Disclaimer: I don't own General Hospital or its characters.
Author's Note: Aww! You guys spoil me with your reviews; it makes me smile! Thank you to everyone who is reading and don't worry, for everyone that's come up with an idea of what I should add in this story, I've got a plan for each suggestion, and I hope that they make you happy. Thanks again for all of the feedback, I really do appreciate it.
Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 6
Jason paused outside of Kelly's and peered through the window. If Courtney was the slightest bit scared because of the flowers, he couldn't tell. As usual, she was running all over the diner, laughing with the patrons as she poured their coffee, and even pausing to laugh at a joke either Georgie or Dillon was telling her. She gave no indication that she was scared that her ex-husband was trying to reenter her life.
Only Jason wasn't so sure AJ had sent the flowers.
Flashback.
"Hard at work I see."
Jason shifted his gaze from the freight slowly approaching the dock to the trench-coated man that stood before him. "Mr. Parelli," he said with a nod.
"Mr. Morgan." His voice was only slightly mocking. "Might I have a moment of your time?" Jason only nodded and waited for Jackson Parelli to speak again.
"Another shipment coming in?" Jackson asked, jerking his head towards the water.
"You're here to talk about a shipment of coffee?" Jason inquired, meeting the older man's eyes with his own. "Do us both a favor and tell me why you're here."
"Rumor has it you've been spending more time than usual in Atlantic City," Jackson said. "Problems at the casinos?"
Jason shook his head. "Doesn't hurt to check up on things every once in awhile," he said with a shrug.
"Perhaps," Jackson mused. "I've been thinking of adding some new additions to my profits as well. Nothing extravagant, maybe adding a few showgirls over at the Sinful Nights casino." He handed Jason a photograph. "Think she'd be interested?"
End Flashback.
"Hey, what are you standing outside for?" Courtney held open the door as she looked at him curiously.
He shook his head. "Sorry, just finishing up a phone call," he lied, holding up his cell phone. He followed her into the diner.
"Well, have a seat," Courtney said, waving to an empty table a few feet away. "We just got real busy and Elizabeth is still on her break so I can't talk right now, but I'll bring you some coffee while you wait." Before he could answer she offered him a parting smile and was rushing to the counter to pick up an order that was ready. He watched her for a few moments more, as he slipped his hand into his pocket and closed his fist around the photograph.
Flashback:
Jason stared at the photograph in his hands. It was of Courtney, dressed as Daisy, on stage at the Oasis. He looked up at Jackson. "What are you trying to get at?"
"I know that's Corinthos' sister. It's ironic, don't you think? To be so against the unsavory side of business and yet have your little sister stripping? I can think of a lot of associates who would hesitate to do business with your boss if they were to be aware of this situation."
"I'm sorry, did you have some business deal to propose?" Jason asked. "Because that freight is about to come in and I'll need to be on my way."
Jackson smiled smugly. "I hear the Golden Towers is under scrutiny for embezzlement and other problems," he said. He stepped closer to Jason. "I also hear you're checking my businesses for any discrepancies. I'd suggest you start looking elsewhere besides my men if you want to avoid any trouble with any of the associates pulling out of contracts."
"I don't know where you get your information from, but you have it wrong," Jason said. "But while you're throwing out threats, I have one for you. I think you know what will happen if anything happens to Mr. Corinthos' sister."
"Just remember what I said," Jackson said. "You can keep that picture, I have more." He turned to walk away, and after a few steps turned back to him. "I'm sure I won't be seeing you in Atlantic City anytime soon. Good day."
End Flashback.
"Finally." Courtney set a cup of coffee in front of him and sat down across from him. She frowned a little, seeing the look on his face. "Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Yeah." He attempted a smile at her. "So what happened?"
She shrugged. "I came into work and I talked for a minute with Elizabeth and then she left and Penny told me that someone had delivered flowers for me. I opened the box and there were some daisies and this card." She held out to him. "It's gotta be AJ right?" she asked. "I mean, who else would pull something like that?"
Jason scanned the card and then looked back at Courtney. Again, he was amazed that she really didn't seem scared about the whole situation and that's when he realized she was counting on him to take care of her, just like he had been, and that's why she seemed so unaffected by everything. He didn't resent her for thinking that; they both knew that he would do whatever it took to protect her, and to be honest, he was flattered that she had put all of her trust into him. Maybe flattered wasn't the right word, he wondered. Maybe it was something else he felt.
He stared at the card again, trying to focus on the matter at hand. For AJ to send Courtney flowers on the same day that another man had all but threatened her life was a little more coincidental than Jason thought plausible.
No, he decided. AJ was likely not the culprit, which meant Parelli was. He looked up at the petite blonde again and offered her a smile, which she returned brightly.
Yes, Courtney expected him to save her once again, and while he wanted more than anything to do that for her, he wasn't sure how he would this time.
"Jason?" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts once again.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"No." Courtney shook her head. "But you look a million miles away. I'm right though, aren't I? AJ is the one that sent these?"
"Yeah," Jason said with a nod before he could stop himself. "AJ's trying to play games with you."
"Courtney?" Elizabeth appeared at the table and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Penny is going home early because she has a headache. You're going to have to cover all of her tables because I'm too busy in my own section." She glanced at Jason and then again at Courtney. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"No," Courtney said with a forced smile. "No problem at all." She stood up and looked around the diner, trying to figure out where she was going to go next. Everyone seemed fine for the moment so she turned back to Jason. "Can I bring you some more coffee?"
"Actually," Elizabeth interrupted. "Jason's in my section."
"Of course." She smiled patiently again. "Well, let me know when you're leaving," she said as Jason just grinned at her and she moved away from the table.
As she moved about the diner, Courtney kept stealing glances at Jason's table out of the corner of her eye. Elizabeth was all but falling over herself trying to get Jason to talk to her, and she couldn't help but giggle when he turned his back on her and pulled out his cell phone.
She kept pretty busy for the next half hour and was surprised when she saw Sonny walk into the diner and head for Jason's table. He sat down and immediately they were immersed in what looked like a tense conversation. It was a good thing Kelly's was busy today otherwise Courtney would be tempted to eavesdrop on the two of them, just to see what they were up to. As much as she didn't know what they did, she was still more curious than she liked to admit.
Courtney was too busy to notice that both men kept looking her way as they talked.
"Do you think Parelli was serious?" Sonny asked, keeping his voice low as he looked at Jason.
Jason shrugged. "He knows we're on to him, so he could be. He definitely did his research on Courtney though."
"Damn it," Sonny swore. "I knew this was going to happen, I knew she wouldn't be safe here." He looked at his sister again. "What did you say when you told her?"
"I didn't," he answered with a shake of his head. "She thinks its AJ, and for now, I think that's best."
"Yeah, you're right." Sonny sighed heavily. "I still want her guarded heavily at all times," he said, with another glance. "She isn't to be alone for even a second."
"I'll call Marco and get him out here. I have to be at the docks again tonight but I'll have her stay at my place tonight," Jason said. "What are we going to do about Parelli?"
"We'll have to make him think we're looking at someone else. It's obvious he's the guilty one now, so if we fool him into a false sense of security, it'll be easier in the end," Sonny replied. He stood up. "I have a meeting I need to get to. Call Marco, and then fill Courtney in on what's going on security wise."
Jason just nodded as Sonny left. He waited until Courtney seemed to hit a lull and then went up to her.
"Hey," he said softly, touching her shoulder. "Got a minute?"
She turned around. "Is everything okay? I saw Sonny."
"Yeah, everything's fine." He sighed, hating that he had to lie to her. "We can't seem to find AJ at the moment though, so either Marco or I will be with you at all times until we do find him," he said.
"Oh." Courtney nodded. "Do you think he's actually in town?"
"I don't know just yet. Look, just to be safe, why don't you go see Carly when you get out of work tonight? That way, when I get done with work, I can come get you and you can just stay at the penthouse tonight with me, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Everything's going to be okay, right?"
"Right," he assured her, squeezing her hand.
"Good." She smiled again. "Well alright then, I should get back to work, and I'll see you at Carly's tonight. Will Marco be taking me there?"
"He's on his way here now," Jason said. "I'll be waiting outside until he is."
"Okay then." She let go of his hand and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later."
"Bye." Again, he watched her completely amazed that she had indeed put all of her trust into him and didn't offer up a single question.
And it still bothered him that he couldn't figure out if it was still just flattery that he felt, or something much stronger.
"God, AJ's such a jackass!" Carly fumed as she paced the length of the living room. "I can't believe after everything he's still coming after you!"
Courtney shrugged. "He went away too easily in the first place," she pointed out. "I figured that I'd have to deal with him again." For the last forty-five minutes she had been at Carly's and they had done nothing but talk about AJ.
"But still!" Carly sighed as she finally sat down next to her. "I can't wait til Sonny and Jason get a hold of him, he's going to wish he had never come back."
"You're right," she agreed. "But seriously, enough about AJ. How much stuff did you get done at the club today?"
"Oh a ton. Oh! That reminds me!" Carly's eyes lit up as she faced Courtney excitedly. "I've decided to make opening night a masquerade ball of sorts."
"What? Carly, it's less than two weeks until that night, how can you do that?"
Carly shrugged. "Port Charles isn't that big, and all I need to do is tell a few key people, and the whole town will know in plenty of time."
She had a point, Courtney realized. "Well, costumes are fun. What is your theme going to be?"
"Oh, it's going to be incredible," Carly said, her voice excited again. "Think about it: Old Hollywood Glamour."
"Old Hollywood glamour," Courtney repeated. "What do you mean?"
"Like a 1950s nightclub," Carly explained. "I'm going to dress as Marilyn Monroe. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know you're the blonde one and you should dress as her, but it's my party and I'll do what I want and besides, I already have another idea that's perfect for you!" Carly's speech became faster as she gained momentum and Courtney knew it was useless to say anything until she had finished. "And I mean, come on, I could have Sonny and Jason looking like gangsters, even though Jason could really pull off the James Dean look because of the leather jacket, but I don't think he would and—"
Courtney half-tuned Carly out as she rambled on. She had to admit, Carly's idea did sound fun but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe a costume party would make it easier for AJ to get to her.
Even if he did, she realized with a small smile, she would be protected. It was already set for Jason to be with her that night, and now with all of this added security on Sonny's orders, he definitely wouldn't question her and Jason being near each other.
"It sounds great Carly," she said sincerely when she realized Carly had stopped talking. "Now, what's this brilliant idea for my outfit?"