A/N: yay, sorry for the forever! but here it is again...don't know if i mentioned this before, but "betty" is taking leave of absence from writing with me...she's got stuff to deal with so i have taken it upon myself to continue

Ch. 22 Represent the Ashes

She stood in the hall for a few moments, afraid to face whatever lay behind the door. Taking a deep breath, Courtney pushed softly on the door and looked in at another chunk of a life she didn't know. Slowly, she entered the room.

The simplicity was the same as she had seen downstairs, only the barest of necessities including a large bed, dresser lamps and end tables. Despite what she told Jason, she didn't feel like sleeping. She stood by the dresser and looked at the frames that were displayed on top of it. Of the few there, most of them had Michael in them. She looked away from the smiling boy in the photograph and saw an open door along the wall that lead into the master bathroom.

The first thing she noticed inside was the large mirror behind the sink. Searching the wall, she found the switch and flipped it, bring up the bright lights. She stared at the stranger looking back at her. There were deep shadows under a pair of hollow, pale eyes. Looking into them, she wondered if she wanted to remember. Whatever she'd been through had obviously been something, or maybe her whole life had been some awful struggle. She had no clue, all she had to go on was what other people told her. She needed to rely on strangers for everything. Hating the thought, she placed her hands on the edge of the counter and leaned in, keeping an intense gaze on the reflection.

"Come on." she whispered to the reflective glass. "Come on, damn it."

She was waiting for something, anything, to come to her. Just the smallest hint of memory or recollection to tell her who she was. But nothing came; not even deja vu.

He sat in the leather chair behind the desk, admiring the reports of the latest move against Corinthos-Morgan. Everything was progressing beautifully. It had been all too easy to persuade the Scorpio girl to help him, all it took was dropping Morgan's name into the conversation and she had been all too willing to cooperate. He smirked at the file in front of him and took sip of his drink when the phone rang.

"Yes?" he answered, and was less then happy when he heard her voice fill the receiver. She may be a great help in his attack on Corinthos, but the woman was annoying to no end.

"There's a problem. A big one."

Jason came home to the still air of the penthouse. He assumed Courtney was asleep upstairs, so he decided to check on her. Opening the door to the room, he saw the outline of her form on the bed. He stepped further in until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at her. Even in the dim shadows of the room, he could see the features on her face scrunch and contort as she dreamed. He knew she was having nightmares. He wondered if her nightmares contained any of what had happened to her. If maybe the answers he desperately sough were there inside her nightmares.

Morning came and the fresh rays of the new day crept into the room. Jason sat in the soft hair, eyes glued to the bed. He hadn't meant to stay all night, but a part of him feared if he left her side for a moment, she'd be gone when he came back. So he settled into the cushion and let the night tick by as he listened to her breathe. Unfortunately, her even, peaceful, breaths were few and far between as she spent most of her sleep tossing and turning.

Jason sighed and ran his hand over his tired face before he stood. Now that a new day had started, and he knew she'd slept, albeit restlessly, through the night, he was going to find the answers they both needed. And he knew where to start looking.