Set after the August 5th episode. What if Lorenzo's shooter hadn't missed when he shattered Courtney's window? What if she had moved, just as he fired?

"Mm, good juice," Jax commented, half in sarcasm, half in truth. Courtney shot him a wry smile and set the small the shelf behind his head. "So, are you going to give me a sponge bath?" He grinned. Courtney laughed.

"No, your nurse was unavailable so there's a guy coming over who I'm sure would be more than happy to help you out." She smiled at him. He shot her a wide eyed look before laughing cautiously.

"A guy?" He raised his eyebrows in disbelief and a small amount of amusement.

"Uh-huh," she smiled again.

A gun man, hired by Lorenzo Alcazar (A/N: Miss-spelled??) to miss the target lay on his stomach across from Courtney's window, taking careful aim. His cocked the gun as quietly as possible and adjusted his aim ever so slightly and fired.

Courtney shifted to her left just as the bullet shattered the glass pane of the window into infinitesimal pieces and fell to the ground, bringing Jax down with her. Jax winced as pain shot through his leg and he raised his head above the bead cautiously.

"That was close," he commented obliviously and looked down as he heard Courtney's labored breathing and gasps of pain. "Courtney?" he frowned in concern.

"Ja-Jax," she whispered and pulled her hand away from her side enough to see a large bullet wound and her shirt soaked in the deep crimson of her blood.

"Oh my God, you've been shot!" he exclaimed, stating the obvious, which Courtney would've pointed out to him if she weren't struggling to breathe through the pain.

"Ja-Jax," she whimpered again, laying her hand back over the wound and fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Oh God," Jax looked around frantically, realizing that the phone was too far away and his injured leg wouldn't let him get up. "Hold on Courtney," he grabbed the top sheet off the bed and balled it up, gently removing her blood covered hand and pushing the cloth against the wound. "Hold on," he repeated. "HELP!!" He shouted, eyes wild, feeling helpless in his inability to rise. "SOMEBODY HELP!!" He heard Courtney's pitiful whimpers of pain and gasping breaths as he hovered over her, brushing stray locks of hair away from her cringing features.

The door thudded open in a shower splinters and Jason burst through what was left of the frame. "Courtney!" he shouted, concern flaring inside him when she didn't answer him with her usual reprimanding yells about destroying her door. "Courtney, are you alright? Where are you?!"

"Jason! In here!" He heard Jax yell from the direction of his ex-wife's bedroom, jealousy and rage coursed through him as he stalked toward the bedroom, gun still in poised hands. "Hurry! She's been hit!" Jax shouted for him, voice clearly edged in growing panic. Jason's eyes widened at his last statement and any envy and anger that he had felt not moments before dropped away like a boulder over a cliff as he ran the rest of the way to her bedroom.

"Oh my God," he breathed at the sight that was laid out before him as he rounded the corner. He rushed to her side and dropped to his knees beside her. "Courtney," he called to her as her eyelids fluttered and her eyes grew cloudy. He grasped her hand tightly in his, wincing as he felt it slide around with her own blood. "Fight Courtney, fight it! Stay awake!" At his words her eyes got a bit clearer and she blinked several times.

"Jas-on?" she gasped, forehead wrinkling in pain, hand gripping his tightly.

"It's okay, I'm here, you just hold on for me okay?" He spoke gently to her, reassuringly. Jax looked on in wonder at how a killer like Jason could possibly sound so kind. He didn't like Jason, but at this particular moment he was glad that the assassin was there. Courtney relaxed slightly under Jason's gentle hands as he stroked her cheek and hair.

"Have you called an ambulance?" he asked Jax suddenly, taking him by surprise and his normally charismatic and cool voice faltered.

'N-no, I couldn't reach the phone." He stammered slightly, ashamed at his uselessness. Jason shot him a brief look of annoyance and anger before he whipped out his cellular and called 911. A few minutes later he flicked it shut, turning again to Courtney as her strength faltered and her grip on his hand weakened. "The ambulance should be here in a minute, Courtney, hang on." He said to her quietly. He stoked her hair softly as she whimpered again and writhed in pain. "Shh," he whispered, applying a bit more pressure to her wound, blood pooling up under his hand. She gasped as pain coursed through her body and she almost shut her eyes.

Jason squeezed her hand tightly, almost painfully, "No, Courtney, open your eyes." He ordered her, though gently, his voice demanding and yet soft and concerned. "Fight it Courtney, you're stronger than this, I know you are." His words seemed to either encourage or insult her in such a way that she wanted to prove that she was strong, either way, her eyes fluttered back open and her breathing became more ragged, an occasional pained cough escaping her quivering lips. "Good girl, Courtney, keep it up, stay with me. You'll be okay."

"How bad is it?" Jax asked, frowning as another whimper slipped from her mouth. Jason glanced up at him and for a second Jax saw fear and concern and pain in his eyes as he responded.

"Bad," was his only response before his eyes fell again upon Courtney's quaking body. "Get that pillow and put it under her head." He ordered. "Gently." Jax complied, not really bothering to think about how Jason was giving him orders. "Grab that blanket from the end of the bed, we have to keep her warm or she'll go into shock." Again, Jax complied without question, watching as Jason carefully draped the blanket over Courtney, pulling it up under her chin, leaving only the bullet-wound area and the hand that he was holding exposed.

The shaking in her body slowly subsided as the blanket's warmth seeped into her, only shuddering occasionally.

Jason kept up his almost constant words of reassurance until the paramedics piled into the room two minutes later. Jason almost gently helped Jax to sit on the edge of the bed before immediately going and hovering a few feet away from where the medics were working on Courtney.

"How is she?" Jason asked as they gently lifted her onto a stretcher and began to wheel her out the door.

"Her condition is critical, Mr. Morgan, but you did really well, keeping her awake and warm. I just hope it was worth it." One of the paramedics replied.

"Mr. Jax and I would like to ride with her, as Mr. Jax is unable to drive himself and I am her ex-husband." Jason stated rather regally. Jax almost let out a snort of amusement, but managed to contain himself, under the circumstances. Much to his surprise the medics agreed to his request and Jason and another burly medic helped him to the elevator and out to the waiting ambulance. They climbed quickly into the back seat, making themselves as scarce as possible while the medics worked on her on the way to the hospital.

They burst through the emergency room doors and walked swiftly to a set of double doors leading to the O.R., the medics calling out for doctor's assistance. They quickly whisked Courtney away on her stretcher and Jax and Jason were left gaping after her in fear and dismay.

Monica came rapidly towards them and laid a hand on Jason's shoulder, startling him from his thoughts.

"What happened?" She asked in concern. "Is it Emily?" Jason shook his head, reassuring her.

"No, not Emily." He paused, struggling with his own inner demons at the thought of Courtney's bullet-ridden form lying upon the floor, pleading with him with her wide blue eyes. "It's Cou...It's Courtney...She's been shot." He finished at last. Monica gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth in shock.

"But who? Why?" She asked in surprise. Jason just shook his head that he didn't know why. He knew who though, for the most part. Faith or Alcazar. One of those two had hurt the woman that he...that he...used to love...no...still did love...he wondered why he could admit it to himself, but not to the 'her' in question. He shook away the thought and turned to his mother.

"Can you...Can you please..." He glanced suggestively at the O.R.'s swinging doors. She caught his drift and nodded.

"I'll see what I can find out or do to help. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything." She smiled reassuring at him, then at Jax. "Nice job staying off that leg, Mr. Jax." She said in disapproval. He smiled sheepishly and sat down gingerly in one of the hard plastic chairs.

"Thanks," Jason said quietly, giving her a small smile.

"Don't thank me yet." She replied, turning and leaving them to their own devices.

Jason eased himself onto a chair and set his elbows on his knees, covering his face with his hands with a sigh. He stood again quickly and began pacing uneasily. Courtney had taken a devastating bullet wound and it was his fault. If he had never brought her into his world she would never have had to deal with any of this. If he had just left the business when she asked he would've still been with her and could have protected her. He had been so selfish. He was always selfish, he realized with a stab of guilt. Everyone had always tried to help him, tried to be there for him and his only thoughts had ever been for himself. Every decision that he made in his life since his accident was selfish and self-motivated. Oh God, he was such a fool.

A fool to push away the people that loved him most just because he couldn't remember. A fool to join Sonny's business. A fool to fall for his boss's baby sister. A fool to bring her into a world that she didn't know or understand. A world that she hated so deeply that she was willingly to give him up just to escape its dark, evil tendrils. A fool to not go with her, a fool to not comply with her pleads to leave the mob behind and be with her forever. Why couldn't he have just let go of all the illegalities of his messed up life and go with her? Why did he feel so devoted to a man that made him kill for basically no reason? A man who could barely keep his own family together through his jealousy and panic attacks and possessive tendencies. Why the hell couldn't he just leave it all behind? For her. For them.

She was back there dying, the love of his life, the woman that he married, the woman who had been willing to risk it all to be with him, the woman who had sat by and watched him run out the door at the slightest whim from her brother and kill people or supervise an incoming or outgoing shipment of illegal drugs, a woman who, upon seeing the scene of mass murder at the warehouse he was in as Sonny's liaison, ran straight there to see if her love was one of nameless dead. She loved him so completely, so unconditionally, and he had repaid her with nothing. Nothing but betrayal and pain and fear. He didn't deserve her, he had never deserved her. But he loved her so much... so very deeply and completely, a feeling that wouldn't go away, no matter how hard he tried to make it.

Jason looked up and locked his gaze on a spot on the ceiling above him and closed his eyes, concentrating harder than he ever thought possible and he prayed. Prayed like Sonny did to get his undeserved miracles. Michael's life was Michael's miracle. That little boy deserved to live. He was a good kid, a good son, even despite his regrettable excuse for a father, A.J. Pushing that thought aside Jason concentrated harder.

God, please, if you hear me, I haven't asked you for anything for a long time. Sometimes I wonder if you're even there at all. But Michael's survival gives me hope that you might hear my plea. So, here it is. Please, please, don't take Courtney. She's a good person, kind, generous; she has no much good left in her to do. She deserves so much better than to die by someone whose vendetta is not against her, but against her brother and myself. I swear...God, I swear I'll quit, I'll never kill or disobey the law again if you just please, don't take her from me; from the world. I still love her. She deserves so much better than what I could offer her while in the mob. I'll leave, I swear, if you just leave her here with me. Please...

Jax watched in silence as Jason stood very still, head tilted back slightly, eyes closed. He had never seen anyone stand that still before, it was kind of creepy, he decided with a small inward smile.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: Review and tell me what you think and keep in mind that I'm one for the drama. Hence why I watch GH...