Disclaimer: I don't own a damn thing
Summary: So here's the deal, everything that has happened on the show up until April 15, 2004 has happened. But instead of staying in Port Charles, Courtney leaves. She hasn't talked to anyone from PC, except for Carly, but Carly isn't even sure where she is. The story picks up about 2 years after Courtney left.
A.N.: So, here's what I'm thinking…this chapter is going to be the rehearsal dinner and the next chapter is going to the wedding ceremony and there is probably going to be another chapter for the reception. I may add one last chapter as a tidy ending after the reception, but I'm not quite sure yet. As always, enjoy!
Last Train Home Ch. 10:
Courtney entered the Cellar to find it already packed with people for the rehearsal dinner. The night before with Jason had left her uneasy to say the least, but she refused to let it show. She immediately noticed Jason along with Sonny and Carly standing at the bar. She watched from afar, envious of the closeness that the trio shared. It seemed like ages ago since she was apart of that group. There was a time when all four of them were inseparable, bounded by a love and closeness for one another, but she had ruined all that in one night and there was no way to get it back, either. Sure, Sonny and Jason may have forgiven her, but they would never trust her again.
"Courtney?" The sound of her name brought her out of the restless thoughts and she looked up to find Emily Quartermaine in front of her. Lucky Spencer was standing next to her with a welcoming grinning lightening up his strong facial features. The young couple brought a smile to her face, anyone could notice the love emanating off the two.
"Hey Emily," she responded as the younger girl quickly ushered her into a hug. When the two women had separated, Courtney offered Lucky a wave and he nodded.
"I'm going to get a drink. You ladies need anything?" He asked, but both declined.
"I can't believe you're back. I had no idea…" Emily informed her.
"I would have thought that Liz or even Jason would have said something."
"Oh I haven't really talked to Jase or Elizabeth. I've just been so busy lately. Between the wedding plans and school, I haven't had very much free time." She replied.
"Wedding plans?" The other woman asked with a raised eyebrow and watched as the light brunette immediately lit up.
"Lucky and I are getting married! We are thinking a Christmas wedding," she explained with a huge grin, which elicited another hug between the two.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
"Yeah, me too!" Emily murmured in agreement. "Oh, listen to me going on and on about myself. What have you been up to?"
"Pretty much the same things that I was doing here…only in a different town." Courtney responded. "I can't believe how little this place has changed since I left."
"You know, Jason was worried about you for a long time," the younger woman whispered softly, completely changing the light mood of the conversation. "I'm not trying to interject myself into his situation, but I thought that it was only fair for you to know how much it hurt him when you left."
"I know that you and Jason are very close and I appreciate your concern for him, but I was hurt too…"
"I understand that, which is why I never could comprehend the separation." Emily replied. "It is so clear that you guys love each other, but then threw it away over something that is not nearly as it important as it seemed at the time."
"Forgive me, but I really can't do this right now. Carly and Sonny have been unbearable about the divorce ever since I returned. I don't think that I can handle another person telling me how badly I screwed up my marriage and how easy it is to fix." Courtney snapped and was met with a look of thoughtfulness.
"I'm sorry. I just want to see my big brother happy...I'm sorry, I'll stop." She offered placing a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "So, tell me something about…well, anything." The older girl laughed in response.
"I hate to break it to you, but my life is really quite a bore…"
"Are you staying in town long?"
"I'm not sure. I would like to stay close by, because I've missed out on so much with my nephews, but I have a life in Boston. It may be tragically unexciting, but it's mine and I'm not sure if I'm ready to give that up without a really good reason."
"You know Court…it's rude to talk to the bridesmaid before even saying hello to the bride," Carly's greeted with a grin.
"Well, maybe if the bride wasn't so dull…" the dark blonde bantered back and was met with a soft slap from her best friend. "You keep abusing me and I'm going to have to vacate my matron of honor position."
"Oh, I'll take it!" Emily jumped in and all three women giggled.
"See, you can be easily replaced…" Carly directed to Courtney with a sarcastic tone.
"So can't the expensive wedding present I bought. Maybe I'll return it and get you a toaster or maybe some cooking lessons." Her sister-in-law retorted and was met with a look of fake rage.
"I'll pay half if you get her the cooking lessons," Jason entered the conversation.
"Ugh! To think that I call you two my best friends," Carly screeched, which only seemed to cause a fit of laughter from everyone.
"Oh, back off the bride-to-be," Sonny defended as he wrapped a strong arm around his fiancée.
"Thank you, dear." Carly returned after placing a kiss on his cheek. Courtney watched in envy at how happy the two looked with a glow in their eyes that seemed only to be matched by Emily and Lucky, who had finally returned from the bar. Jason used to elicit that same glow in her and probably still could if they allowed themselves to feel for one another again. She suddenly felt uncomfortable in the presence of both couples and quickly excused herself to get a drink.
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"I'm worried about her," Carly whispered in Sonny's ear as they swayed comfortably on the dance floor.
"Who?" He inquired.
"Courtney," she replied. "I don't like the idea of her going back and living by herself when it's so obvious that she's lonely."
"She's fine, sweetheart…" Sonny assured half heartedly. Truth was that he did not want to see his baby sister leave town again. They were just getting their relationship back on track and it seemed unfair for her to go, but he had no right to ask her to stay when he was the reason she left in the first place. "Let's not worry about it until after the wedding…" The mention of the nuptials immediately brought a smile to the woman in his arms.
"I can't wait to be your wife for the fourth time," she laughed softly at the notion of marrying someone four times. If it was anyone else but her, she would have teased them relentlessly and then told the poor girl to throw in the towel already.
"Yeah, well I can't wait to be your husband for the fourth time," he responded before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. Carly let out a sigh before resting her head on Sonny's shoulder. Tomorrow at this time she would be Mrs. Corinthos once again and she found herself tearing up at the thought. They were going to make it this time; she would make sure of it…
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"What can I get for you, dear?" The older bartender offered Courtney a smile which she reciprocated.
"I'll have a whiskey sour, please." She watched as the man went about the bar assembling her drink in record time and placing it in front of her before going to tend to the other patrons. She let herself do a quick sweep of the room and realized that she only recognized a handful of the people. When did Sonny and Carly make so many friends? Letting out a sigh, she tried to find someone to occupy herself with, but it was slim pickings. Lucky and Emily were on the dance floor along with Sonny and Carly. Justus was so caught up in Dara that it would be rude to intrude. Stupid happy couples, she thought to herself sardonically. Jealousy was not a good look for her, but it was impossible to suppress. It was then that she noticed a certain brunette entering the hall.
Sam McCall walked into the cellar with a sly look gracing her soft features. What brought her here was questionable, but not something Courtney wanted to know the answer to. It was possible that Carly had forgiven Sonny's "mistress", but highly unlikely. Plus, she had seen the young brunette with Ric yesterday and there was no way that he had given up his vendetta against Sonny. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, the dark blonde crossed the room placing herself directly in Sam's path.
"I don't think you're welcome here," she stood tall with hands placed on her hips, but it didn't seem to faze the other woman.
"Yeah, well I need to talk to Sonny. So, get the hell out of my way." Sam tried to push past her, but was surprised to see that Courtney didn't budge an inch.
"He's with his fiancée right now and I'm sure that they don't want to be interrupted. So, if you'll just be on your way, I'll let him know that you dropped by." She could tell by the look of defiance on the other woman face that things were not going to go quietly. Her eyes searched out Max or Marco, but could not come up with either one.
"I don't care. We have business to discuss." Sam shot back trying once again to maneuver past the other woman, which she did successfully but was met with a far larger road block.
"Whatever business you have can wait until next week when Sonny resumes taking appointments," Jason informed her coldly.
"You better get out of the way, Morgan." The brunette tried sternly.
"You can either leave peacefully or someone will drag you out. It's your decision, Sam." The enforcer ordered not bothered by the woman's threat.
"Oh come on, Jase. We had some good times together." Her voice immediately turned soft as she reached out to touch the man's cheek. Courtney had to suppress the overwhelming urge to slap her. "I just want to speak to him for a moment and I promise that you will be more than compensated for it." She slithered her body close to his.
"Don't touch me," he pushed away her hand.
"Oh that's right, I forgot Blondie is back in town. Wouldn't want her to know about what you've been up to in her absence." She threw a fake smile over her shoulder to Courtney, who was now seething.
"Sam, I don't know what story you have concocted in that crazy brain of yours, but I'm sure it's no where near reality." He shot back without looking towards his ex wife. "What we "had" was nothing more than an alcohol induced night that meant nothing. Now, go back to that slime ball that you call a boyfriend."
"I'll have you know that Ric is an upstanding gentleman, which is more than I can say for you and Sonny."
"Yeah, but what do you think that your boyfriend the D.A. would think of you working with Faith Roscoe? I think he might be a little upset considering how he's up for reelection this year..." Jason retorted and was met with a look of anger.
"You wouldn't dare…"
"Don't push me, Sam."
"Who's going to believe you, anyways? You're a criminal and everyone in Port Charles knows it." Sam bit back.
"So are you and it's only a matter of time before the truth comes out."
"I swear to god, Jason. If you breathe a word of this to anyone…"
"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Jason laughed taking a long sip from his beer. Courtney became jittery; there was something that she didn't trust about Sam McCall.
"If I have to," she returned lowly.
"Murder? That's even better than drug trafficking." The light haired man replied with a raised eyebrow, which was quickly replaced with a small smile. "I'm telling you right now; don't fuck with me, again. If you do, well I will make sure that Ric knows every little scheme you've ever hatched in this town. And then he will see you for the cruel whore that you are and not even Ric is sick enough to stick around." Sam reached up and placed a hard smack across Jason's cheek. Courtney immediately wedged herself between the two, grabbing the brunette by the shoulder and shoving her hard towards the exit.
"Ok, that's enough! You have to leave right now."
"What's going on?" Carly growled sliding through the crowd that was beginning to form. "What's she doing here?" The brunette's eyes narrowed towards her fiancée who shrugged his shoulders.
"Sam was just on her way out," Jason placed a calming hand on his best friend's wrist.
"No I wasn't!"
"Yes you were," Courtney replied staring down the petite brunette whose face was slowly becoming red.
"This isn't over, Jason." Sam threatened. "I'm not done with you, either." She directed to Courtney, who just rolled her eyes in annoyance.
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"What the hell was that about?" Sonny's voice came out hot towards his enforcer once Sam had been escorted off the premises.
"You know how she likes to run her mouth," he explained. "It's nothing."
"She's threatening my baby sister now, Jason." Sonny growled. "My sister, who lives by herself in another state where Sam and Faith could easily go after her."
"Sonny, calm down. No one is coming after me," Courtney tried to pacify her brother.
"Oh and how can you be sure about that?"
"They don't even know where I live. Hell, you didn't even know where I was until a few days ago…" She immediately regretted the words once they left her mouth. There was look of hurt in Sonny's whiskey colored eyes.
"The point is that there is no way Sam will find her," Carly tried to smooth over the rift that was forming.
"I want you to take a guard with you when you leave town," the older man ordered.
"Absolutely not." Courtney growled. "I am not doing that anymore. I have a different life now that doesn't involve bodyguards and bulletproof glass."
"It's not up for negotiation." Sonny's tone was harsh. His sister opened her mouth to argue more, but was immediately swept towards the bar by Jason.
"Not the time, Courtney." He said firmly as he ordered drinks for the both of them.
"I don't want a guard following me around." She replied just as firmly and was met with a nod.
"I know that, but can you just pacify him for tonight and tomorrow. After the wedding you can fight with him all you want." Her ex husband grinned and she nodded. It didn't seem fair to ruin Carly's big day over an issue that could easily be handled the day she left. If you leave, her mind muttered. A comfortable silence had settled between the couple, but there was something nagging the young dark blonde and she needed to address it.
"So, what's with Sam?" She tried to sound casual as she watched him tense up. "I mean when I left, her and Sonny were carrying on an affair, but now she's with Ric?"
"Yeah, kind of shocked us all." His reply was short and she felt the need to prod more.
"What do you hate her so much? I thought you guys were like kindred spirits or something." He laughed heartily at her comment.
"Sam McCall is a backstabber."
"Because she slept with you while she was sleeping with Sonny?" Courtney couldn't believe that the words even escaped her lips and by the look on his face, Jason couldn't either. "I just assumed because of what was said…"
"It was right after you left…" he began letting a sigh out. "I had been drinking and we kind of fell into bed together. She wanted more than I was willing to give. She told Sonny that I went behind his back and tried to turn us against one another." Courtney was surprised that Sam was able to come up with such a plan. "Anyways, her scheme didn't work and she figured the best way to get back at Sonny was to begin seeing Ric."
"Oh."
"Yup, it's all very high school," he grinned taking a sip from his drink.
"It seems it."
"Excuse me, but I do believe that my big brother owes me a dance," Emily announced coming between the two. Before Jason had a chance to decline his younger sister was leading him towards the dance floor. Lucky wagged his eyebrows offering his hand to a giggling Courtney, who graciously accepted it. She let herself relax in Lucky's arms as they began to sway along the rhythm of song.
All your life you've waited for
love to come and stay
And now that I have found you, you must not slip away
I know it's hard believing' the words you've heard before
But darling you must trust them just once more...
'cause my baby
Goodbye doesn't mean forever
Let me tell you goodbye doesn't mean
we'll never be together again
If you wake up and I'm not there, I won't be long away
'Cause the things you do my Goodbye Girl
Will bring me back to you
Her mind was so focused on the lyrics that she almost didn't notice Emily tapping lightly on her shoulder.
"I'm going to have to steal my fiancée back," she whispered with a huge smile and Courtney nodded. She was just about to exit the dance floor when Emily nudged her into Jason's arms. He seemed just as shocked as his ex wife, but it wasn't possible to back out, not under Emily and Lucky's watch.
He brought her closer to him as she rested her head against his strong chest, trying hard to keep the tears back. The rest of the guest were forgotten as they both became swept up in each other, unaware of the satisfied grins that were decorating Carly and Sonny's faces, who watched from the edge of the room. Memories of their relationship began to haunt the couple and the lyrics weren't exactly helping.
I know that you've been taken,
afraid to hurt again
You fight the love you feel for me instead of giving
in
But I can wait forever, helping you to see
That I was meant for you and you for me
...so remember
Goodbye doesn't mean forever
Let me tell you goodbye doesn't mean
we'll never be together again
Though we may be so far apart you still will have my heart
So forget your past my Goodbye Girl
'Cause now you're home at last.
The song ended a little too soon in Courtney's opinion as she pulled away and was caught in his stare. A rush of emotion overtook her as she leaned up to give him a tender peck on the cheek before rushing out of the club.
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A/N: What did ya think? I really don't hate Sam, but she's such an easy target as an antagonist. I just had to do something with the whole Jason/Sam/Sonny triangle and decided to throw Ric in for good measure. Oh yeah, the song Goodbye Girl belongs to Hootie and the Blowfish. I really thought that it fit perfectly within the plot. Anyways, thanks for reading and I will hopefully have the next chapter of my other story, Caught In A Jar, up within a week.
