A/N: Hi all! Thank you soooo much to all of you who reviewed. And look! I didn't take a month this time! Aren't you all so very proud of me. Updates should come faster now that school's out.

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Chapter 7: One Final Word of Goodbye

He backed out of the door and straight into an apprehensive Carly and Co. Carly spun him and grasped his shoulders tightly. "What happened!"

"We were talking, she sat upright too fast, then she just kind of, I don't but she's bleeding…" His abridged version, told to protect his heart from the words he'd said to her; his admission of love.

"Oh my god…" Carly breathed, flopping into a chair and covering her face with her hands.

"I second your 'oh my god' and raise you a 'Jesus Christ'." Mike quipped, following suite.

"I shouldn't have gone in there. I hurt her. This is my fault." Jason mumbled so that no one could hear him. Looking at the frowning faces around him, Jason did the only thing he could think of, he fled. Not the running, obvious, kind of fleeing, but the getting up, walking out of sight slowly, then running, kind.

Back to the roof he ran, feeling like it was the only place he could breathe. More than breathe, he really just wanted to throw himself over the edge. He had hurt her. Again. How many times could he hurt her before it stopped or he left her alone? He didn't want to hurt her anymore. And if leaving was the only way he could stop her pain, then it would have to be done. Soon. As soon as he knew if she would be okay.

Jason sat back on the now-familiar bench and squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing them tiredly. It was dark in the city, almost all of the lights now extinguished. He flipped back his sleeve and squinted at his watch. Two AM. Wow. It had been almost twenty-four hours since she'd been shot. Since her relations with him and Sonny had nearly killed her.

Lost in his thoughts, Jason jumped when his cell phone rang. "Yeah," He said shortly, his typical response.

"It was Alcazar." It was Max. "He hired the shooter. The shooter was supposed to miss the target. I.E.: Courtney. It was supposed to be a taunt for Sonny, not an actual hit. But it was definitely Alcazar."

"Thanks," Jason replied and abruptly hung up. It wasn't rudeness; it was just the way it worked. Max was used to it by now. He had worked for Sonny long enough to know what to expect.

Jason inhaled deeply, holding it for a few seconds, before slowly releasing the breath. He knew it, he knew it was Alcazar. Forcing down the rage that bubbled up inside him, he took another calming breath before taking a final glance at the ledge surrounding the rooftop and the city below before going back downstairs.

"It was Alcazar," Jason shot at Sonny as he slammed back into the waiting room. Sonny's head snapped up and flaming eyes leveled at Jason.

"What?" He snarled.

"Alcazar. Enemy number one. Ordered the non-hit on Courtney."

"I should've kno-... Wait, "Non-hit"? What do you mean "non-hit"?" Sonny asked, confusion written in bold letters across his face.

"The shooter was paid to miss. It was supposed to be a taunt, no actual injury involved. Shooter's aim must've been screwed up somehow. Courtney probably moved at just the wrong second. I guess, in hindsight, it could be labeled an accidental shooting on Alcazar's part."

"Accident or not, Alcazar paid someone to shoot through my baby sister's apartment window. That is unacceptable. Something will have to be done to discourage taking such an action in the future. A very painful discouragement." Sonny ground his teeth angrily.

"I'll handle it." Jason replied immediately. Sonny looked taken aback for a moment before nodding.

"Monica!" Carly's apprehensive exclamation turned the hit man and the mob boss to face the doctor. "How is she?"

"She's fine. She just pulled a few stitches, nothing to panic about."

"Are you sure?" Jason asked nervously.

"Jason, have some faith, I am, after all, a professional. We just stitched her back up. She's fine, I promise." Monica smiled at him and touched his arm lightly, it was a comforting gesture. Jason smiled back and briefly laid his hand over hers before pulling away.

Monica grinned inwardly at this brief connection between mother and son; it was small, but it was the best connection she's had with him since his accident. She would take it any way it came with Jason.

"Thank you…" Jason said softly, his gratitude clear upon his face. "Tell Courtney that I meant everything I said to her… and that I'm sorry I keep hurting her. It won't happen anymore. I won't let it. It ends now." Jason turned to walk away but Monica's hand gripping his arm stopped him. He turned back to her, sadness and infinite regret showing in his eyes.

"What do you mean? It ends now, what does that mean, Jason?" Monica sounded on the verge of panic. What was he trying to say? What was he about to do? He gently pulled out of her grasp and backed away, kissing Carly on the cheek as he went. A last goodbye.

"Stay out of trouble," he whispered in his best friend's ear. "Look after Courtney for me." He smiled and raised his voice for Monica to hear, pressing the down button for the elevator. "Thank you for everything you've done…" He backed through the elevator door and pressed the close-door button. "Mom." And with a final smile, he was gone. Lost behind the reinforced elevator doors.

A tear rolled down his mother's face as the emphasis and finality of that last word hit her full force. Her son was gone. Possibly forever. He was about to do one of two things: kill the man who hurt Courtney, then himself, or kill the man who hurt Courtney and disappear forever. Monica prayed to God that it was the latter. And all this for the woman he loves. Sacrificing everything he's ever known to keep her safe. I hope Courtney knows what she gave up when she left him, Monica thought, another tear falling for her son and for the woman he so deeply loved.

Jason leaned against the back wall of the elevator, riding it to the ground floor. He released a deep breath and lowered his head, rubbing the moisture from his eyes. Goodbye mom. Goodbye Courtney. You may never know how much I still love you.

The elevator chimed its arrival to the lowest floor and Jason stepped out into the front foyer. With a final glance upward, he pushed through the double doors and was gone. He knew that he was about to seek vengeance for Courtney's near-death and he knew that he was leaving behind everyone he had ever loved, but somehow he felt peace. Courtney would be safe now. Safe from the danger his love brought her. And Alcazar? This would be his last act as a mob hit man. To get his revenge, not in death but to have him hover at the brink of it, as Courtney had. He would know the fear and the pain and the infinite regret. But Courtney was alive and he would keep his promise to God. The part of his life that coincided with Sonny's ended with Lorenzo Alcazar.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Is Jason gone forever? How will Courtney feel about him not saying goodbye? And will his vengeance against Alcazar be his ultimate demise? One last act to end all mobster acts. The final ploy. Will it be his end? (Does anyone else see the irony in that situation? About to stop all illegal acts, only to finally be caught? Haha…) REVIEW! PLEASE AND THANK YOU!