Author's Note- Thanks for the reviews guys! I'll have to save the personal thank yous for next time because I updated so quickly! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Bad time?" Antonio asked, as Max opened the door for him. Jason rolled his eyes and pointed towards the stairs, signaling to Sonny that he was going to get Courtney. Sonny nodded.

"No, come on in." Sonny watched Jason go up the stairs before offering Antonio a drink. "Scotch?"

"No thank you, Mr. Corinthos. I don't drink." Sonny nodded, accepting the statement and told Antonio to sit down.

"I asked you to come here to thank you," Sonny began after seating himself on the burgundy couch.

"That's not necessary, Mr. Corinthos…"

"It's Sonny."

"Okay, Sonny. It's not necessary to thank me, really. I couldn't let Sandoval hurt her or her baby. She's your sister, right?" Antonio asked, curious as to how they interacted. And, how Sonny would take the news that he was also her brother.

Placing his hand on his chin, Sonny replied, "My baby sister, yes. You, uh, seem to be pretty interested in her. I'll warn you right now, she's happily married to my best friend and they're expecting a son together in a little less than two months, and believe me, Jason is protective, so am I."

While attempting to digest what Sonny said, Antonio was glad that the man in front of him was not his brother. He had a feeling that being related to Courtney would be trouble enough, but being related to Sonny would be a whole different pitch, in a whole different ballpark.

"My intentions are purely platonic, I can assure you," Antonio said without falter.

"Great, as long as we understand each other," Sonny said as the door once again opened, this time revealing Carly.

"Hi Sonny," Carly said sweetly as she placed her purse on the mahogany desk and walked swiftly over to her husband to kiss him on the cheek.

"Carly, this is Antonio. Antonio, my wife, Carly." Sonny made the introductions as Carly smiled at him.

"The same Antonio that saved my best friend, her baby, and my husband?" Carly asked, delighted to meet the man who'd saved her family.

"I wouldn't say that I saved them…"

"Of course you did. And I don't want to be in the way, so I'll just head on in to the kitchen and… bake some of my uh, world famous chocolate chip cookies for you!" Carly shot Sonny a warning look when he opened his mouth to protest. "Sonny doesn't like to share his kitchen with me, Antonio. You see, he's the cook in the family, and he's very protective of his cutlery and such."

With a smile, Antonio watched the brunette walk away. He then focused his attention back on Sonny, who was slowly shaking his head.

"She's crazy," Sonny said, smiling, "But I love her. Anyways, back to business. I asked you here to thank you for doing what you did for my family. I owe you," Antonio opened his mouth to disagree, but Sonny plowed on. "I want you to work for me."

Meanwhile, upstairs Jason watched Courtney interacting with their nephews. It amazed him how quickly kids grew. He was sure that when his son was born, he'd grow just as fast, if not faster. He'd be sure to treasure each moment.

"Uncle Jason!" Michael yelled as he lifted his head from Courtney's stomach.

"Hey buddy," Jason said as he leaned against the doorframe, perfectly content with just watching.

"My cousin just kicked Aunt Courtney!" the little boy shrieked excitedly.

"He does that a lot, so did you."

"I kicked Mommy?" Courtney chuckled at Michael's question.

"You sure did. That's why you're so good at soccer." Jason wanted his boy to be interested in sports. He'd love going to games, watching him play…

"Did I hurt her?" Michael looked up to his aunt, "Does the baby hurt you when he kicks?"

"No sweetie, it's a little uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt," Courtney explained, ruffling the head of red hair.

"Ohh," Michael said, looking relieved to know that he didn't hurt his mother.

"Courtney? Antonio's here, if you want to come down now," Jason finally said, walking over to help her up.

Grabbing his outstretched hand, Courtney got to her feet. "I'll see you guys later okay? We'll go out for ice cream," Courtney bent down to whisper in Michael's ear, "Double chocolate sundaes, don't tell your dad or Uncle Jason."

Michael nodded his understanding and smiled.

"Bye Morgan," Courtney said, kissing his head.

Before going down the stairs, Jason stopped Courtney. "There's something you should know," he began.

"Okay," Courtney replied, not knowing where this was going.

"Sonny's going to send me to Puerto Rico for a few days, and I have a feeling that he's going to make me leave tonight." Regret clutched at Jason's heart. He watched sadness sweep through her sapphires, quickly to be replaced with anger at her brother.

"I know. I'm mad too. You can't worry though, or get upset all right? It's not good for the baby."

"I can't believe the nerve of that man! My due date's in six weeks! What if the baby decides he wants to come early, what if something…" Courtney trailed off, looking at her shoes. She felt her head being tilted up by Jason. Looking into his eyes, she found comfort.

"I want you to stay here, with Sonny, Carly, and the boys until I get back," Jason told her, worried about her response.

"Can't I just come with you?"

He knew that she'd suggest that. "We'll talk about it at home, all right?"

"So is that a maybe?" Courtney winked at him.

Jason laughed as he swung an arm around her shoulders and walked down the stairs with her. "Yeah, that's a maybe."

As the couple joined Sonny and Antonio, the talking immediately ceased, leaving in its wake, an awkward silence.

"Uhm, Antonio, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. It was inappropriate, and I didn't mean to dump all of my problems on you," Courtney said as she stepped in front of Jason, who placed protective hands on her shoulders. Courtney smiled.

"Courtney, really. I'm glad you consider me a friend. I'm going to be working with your brother now." How to bring it up? How to bring it up? Antonio was going crazy wondering how she'd take the news. Would she welcome him into her life? Or would she reject him, saying that she already had a brother, and he was the only one she needed?

"Working for Sonny? Doing what exactly?"

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that. I'm a licensed lawyer, and Sonny has put me on retainer," Antonio explained.

"What about Justus?" Jason questioned his boss. Was Sonny just going to drop everything to accommodate this guy, this guy that they barely even knew?

"Jason, Justus betrayed us. He fell in love with Faith Roscoe!" Sonny said, rather louder than necessary.

"You know what makes things less tense?" Carly asked, coming into the room with a plate of cookies. "Some nice Chips Ahoy. I'm sorry Antonio, I'm no cook. I don't know if you can smell it, but I burned a whole batch of cookies. So these are straight from the bag! Hi Jason, Hey Court."

Nodding his thanks, Antonio took one and contemplated Jason. He looked like a tough man to crack, but it was clear enough to see that the man loved his wife.

Deciding that it was now or never, Antonio mustered up all the courage he could find and began to speak to the four people. They looked so closely knit, so tight, so well-adjusted to each other. He wasn't sure if he'd ever fit in, if he even wanted to…

"There's something you all should know."

Jason was the first to speak, surprising Antonio. "What?"

"Courtney, ever since I saw you, I felt like I knew you. I know you felt it too, that connection." He looked for confusion on Courtney's face, but was relieved when he saw her nodding.

"Yeah, I couldn't figure you out. You looked somewhat familiar to me, like someone I'd known before." Courtney reached up to grasp her husband's hand, giving it a squeeze when she felt him move forward from behind her.

"There's an explanation for that," Antonio said, looking straight into her eyes.

"Care to enlighten me?"

"We're related."

"Excuse me?" Courtney's jaw dropped, feeling like an idiot, she forced it to shut again. How could she be related to this man? A distant cousin?

"You're my sister."

"That, that isn't possible," Courtney whispered, feeling herself growing faint. She leaned back against Jason, who immediately led her to the couch to sit down. She placed her head in her hands and took deep breaths as Carly, who was rubbing her back, instructed her.

"How?" Jason asked, his eyes shooting daggers at Antonio.

"Our mother, Janine. Before she became pregnant with Courtney, she had me. Five years earlier, when she was only seventeen. My biological father is in jail, where he belongs."

"Why should I believe you?" Jason asked.

"You can check the records, look at my birth certificate, run background checks. Do whatever you have to do, but I'm telling the truth." Antonio looked at Courtney, she still had her head in her hands. "I was hoping that maybe, once this sinks in, we could have lunch, Courtney. You know, get to know each other better?"

"Oh," Courtney lifted her head, there were so many questions that needed answers. There were so many things that didn't fit right, but then again, there were those that did. "Okay, next Thursday then?"

"Great, I should go." And he left.