Chapter 21- Figures

Courtney's scream stopped his heart. Jason knew he was no longer thinking clearly, he never could when it came to his wife. The enforcer in him told him to stay where he was, yet he was running like a train was behind him.

Wrenching open the front door to the cabin, Jason noticed the darkening sky. The clouds were getting thicker, and thunder could be heard in the distance. He found his wife in the arms of Antonio. He knew they didn't have much time, and that he certainly should not be jealous. Swiping away his jealousy, Jason realized that he had to get her out of there…

"Jason!" Max yelled as he ran over to his boss, "Go. The others and I will follow when all those bastards are dead."

Jason saw the fire in his bodyguard's brown eyes and gently touched his shoulder, "First get Sonny out. Bring him to the car. But if Sandoval's still alive, or if you find Tony Jones… they're mine."

"I'll let you know," Max said as he turned to go back into the cabin.

"Max?" Jason called, waiting for the man to turn around, "Thank you."

Max merely nodded and turned to continue the massacre they'd already begun.

Turning his attention to his wife and Antonio, Jason began to walk slowly towards them. He noticed that Courtney, if it was even possible, was bigger and more beautiful than she had been three days ago. And Antonio, he was holding his wife around the middle, whispering things into her ear… and Jason tried. He tried not to be jealous, but he couldn't fight the feeling. This was the man who'd told him where Courtney and the baby were, this was the man who cared enough about family to call him. Jason owed this man his life.

Courtney was only a few yards away when he called her name. Jason watched her turn around and she just looked at him, as if he were just an illusion. She placed a hand over her mouth as he began to walk towards her.

Courtney couldn't believe she was going home, and as soon as the initial shock wore off that Jason was actually there, she ran. Courtney ran as fast as her swelled feet could carry her.

"Courtney don't, don't run. Slow down," Jason yelled, fearing that she'd trip or something. But when he felt his wife's petite arms fly around his neck, when he felt her tears and warm breath on his skin, and when her felt her protruding stomach against his waist, he was glad she had run.

After the tears had slowed and 'I love yous' had been exchanged a thousand times over, the couple pulled apart. Jason held his wife at arm's length, his hands on her shoulders.

She had known he would do this. Her husband would search for any sign of injury, any bump, scrape, or bruise.

"Did they hurt you?" Jason asked, running his hands up and down her body.

Courtney shook her head, not being able to remember the last time she'd lied to Jason, until now. They'd hurt her. In more ways than one.

Jason's hands now moved horizontally to her stomach, lifting up her shirt to reveal Courtney's extremely rounded belly.

"How about the little guy?" Jason questioned as his hands roamed the smooth skin, which his son was fast asleep under. He released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"He's a fighter," Courtney whispered as she placed her small hands over Jason's larger ones.

"Like his Mom," Jason said, pulling his wife into his arms.

"We missed you," Courtney mumbled sleepily against her husband's chest.

"I was so scared that I'd lost you and the baby, Courtney. I thought I'd never see you…"

"Sshh," Courtney soothed as Jason buried his face in the crook of her neck. "We're not going anywhere, except home, with you."

Jason pulled away and took Courtney's face in his hands. "I love you, so much,"

"I love you too. Can we go home now?"

Jason smiled, for what must have been the first time in days. "Oh yeah, yeah. Let's go home. Well, first the hospital. Then home," Jason corrected himself as he led the toward the car that Sonny was already in. Antonio's car was parked behind Jason's. The lights were on, and the engine was running. Jason could see the faint image of Antonio inside the vehicle.

"Alright. Checkup first, then we go home," Courtney said hesitantly. She knew she had to get a checkup, for the baby. But she didn't want Jason to see the bruises… it would hurt him.

He opened the passenger side door for her. "I love you."

"You better. I've been lugging around this kid of yours for the past seven months…"

Jason interrupted his wife's rant by kissing her. It was meant to be a 'shut up baby' kiss, until it turned quickly into a craving, hungry, desperate one.

While the two were consumed in their own world, the black clouds gave in to temptation, and it began to rain.

Pulling away, Courtney smiled and said, "Figures," before Jason crushed his lips onto hers, silencing her again, not that she minded.