Disclaimer: I don't own anything…
Last Train Home Ch. 18:
Jason stood outside Kelly's. The warm spring air smelled of fresh bloomed flowers and was filled with laughter. It was actually his least favorite time of the year. Too much "love is in the air" and all that type of bullshit. He waited anxiously for Sam to appear. The petite brunette had begged him to meet her here, the busiest place in town. He would give her a gold star for not being stupid enough to ask him somewhere private.
"Hey," her voice was uneasy as she bobbed from one foot to another. Her dark hair was pulled up off her shoulders into a lazy ponytail. Despite the sun shining, she was dressed in all black straight down to the pointed heel boots that resembled something a witch would wear. "Thanks for coming here."
"What do you want, Sam?" He did his best imitation of annoyance.
"I heard about Courtney. That's really good that she woke up." She tried to come off caring, but Jason knew better.
"I'm sure you were real worried."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Her feigning innocence made him sick.
"Elizabeth told me everything." Sam squirmed slightly at the venom in his voice. "You put her in that hospital and if Liz was a better shot, I would be six feet under right now."
"Look, I don't know what kind of crap she's planting in you head, but I can assure you that it's all lies."
"Is it?"
"Of course it is." She let a smile come across her plump lips. "Why would I want you killed? I mean you were always good to me. Not to mention that you weren't half bad in the sack." Her long fingers traced a trail down his chest, which were immediately brushed off with a disgusted swipe.
"Too bad I can't say the same for you." Jason couldn't resist the low blow as the color drained from his companion's normally tanned face. "Why exactly do you want from me?"
"I'm here to offer you a chance."
"Chance for what?"
"Revenge."
Sonny entered the hospital room somewhat cautiously. He never was very good in these kinds of situations, but then again who is? He watched, as Courtney lay curled up on her side, a distant look glazing over her eyes. She didn't even seem to notice his appearance, which left him with the uneasy task of getting her attention without startling her.
"Courtney?" He kept his voice soft. The dark blonde carefully turned around and offered her brother the largest smile her otherwise weary body could muster.
"Hey," she whispered motioning for him to take the seat next to her bed. He did so and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the young woman raising her hand. "Please don't ask me how I'm feeling. I think if I ever have to hear that question again, I might scream."
"Well actually, I was going to ask you about the weather…"
"I'm sure you were." She sighed a happy sigh and watched as Sonny fidgeted with his fingers. It was a nervous habit that she noticed he had picked up somewhere during the years she was gone. "I'm going to be okay." She reached over to place a comforting hand over his. "After all, I am a Corinthos and we are harder to kill than cockroaches."
"Not too mention all those years you spent with Jason. And I think we both know that a Morgan has more lives than a cat." He replied with a grin.
"Yup. Let's face it, I'm virtually indestructible." She returned.
"So I was thinking that --you know-- if you wanted to stick around Port Charles for awhile…"
"Sonny."
"I'm just saying that the boys would probably love having you around all the time." He continued on innocently.
"What is it with you and Carly using your kids as bargaining chips?" Courtney muttered.
"That's another thing, Carly could really use a female companion. You would not believe the stories I had to listen to when you were gone." He let out a sigh. "I know more about my wife's menstruation cycle than any husband should ever be privy too."
"Does it even matter that I have my own life, Sonny? Maybe I'm happy in Boston." She fought back fruitlessly.
"Are you?"
"That's not the point."
"I thought it was."
"Well you thought wrong," she shot back in annoyance.
"What's the point then?"
"The point is…" Before she could finish her companion cut in.
"The point is that you're scared."
"I am not."
"Are too." He argued back and watched his baby sister rolled her eyes.
"Grow up, Sonny."
"I'm just saying that if you need a place to stay. My door is always open." He decided to end the argument.
"I appreciate that, but I'm going to need some time think about it."
"Then by means, take all the time you need." He leaned forward and kissed her soft on the forehead. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go and see what kind of trouble Carly has gotten into."
"What makes you think that she's gotten into trouble?"
"I haven't heard from her in almost an hour, which usually means that she's off executing one of her crazy plans." He laughed and watched as Courtney nodded in agreement.
"Good Luck."
"Thanks. I got a feeling I'm going to need it."
Carly entered the PCPD with her head held high. She could feel the officers' eyes on her taking in the knee-length black leather skirt coupled with a simple low cut brown top. She searched out Ric and was agitated when she came up empty.
"Excuse me?" She approached the nearest desk. "I'm looking for D.A. Lansing. Do you know where I could find him?"
"He's with a witness," the young officer didn't even bother looking up from his paperwork.
"Do you know when he will be made available?"
"No."
"Can you tell him---"
"What do I look like, lady? His secretary." The man let out in an annoyed huff. Carly's eyes nearly bulged out of her head.
"Well, Officer---" She reached down to lift his badge up and offer herself a better view. "Martinez?"
"That's right."
"My name is Carly Corinthos." She let the name wash over him. "I'm D.A. Lansing's sister-in-law and he's handling a case for me. A very important case."
"That's nice." If the young man was impressed than he did a damn good job of hiding it. He retuned his focus back to the documents in his hand.
"Listen hear Asshole." Her voice raised an octave and caught most everyone's attention. "My best friend was shot and I intend to find out how far you losers have come with the case. Now you can either help me find Ric or I will sue every last one of you for incompetence."
"What's going on here?" Ric's voice rang through the area as he pushed past the sea of people that gathered around Carly to watch the show.
"It's about time," she growled, spinning around to face Ric.
"What do you want, Carly?"
"It's been almost forty-eight hours. Do you have any leads?" She didn't waste time with pleasantries.
"As a matter of fact I do. We actually have a suspect in custody." He replied smugly.
"Who?" She looked at him skeptically.
"That's confidential."
"Confidential my ass, Ric." The brunette shot back. "I have every right to know who did this to Courtney."
"I'm going to ask you to leave nicely," he leaned forward and whispered quietly. "And if you don't then I will be forced to have an officer escort you out. Maybe Martinez, because you two seemed to be getting along famously before I arrived."
"I'm not going to let you stonewall me."
"Martinez," Ric motioned for the man to get out of his seat. Carly swallowed down the lump in her throat as she realized the size of man. He seemed so much smaller behind a desk. "Could you please show Mrs. Corinthos the door?" He nodded as he gruffly took hold of Carly's elbow.
"Hey! Easy there, Incredible Hulk. I bruise like a peach," She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but it was useless. "This isn't over, Ric."
"Yeah yeah," the D.A. mumbled.
"What makes you think that I would want to team up with you?" Jason raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Look, we are in the same boat. Lizzy Webber tried to kill you and now she's trying to frame me."
"Why should I trust you? I think we both know that youdon't have the best track record when it comes to honesty." His tone held just the right amount of wariness.
"Yeah, but think of all the damage we can cause together," her voice was enticingly low. "I mean we could bid good riddance to Elizabeth and then you and Courtney could live happily ever after."
"And what's in it for you?"
"I get my name cleared."
"That's it?"
"What else do I need?" She batted her eyelashes.
"Maybe the complete undivided attention of a certain District Attorney." Jason replied. "With Liz out of the way, Ric would be all yours."
"You know I never thought of that," Sam lied. "Just think about it, Jase." She was just about walk away when his voice halted her.
"What do you need me to do?"
"That's the beauty of the plan." She answered. "You barely have to lift a finger…"
Courtney tried desperately to fight off the restlessness that had been slowly over taking her body since Sonny left. She wanted to get out of the god forsaken hospital bed, but knew that wasn't an option. Monica would have her head if she found out that she even moved the slightest bit. So instead, she laid on her back counting the tiny dots in each of the tiles above her head. So far she was up to nine hundred and seventy-eight. She was edging close to one thousand when the door swung open catching her attention and forcing her to lose count. He stood in the entranceway looking very much uncomfortable.
"Hi," his low voice had tinge of worry added to it.
"Hey." She smiled warmly at him. "What took you so long?"
"I had some business to handle." He replied still standing rigid.
"Why do I have a feeling that this so called "business" has something to do with me?"
"I'd rather not discuss it…"
"Well that's not really an option, Jase."
"Look, the only thing I want you to concentrate on is getting better. Leave everything else to me." He assured.
"I don't want you getting in trouble on my account."
"Says the girl who just took a bullet for me," he shot back and watched her roll her eyes.
"You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"No probably not." He whispered. "You can't ever do that again, Court. I don't know what I would have done if…"
"Stop it." She cut him off. "I don't want to hear it. I made a decision and I won't apologize for it nor will I let you carry the burden on your shoulders. The fact of the matter is, I would sacrifice anything for you even my life. Just like I know you would do the same for me."
"Why?"
"Because we love each other. No matter how hard we try to fight it." She said the last part quietly and waited for a response, but Jason wasn't exactly quick to offer one up. After a few moments, he finally spoke.
"What makes you think that I love you?" He asked playfully and watched as a smile lit up her face.
"You told me."
"Oh yeah? When?"
"Somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness." She replied. "Right before the blackness dulled to gray, your voice was the one thing I could decipher."
"You sure know how to make a guy feel special."
"I'm serious, Jase." She replied in a steady tone. "You gave me the strength to fight back."
"Don't sell yourself short, Courtney. You're the strongest person I know. There is now way that you were going down without a battle, no matter what I said." He tried to shrug off the power she had given him but was met with a shake of the young woman's head.
"You were the first person I saw when I woke up, Jason. The second I laid eyes on you this calmness overtook me and I felt safe, again." Tears stung her eyes. "I want to feel that serene forever."
"I'm not sure if I can be the one to give you that." He replied. "I'm never going to be good for you, Courtney. No matter how much we both wish that I was."
"Now who's selling themself short?" She sighed. "Sonny asked me to stay in Port Charles."
"Are you going to?" He asked almost afraid of her answer.
"Do you want me to?"
"I want you to do whatever makes you happy."
"Ok. I guess what I'm asking is: Will I have a home with you if I chose to stay?" Jason didn't have a chance to respond before the dull ring of his cell phone caught both of their attention. He looked down and immediately recognized the caller ID.
"I've got to take this..." He didn't wait for her to reply before rushing out of the room.
A/N: It's about time I got off my ass and wrote a chapter for this story. I've got a few more installments of this left in me, but getting them out is the tough part.I'm in an angsty mood hence the ending, but don't worry I do plan on rectifying the dilemma that I've put Jason and Courtney in.
