Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews guys. ) They make me smile. Alright, start readin'!
"Were you raped?" the concerned doctor asked the broken woman in front of her. She watched as Courtney slipped the prescription slip into her jacket pocket.
"No," Courtney said simply.
"Courtney, you need to tell me if you were. I'd have to perform a rape kit, and do more extensive tests to see if the baby is al…"
"You told me my baby was fine!" Courtney yelled as Dr. Meadows placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Your little boy is perfectly healthy, but if you were raped Courtney, I need to know," Dr. Meadows told her as she backed away from her touch.
"I wasn't raped," Courtney stammered as she opened the door, revealing Jason on the opposite side, waiting for her. He jumped up when he saw her tears.
"What happened?" Jason asked as he immediately took her arm and pulled her out of the room.
"Nothing, nothing. I'm just really, really tired. Will you take me home?" Courtney asked as Jason nodded and wrapped his arm around her, leading her toward the elevator.
Jason looked back at Dr. Meadows, wondering what she had said to upset her. When he turned around, the doctor was slowly shaking her head.
The car ride home was a silent one. Jason had opened his mouth to speak a few times, to ask what had upset her in the doctor's office, but saw that she was dozing off. He took the time while Courtney was in between sleep and wake to look at his wife, to really look at her.
She had dark bags under her eyes, a bruise on her cheek, from the car accident, Jason assumed. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, with some strands escaping the ponytail holder and falling onto her face. Jason had to resist the urge to put them back in their rightful positions behind her ear. He reminded himself to keep his eyes on the road. The last thing they needed was another car accident.
Pulling up to the garage under Harbor View Towers, Jason put the car into park and took the keys out of the ignition. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door, getting out, and being sure to shut it as quietly as possible. Jason walked around to the passenger side and opened Courtney's door. Unbuckling her seatbelt, Jason had to reach over. Her shirt was drooping a tiny bit revealing a massive bruise. One of the biggest bruises he'd ever seen. Making a mental note to get her some ice, Jason carefully scooped his pregnant wife up into his arms and carried her to their home.
Trying to get his keys out of his pocket was proving to be difficult. He heard a door open and a gasp. Jason already knew. Carly.
She put her own copy of their key into the lock and let them in. "Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's alright. Just tired. Take her jacket?" Carly nodded and took it. "Thanks, I'm just gonna put her in bed. Wait right here," Jason said as he walked carefully up the stairs.
One look at their room, and Jason knew that Carly had already been there. The bed was made, the covers pulled back so Jason could easily slip Courtney under them. The furniture was even polished.
Jason laid Courtney down, she never woke as he pulled the covers over her and kissed her forehead. Before he went downstairs to talk to Carly, who was sure to have an unbearable amount of questions, he reprimanded himself for almost forgetting to turn on the fan. A sweet memory was brought to his mind…
Flashback-------
"You know what we need?" Courtney asked as she wandered into the living room, where Jason was flipping through the mail.
"Courtney, honey. I love you, really, I do. But just let me finish paying the bills and then I'll go to the grocery store and buy you whatever you want. Make a list okay?" Jason dismissed her with a kiss on the temple.
"Actually," Courtney began, getting up and feeling a little insulted. "I was going to tell you something else. Never mind though, I'll just do it myself tomorrow," Courtney said in a sing song voice as she started to walk toward the kitchen. She got as far as the refrigerator when she felt Jason's strong arms wrap around her. She was four months pregnant now, and she was absolutely glowing.
"What were you going to say?" he asked.
"Oh, so now you want to know? Going to jump to any more conclusions?" Courtney asked playfully as she opened the fridge and took out the Mountain Dew. Jason took it from her hand and grabbed the milk, walked over to the cabinet, and poured her a glass. Walking back over, Courtney looked disgusted, Jason was rather pleased with himself.
"I hate milk," Courtney said as she plugged her nose and took a sip.
"Come on, it's not that bad," Jason stated as he ran his hand through her hair. She put the glass down. "There's too much sugar in Mountain Dew anyways. I don't know how you drink it," Jason said.
"Carly and I drink it all the time when you and Sonny are away. It's comforting to us," Courtney thought out loud as she walked backwards until she hit the counter. She jumped up onto it.
"Is that why the two of you are so wound up when we get home?" Jason asked, as he walked over to where his wife was sitting and placed his arms on the counter, boxing her in. She took the opportunity to wrap her legs around him.
"We always got a great laugh out of it because the two of you thought it was just because we were happy to see you," Courtney giggled. Jason gave her a dirty look and kissed her on the lips.
"Now, what did you say we needed?" Jason asked as he broke their lip lock.
"Well, actually, I was hoping that tomorrow, we could get a fan," Courtney murmured as she looked everywhere but at him.
"A fan?" he asked, making sure he heard her correctly.
"Mmhmm," Courtney said shyly, biting her bottom lip.
"We have central AC, why would we need a fan?" Jason asked, truly wanting to understand why she wanted one.
"Well, when I was little and I couldn't sleep, the noise helped. It blocked out the noise when my parents were fighting or when my mom brought home some random guy. And now, with the pregnancy, sometimes I can't sleep for whatever reason…"
"We'll get you a fan," Jason said as he lifted her off the counter and into his arms. Courtney wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing his face to hers.
"Thanks," she said sweetly. Jason smiled, Courtney never wanted extravagant things, she'd been nervous about asking him to get her a fan.
Jason kissed her softly, and felt her rounding belly against his. A feeling of elation went through him. Their baby was in the middle of them… just the thought made him excited. He couldn't wait to meet their child. If he or she was anything like Courtney, it would be nothing less than spectacular.
Walking down the stairs, Jason saw Carly perched on the couch, reading a pregnancy magazine. Once she heard footsteps, she flung the magazine down.
"How are they?" Carly asked, jumping up. Jason knew that she was referring to Courtney and their son.
"They're okay. We just got back from General Hospital," Jason said as he took off his jacket and laid it next to Courtney's.
"Jase, I saw a ton of bruises on her when you walked in… please tell me what happened," Carly asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"How'd you even know we were home?" Jason asked, changing the subject. He didn't want to talk to her about this until he'd talked to his wife first.
"I, uhm, I looked out the window until I saw your car. Sonny's alright, I made him to go GH earlier…" Carly said.
"You looked out your window?" Jason asked, rubbing his hands over his face, fatigue was definitely overcoming him.
"I wanted to see that she was okay with my own eyes," Carly said.
"Look, can we talk in the morning?" Jason asked as he ushered Carly toward the door. Despite her protests Jason said, "Tomorrow Carly." and shut the door.
Jason walked back toward the couch to hang up the jackets in the closet. Taking Courtney's , he shook it out before placing it on a hanger, but noticed a piece of paper that fell out and slowly fell toward the floor. Picking it up, Jason saw a prescription for pain killers. Flashes of his wife's addiction to the pain killers a few years ago flew through his head.
He wouldn't let her ever become that desperate again. They'd have to have a serious talk in the morning, whether she wanted to or not.
Jason walked up the stairs and entered their bedroom, where Courtney was in the same place that he'd left her. Asleep, with the fan blowing her hair away from her face. He undressed and climbed into bed next to his wife, taking her into his arms and kissing the top of her head. Courtney's arms automatically went around him.
Jason looked down and was so happy that she was home. Their bed had been so cold without her lying next to him at night, her soft snoring was something he'd found that he'd missed.
He looked at Courtney, and realized that they were both right where they belonged. Whatever would happen, happens. They would deal with it when it came.
Author's Note Take 2: I had to re-write this chapter. I didn't like how it came out the first time. Let me know if you liked it, hated it, didn't care either way… whatever you're thinking about it, tell me in a review! If you so desire.