A/N- Please excuse my lack of updating. I actually got stuck for a little bit, but I think I've figured out where to go with this fic next. Consider this fair warning, I'm one for the dramatics. And to all of my faithful reviewers, you guys rock! Y'all inspire me to write and keep writing.

Middiegurl08- I'm so glad you enjoyed Carly. I'd been nervous about writing her because I didn't want to butcher her character with lame lines… so it means a lot that you thought she was funny.

Rebecca- So glad you liked the flashback. I really enjoyed writing it. You're right about Courtney having a lot to deal with, but she's a tough cookie. ;) Oh and uh, where's my update? Hmm:P

Nicole- I've been wanting to write some tension between Courtney and Jason for a while now. In the words of Maroon 5 "It's not always rainbows and butterflies…" I'm so glad that you liked the flashback! I actually didn't think that anyone was going to! Thanks for saying that I never disappoint. It means so much coming from someone as talented as you!

Luvthemorgans- Aww! Thank you! I'm glad that you like it.

Polocowgirl08- Excited, happy Jason is my favorite version of Jason! I'm glad you like him as well!

Eaglesgirl- The bruises are from trying to protect Sonny when they were kidnapped, and yes, she does have some from the car accident as well. Courtney wasn't planning on telling Jason about how Sandoval's thugs hurt her, to spare him the pain of knowing that she went through something as horrible as that. Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for reading!

Splendor734- Thank you! I'm so glad that you're enjoying my story! Sins of the Soul is one of my favorites. J

Leanna R.- Never apologize for exclamation points! Ever! Thanks for your reviews!

A/N2- And before y'all start reading… go and read Trust by Leanna R. You have to if you aren't already! It's spectacular! I promise!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, although I'd like to own Jason, that way I could knock some sense into his stupid head and he'd could sweep Courtney off her feet and whisk her away to Barcelona, Spain where they can go sailing and he can read to her. Like the blizzard episode? Anyone remember that? Okay, well yeah. I got a little carried away. The point is that, I don't own them. Now, you can read. I hope you enjoy it!

Jason found himself on the docks, sitting on a bench and looking out into the harbor. He had thought about going to Vista Point, thinking that maybe she'd be there, but then he decided against it. If Courtney wanted to see him, she'd come and find him, she'd come home. And regardless of his previous reservations about the painkillers, Jason trusted his wife. She wouldn't do anything rash.

The shrill ring of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts. Reaching into his jeans, Jason pressed the green button.

"Morgan,"

"It's me," Sonny said grimly.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, hearing the tension in his voice.

"You're really not going to want to hear this," Sonny warned.

"Tell me what's going on," Jason said, becoming nervous and standing up. "Is it Courtney?"

"You haven't found her yet?" Sonny asked, changing the subject.

"I don't want to pressure her. She just needs some time, away from me," Jason murmured, more to himself than to his business partner. And if he really wanted to know where she was, he could just call Max. But, he'd wanted to find her on his own, thinking he knew Courtney well enough to know where she'd go…

"Max would have called if something happened," Sonny said reassuringly as Jason nodded.

"What happened Sonny?"

"After you left, I left too. I stumbled across something really interesting, something you're going to want to know," Sonny said.

"Could you just tell me Sonny?" Jason asked, placing a hand over his eyes, "I really can't deal with any more guessing games right now."

"Alright. Ric Lansing was feeding Sandoval inside information on our organization," Sonny said as softly as he could. The boys were asleep upstairs, and Carly was thumbing through a magazine, surely listening to every word.

"What?" Jason exploded. He knew he should have taken him out in Martha's Vineyard, but Sonny didn't want to. He should have taken him down after they'd found out that he'd taken Carly, but Sonny couldn't do that. Jason was growing angrier by the minute. He was sick of doing things Sonny's way.

"Don't do anything irrational alright? I'm handling this," Sonny said sternly.

"No, Sonny. I'll handle this. It wasn't about you this time, it was about me. Ric made it possible for Sandoval to kidnap my pregnant wife! He's mine." Jason hit the end button before Sonny had a chance to say anything else.

Courtney really didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to get away for a little while. She was driving, carefully, and found herself at the house where she'd been only last night.

Antonio's house.

She didn't know why she'd come, or what she would say to the man who'd helped her. But she pulled her keys out of the ignition and unbuckled her seatbelt anyways. Climbing the granite steps to the white door, she used the brass knocker instead of the doorbell.

Only a few moments later, Antonio opened the door and looked at the woman he wasn't sure he'd ever see again questioningly. Tears began to well up in the back of Courtney's eyes, as hard as she tried to fight them. Seeing this, Antonio ushered her inside.

"Courtney, are you okay?" Antonio asked, guiding her to the couch and sitting her down.

"Yes, no… I don't know!" Courtney dropped her face into her hands and let the sobs rack her body. She felt Antonio's arm go around her shoulders and was grateful.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Antonio questioned, not really understanding why she'd come to him to talk.

"I don't want to talk about me. I want to talk about you," Courtney said, looking up into his chocolate eyes.

"There's not much to me. And besides, you're upset about something. Does Jason know you're here?" Antonio asked, trying to avoid the subject of, well, of him.

"No, he doesn't."

"Maybe you should call him, I'm sure he's worried," Antonio suggested.

"I'm sure he had someone follow me. If I know my husband, one of the guards, presumably Max, is waiting around the block for me to emerge," Courtney laughed quickly.

"Did the two of you, you know, have an argument?"

"Sort of. When Sandoval moved me, he'd been saying inappropriate things, getting on my last nerve, so I spat on his face," Courtney began, for whatever reason, feeling like she could talk to this man.

"How ladylike," he joked, and she actually smiled.

"I know, but he told me that I'd pay. And I did," Courtney shifted her gaze downward, ashamed at herself for getting her brother kidnapped, and beaten.

"Is this about Sonny?" he asked, rubbing her back.

"They beat him, because of me," Courtney began to cry again, feeling so guilty. She hadn't even seen her brother yet. She was too scared to see the marks on his face, or the tender way that he moved about. Because she knew that it was her fault.

"You can't blame yourself. It could have been Sandoval's plan all along to kidnap your brother," Antonio soothed, "He's twisted, but you don't have to be afraid anymore. He can never hurt you again, Courtney."

Courtney lifted her head up and smiled. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, I'm just glad I could be there for you. Do you need a ride home?" Antonio asked, assuming that she'd go back to her husband, now that she'd talked about her guilt.

"I'm not going home. Jason upset me, and I'm not ready to face him yet," Courtney admitted, pulling the painkillers out of her purse and placing them on the wooden coffee table in front of the couch they were sitting on.

"Hydrocodone?"

"I was addicted to them once, a few years ago."

Antonio watched as Courtney placed her hands on her stomach and smiled softly. He didn't say anything, knowing that she just needed someone to listen.

"I was kidnapped from a hotel room. Jason had told me not to fly down, but I… I did anyways. It was the biggest mistake of my life," Courtney whispered softly, she felt Antonio grab her hand and give it a squeeze.

"I was pregnant, Jason didn't know. The man who kidnapped me kept me on his yacht, and there was a storm… most of the crew, they'd abandoned ship and I saw an opportunity to escape, and I took it. I jumped off the side of the yacht," Courtney found herself having to pause for a minute to control her emotions. Reliving that horrible night was still not something she could do without crying. But she felt Antonio's hand in hers, and found the strength to go on.

"I swam as long as I could, but it wasn't enough. I couldn't save my baby. I woke up in a clinic, and the doctor told me I'd lost her."

"Her?"

"Yeah, I knew my baby was a girl. And I regret to this day not telling Jason about her until it was too late," Courtney whispered, a pang in her stomach making itself known.

"Was he upset with you?"

"He was supportive, amazing actually. He wished that I would have told him, yes. But he never once, left me when I was being horrible," Courtney said as she felt a longing to be in Jason's arms. For him to tell her again that everything would be okay…

"And the painkillers? How'd you wind up with those?" Antonio asked, keeping his hand in hers.

"Two men attacked me on the docks. I'd witnessed a drug deal going on, and they wanted me to keep my mouth shut. I tried to run, but one of them grabbed me. Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital,"

"So two thugs beat you up? That's how you got hydrocodone prescribed to you?" Antonio asked.

"Yes," Courtney replied. "But, once I'd started a fight with Jason , he left. I don't blame him. I was horrible to him… and I'd realized that I hadn't taken my painkillers and my shoulder was starting to hurt. I remember, just looking at the bottle they were in, and wondering 'What if they could take all the pain away?'" Courtney began to cry then, feeling silly and ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry that all that happened to you, Courtney," Antonio said softly, truly sorry that she'd been through all that. Someone as sweet as her didn't deserve it.

"You're such a good friend, Antonio," Courtney sighed as she leaned back against his chest and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I'm always here if you need to talk," Antonio murmured as he noticed the woman's eyes drooping shut. She was clearly exhausted.

"Thanks," she whispered. Within minutes, her breathing evened, and she was asleep.

Jason was full of rage as he pulled into Ric Lansing's driveway. He knew the bastard lived alone, Alexis had left him.

Storming up to the door, Jason rapped hard several times before he saw a figure moving toward him, Ric.

As he opened the door, Jason grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him outside, his hands were on the gasping man's throat when he slammed Ric up against the side of the house.

"You have one chance Ric, just one, to tell me the truth," Jason said in a low voice.

"Wh- what are you t-talking about?" Ric choked out, knowing full well what Jason was there to do to him.

"Sandoval," Jason said as he punched Ric in the stomach, wanting him to know what it felt like to realize that your pregnant wife had been kidnapped and beaten. A punch in the stomach was the best way to describe it.

"The brothers trying to take down your organization?" Ric questioned, feigning confusion.

"Armando Sandoval," Jason clarified. "you were feeding him inside information."

"Jason, you're going to have to get p-past this vendetta…" Ric choked from lack of air supply to his lungs.

"I swear to God Ric, I know you. I know your games that you play, you want to destroy Sonny. Even if that means kidnapping his pregnant wife, or helping to take down his organization, silently," Jason was bringing his voice down now, to add the element of fear, as if Ric wasn't scared enough.

"I'm done with all t-that…"

"You're aware that Courtney's pregnant right? You know this?" Jason asked, slamming his fist into the squirming man's gut again, trying to get across the feeling of helplessness and fear that makes you so afraid that it's painful.

Ric nodded his head, his eyes were shut now.

"Sandoval kidnapped my wife, Ric. His thugs beat her up…"

The shrill ring of a cell phone interrupted Jason's rant, and realizing that it was his, Jason reached one hand into his jeans' pocket and while keeping one hand on Ric's throat, he answered.

"Morgan," he grunted into the phone.

"Uhm, hi. Mr. Morgan? It's Antonio," Antonio said softly, as not to wake Courtney.

"Now's not really a good time, can I call you back in about thirty minutes?" Jason asked, agitated.

"I just thought you should know that Courtney's alright. She's here, at my place," the words stabbed Jason.

"Your place?" He stammered.

"Uhh, yeah. She had said the two of you got into an argument. I think she just needed someone to talk to… but, she's asleep. I could bring her home if you wanted or…"

"No, I'll be right there," Jason interrupted as he hit the end button on his phone and turned back to face Ric.

"Problems?" the man asked smugly.

"Shut up. One word about this to the cops, and I'm turning you in for meditated kidnapping and abuse charges. Don't think we don't have the evidence to back it up, Lansing," Jason said as he shoved Ric away from him and walked as quickly as he could to his car, anxious to get to Antonio's and get Courtney.

Pulling up to the familiar house, Jason shut off the engine. He'd been wondering on the ride over, why Courtney had gone to Antonio. Sighing, he got out of the car and walked up the steps. He'd only knocked twice when the door opened, revealing the man who'd saved the lives of his wife and unborn son.

"Hey," Jason greeted, as he walked in the door that Antonio held open for him. Only a few feet in front of him, he saw Courtney sleeping on the couch.

"Hey," Antonio replied, watching the concerned husband walk slowly over to his couch and get down on his haunches to put a piece of his wife's hair behind her ear.

"Thanks for calling," Jason whispered as he placed a hand under Courtney's back, and another under her legs. He lifted her up and walked back toward the door. Courtney stirred for a moment, mumbling something incoherent before snuggling up to Jason's chest.

"No problem, I knew you were probably worried about her." Antonio watched Courtney relax in Jason's arms and he knew that they would resolve their problem, and that they'd work it out. He saw the amount of love in Jason's eyes and knew Courtney was in good hands.

"Yeah," Jason said, kissing the top of Courtney's head, in a protective way, as if telling Antonio to keep his distance.

"Okay, well uhm…" The awkward silence between the two men was increasing, soon it was almost unbearable.

"Oh, Sonny wants to set up a meeting with you. If you want, could you come by HarborView Towers tomorrow, penthouse four at around 10?" Jason asked, remembering his brother in-law's request to meet the man who'd saved them.

"Oh yeah, uh sure," Antonio replied as Jason nodded his head, thanked him again, and walked out the door.