A/N: I don't know if i mentioned this before or not, but all the Carly i use in my fic will is written with the one and only Tamara Braun in mind. Nothing against Jennifer, she's not doing bad, it's just that Tams was a helluva Carly and i'm gonna miss her.

Ch. 28 Falling From Forever

The pair stood in the hall outside the room, waiting for the news the doctor would bring Jason knew that the last thing anyone needed was more tension, so he stood with Carly in the hall to make sure that she stayed away from Sam, Jax, and Sonny until the time came. He couldn't believe that so much was happening; it wasn't so long ago that everything felt perfect.

Him and Courtney were on the island. They'd talked to one another about their thoughts and fears and , most importantly, their feelings. They wanted to try again; try to let their love be enough to save the both of them. Now it seemed like things were only getting worse by the second.

"I'm doing the right thing, right?" the woman asked, breaking the silence they'd fallen into. "With the boys?"

"I think you're doing what you think you need to." he answered, simply.

Carly sighed, not getting the straight answer she wanted. This wasn't how she'd expected the aftermath of her and Sonny's reunion to go. Suddenly, she saw the person that controlled her family's future coming their way. Her heart began to pound hard enough she could barely hear anything else. The doctor nodded in her direction, acknowledging her, and opened the door to the room. Carly and Jason stood in the doorway as everyone braced themselves for the news.

"I've got the results."

"Fancy digs." he said in way of greeting.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not happy to see her newest company.

"Come on, you missed me. Admit it." the man replied arrogantly.

"I don't understand." Courtney responded, frustrated. "I'm in jail, and I'm probably going to go to prison. I'm paying for what I did. So, why won't you leave me alone? Why are you here?"

"Temper, temper." he teased with a smile on his face. "You know my being here is nobody's fault but your own."

Courtney closed her eyes and pressed her hands against her temples, applying pressure at the growing headache she felt. She had no idea why she was still seeing Ric. It hadn't been since the island that she saw the dead man.

"My fault, I know. Because I shot you, right? Because I killed you."

The figure before her chuckled amusingly at her response. She was crazy. That was the only explanation for what was happening. Having an argument with a dead man; Courtney felt like the poster child for insanity.

"Oh Courtney, it's not that simple." he began to explain. "People kill other people all the time. Take our brother for example."

"Great. Once again it comes back to Sonny." she replied as she threw her hands up in the air. "Just great."

"Alright, if you don't want to go that route, how about Jason?" he asked, and continued at her silence. "As I was saying: Jason or Sonny, they've both taken part in their fair share of killings. Do you think they see their victims standing in front of them? Do you think they let the people they murdered linger constantly in their mind?"

"No." she answer softly.

"No. So why's it happening to you, you ask? Well, you've been cursed with what is called conscience; morals." he told her.

"Fine, I have a conscience. I don't just go to sleep at night after knowing that I took a life." she agreed, exhausted with the conversation. She ran her hand quickly through her hair and groaned with frustration. "But I'm paying for what I did! I'm behind bars, and Baldwin will do everything he can to make sure I stay that way for the rest of my life. Isn't that enough?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But you…your something else. I mean, here you are still haunting yourself." he noted amusingly. "Still allowing yourself to feel guilt even after-"

"Ok, I get the point." she interrupted and turned away from him.

"Ouch. Hit a nerve?"

Courtney didn't give any sort of response. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and hugged herself. She wanted him to go away; to actually be dead. As dead to her as he was to everyone else in the world. She didn't want to hear him, and she really didn't want to see him. Suddenly, she felt his presence directly behind her and knew he was no longer outside the cell. The little ounce of security she felt from him meant absolutely nothing.

"You didn't tell him that, did you?" he said, in more of a statement than a question. "He doesn't know that detail. Just like he hasn't seen the bruises, I'll bet. No, I'm sure you made sure of that; even during your little romp in the sack."

She felt him running his hand up and down her arm. Closing her eyes, she tried to convince herself he wasn't there. That as soon as she was able to do that he would be gone. Him and everything he said; everything he made her remember and think about. Sitting in silence had been driving her up the wall, but she would prefer that a million times over than having to listen to him.

"Just go away." she whispered the order to him, letting a single tear roll down her face.

"Even after everything, you are still letting yourself feel guilty for what you did. Anyone else would feel completely in the right; justified. " he said softly in her ear, sending shivers running up and down her spine. "You were genuinely one of the good ones."

Then the silence returned. She didn't need to look to know that she was alone again. Even so, she turned around and her eyes searched for any indication that the dead man had ever been there. Nothing. He was gone. But his words weren't.

"You were genuinely one of the good ones."

"Maybe." she whispered to herself hearing his words. "Once."