney was more than ready to sit down, which she did as soon as she could. "More coffee Carly?" she asked tiredly, as she poured her own. She sat down across from the brunette who just shook her head.
"I am all coffee-ed out," Carly declared with a smile.
"You should be," Courtney agreed. "You've been sitting here drinking it for two and half hours."
"I'd have been out of here a long time ago, all you had to do was tell me everything that's going on between you and Jason," Carly said. "Seriously, you need to learn how to gossip."
"Maybe there's nothing to gossip about," Courtney pointed out as she shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you misinterpreted what you saw this morning and have spent the last two hours bothering me for absolutely nothing."
"Maybe," Carly repeated. "But probably not. And please, I'm not bothering you." She leaned forward. "If you just admit to me that you've at least kissed him, I'll go away happy for now," she whispered.
Courtney sighed. As much as this sounded like a conversation she would have had in junior high, she had to admit that she was dying to talk to someone about this whole thing. And Carly, as both Jason's best friend and Sonny's wife, would be the best person to talk to. Maybe she could even offer a little insight into Jason.
"Yesterday," she confided quietly, unable to keep the smile from her face. "I was getting ready to leave to go over to my new place and he stopped me outside and told me he couldn't let me leave and we kissed."
Carly squealed. "I knew it!" she said excitedly. "How long has this been going on?"
Courtney shook her head. "Not long, I swear. I don't know, I guess we just really connected these last few months," she said. "But Carly, you can't say anything, I'm barely divorced from AJ and we both know Sonny probably won't be happy, and honestly, I don't know what Jason is even thinking right now."
Carly waived her hand dismissively. "We have time to worry about that later, right now I want to hear about the kiss."
Courtney giggled. "It was incredible," she confessed. "We were in the rain, and it was just so perfect." She smiled at the memory then shook her head. "But it's too soon, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, I've been divorced for what, six days? I shouldn't be kissing anyone right now, let alone my ex-husband's brother."
"Aw, honey." Carly smiled at her. "Something tells me you didn't just wake up with these feelings for Jason yesterday, that they've been there for awhile?" She waited until Courtney nodded before speaking again. "And no one's going to think any less of you for having these feelings, especially since everyone knows what an ass AJ is." Courtney half-smiled at her. "Most importantly though, AJ and Jason haven't been brothers for a long time now, not in Jason's eyes, and probably not in AJ's either. Take if from someone who's been involve with both guys, Jason is definitely the better man, but I don't think I need to tell you that."
"You're right." Courtney took a deep breath. "What about Sonny though?"
Carly smiled sympathetically. "I'm not sure how this is going to go over with him. He's still getting used to being a big brother, and he's an overbearing jerk most of the time anyways."
Courtney laughed. "Maybe Jason and I should wait before saying anything to Sonny about this."
"Good idea," Carly approved. Her smile faded as she watched someone walk into the diner. "You might not want to say anything to her either," she said, gesturing towards the petite girl.
"Elizabeth?" Courtney looked at her questioningly. "She and Jason are friends, right?"
Carly scoffed. "They sort of dated for awhile, well according to Elizabeth. Jason says they're just friends. Either way, she's obviously in love with him."
"Great," Courtney sighed. "My break's over, I should get back to work. And you," she rolled her eyes at Carly. "You should go walk off some of that caffeine buzz you've got."
"Maybe I should go see if my husband's home," Carly said with a wink. Courtney made a face at her and waved as she left. She offered a smile to Elizabeth who was clocking in and finished clearing off the table.
Time passed by quickly and before she knew it, it was time to clock out for the day. She was finishing up with her last customer when the tinkling of a bell signaled that someone else had entered the diner. She smiled to herself, hoping that it was Jason.
Turning around, her smile widened. "Hey," she greeted him. "I'm just about done, do you want me to get you anything?" He shook his head. "Okay, just give me two minutes to finish up and we can go. Where's Rosie?"
"Outside with Marco."
"Marco must be pleased." She smiled again. "Okay, two minutes." She disappeared into the kitchen.
When she came back out to the dining area she found Elizabeth talking to Jason and one look at the girl proved that Carly was right. Anyone who could see the look on Elizabeth's face could see she was plainly head over heels in love with the guy. Courtney only hoped she wasn't as obvious about her feelings as Elizabeth was. Not that her feelings were of love or anything close to that. Not yet.
"All set," she said brightly, walking over to the table. She was surprised to feel a surge of happiness course through her as Jason shot her a grateful smile and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow Elizabeth, have a good afternoon." She smiled at the other girl as she and Jason left Kelly's.
"So do you mind a tagalong to the park?" Jason asked as Courtney took Rosie's leash from Marco.
"Not at all," she said. "I didn't realize Marco was so fond of the park."
"Right." Jason shook his head and took the leash from her hands as they headed towards the center of the park. "So how was work?"
"Busy actually," Courtney answered. "Although, Carly stayed for nearly two hours badgering me with questions about us."
"That figures. What did you tell her?"
Courtney thought for a moment. What if she wasn't supposed to say anything to Carly? "Um, I kind of told her about yesterday," she admitted.
"What about yesterday?"
At the tone of his voice Courtney inwardly cringed. Jason was mad at her for talking to Carly, she should have known better. Of course he wouldn't have wanted her to, telling Carly anything was like telling Sonny, only now Sonny would find out from Carly and not her, and that would be one more thing to be mad about. She sighed. "I told her about—well, you see she wouldn't leave me alone and I had to tell her something, and—" she looked up and saw that Jason was grinning at her. That jerk, he was teasing her. She shrugged. "I told her that I tried to leave and you begged me to stay," she said airily.
Jason laughed. "Yeah, that's how I remember it happening too," he remarked.
"Well you know Carly better than I do," Courtney pointed out. "If I didn't tell her something, she wasn't going to leave me alone." As they walked along, Courtney was acutely aware of how many times their hands brushed against each other. Right now the count was up to seven.
"Yeah, Carly can be a little over the top sometimes," Jason agreed.
"That's putting it mildly." Courtney laughed as she thought of all the badgering Carly had done all morning. Eight times. "Rosie seems to be enjoying herself," she said, watching the dog run ahead of them, chasing birds. Nine. This was getting ridiculous.
"You were right, she was getting stir-crazy." Jason smiled to himself as he felt her hand against his once again. He wasn't the type of guy that normally held hands well, ever, but he found himself debating the pros and cons of holding this one in particular.
Things were awkward between the two of them today, and he supposed he should have expected that but he was still surprised. Maybe it was his fault though, maybe he shouldn't have made such a grand statement as he had yesterday when he asked her to stay, and he knew he shouldn't have left her so soon after to go work, but that had been out of his hands. They hadn't even been able talk about what they had said.
It didn't help things either that he felt that he should have kissed her already today, but thanks to Carly, that hadn't happened either. And the fact that he hadn't thought of much else the entire morning told him that things were definitely more than casual between them. On his part in any case.
"Do you have to work tonight?" Courtney asked. Ten times. She prayed that her question didn't sound too desperate.
"Yeah I do," Jason said his voice tinged with what Courtney hoped was regret. "I was thinking though, maybe you could stay one more night at my place, and we could get you settled into your new place tomorrow?"
Courtney laughed as she shook her head. "I should probably stay there tonight," she said. "I can't keep staying at your place, you've got to be getting tired of me anyways."
"No, stay one more night," Jason insisted. "I won't be too late tonight, and I'd be more comfortable knowing you were there."
She smiled. "You don't have to protect me anymore," she pointed out, though clearly enjoying the thought.
"Tonight," Jason said firmly. "And tomorrow you can move into the loft."
Courtney smiled again. "All right," she agreed. In a moment of sheer courage she reached out and intertwined two of her fingers with his. And was pleased when he tightened the grip.
"Aunt Courtney!"
Courtney dropped Jason's hand and turned to see Michael running towards them. "Hey Michael," she said, grinning at him. "Where's Leticia?"
"I don't know, I'm with Mom," he said, waving at Jason. "But she said maybe I could play with Rosie for a little while because she has something to do." The redheaded boy looked around for the dog.
"Hey guys," Carly said, running up to them a little breathlessly. "Is there anyway you can watch Michael for a little while? I've got to run an errand for work that would bore him to tears and Leticia has the day off." Her eyes roamed over Jason and she grinned. "And I remember you saying you were taking Rosie to the park, but I didn't realize I'd be interrupting a date."
"Of course Michael can hang out with me for a few hours," Courtney said, ignoring Carly's last statement. "You can pick him up at Jason's later this afternoon."
"Great! I owe you!" Carly knelt down to Michael. "Be a good boy for Courtney and Jason and I'll see you later. Love you, bye!"
"I brought some treats for Rosie, can I make her do tricks for them?" Michael asked, holding out his hands and showing off said treats.
"Absolutely, but good luck," Courtney laughed. She watched as Michael threw a stick for Rosie to chase and then himself chased after the dog. She started after them, and was surprised when she felt a hand on her elbow, holding her back.
"Hey," she said softly, looking up at Jason, who still had a gentle grip on her.
"Hey." He grinned slightly before bringing his other hand to her waist to pull her closer. He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly on the lips.
Seconds later, Courtney pulled away reluctantly, not bothering to hide her smile. "Michael's right over there," she said.
"I know." Jason leaned down and kissed her again. "Tonight at my place?"
Courtney smiled and nodded her head. "Tonight," she echoed.
A.N./2: Okay, just a couple of things I want to run by you readers, and I'm really anxious to know your opinions. I'm writing this in a little bit different style than I normally write, focusing on more details and emotions I think, or at least I hope that's how it's coming across. Is it too boring? Losing interest fast? Let me know. And also, am I using Carly as a plot point (the interrupting and being nosy) too frequently? I'm trying to make it a focal point of the story, but I don't want it to become too much of a running gag. Comments? Ideas of plot points you want me to cover in this sure-to-be long series? Please let me know!