A/N: Alrighty, so Trust is officially finished. Now, I can focus on this one. Expect updates around once a week or so with this story in the beggining. I need to start out slowly. Plus, I have two other stories that I'm in the middle of.
emmalee05- Thanks for being my first reviewer for the story! I so totally think the surrogacy thing is wrong. The baby shouldn't be Jason's with another woman! I'm glad that you agree.
luvthemorgans- You always ramble. That's what I love about you. Lol. Your welcome 22 times (that's how many thank you's there were in that review). Now Bre, I thought you knew me by now. Don't I just love the angst? This story will be chock full of angst, although it will take a few chapters to set it up. I plan on torturing Jason a lot this story!
middiegurl08- I love to leave chapter endings like that! It keeps the readers interested. Here's some more plot in this chapter for you!
CrazyJay- I'm glad you are against having a surrogate mother for the baby too. I'm also glad that you like the story so much already. Keep reading!
tydavislover- Those are pretty good guesses, and one of them is almost right. Keep reading to find out which one, you find out in this chapter.
isabelle- Welcome to my story! I am trying very hard to stay true to the show with this one. Read and review this chapter, and then go read my other story Trust. You're the only reviewer I don't recognize from my other story, and I know that you'll like it if you like Journey.
sexyt- I hope that I don't dissapoint with this story. I promise you that it'll be Journey through and through, and there will be lots of Court and Jase to boot!
SuzieQ8487- Hello sweety (I'm judging by your review we're calling each other by pet names, and that's perfectly fine with me. lol). It is perfectly ok that you didn't review right away. We've all been swamped, and besides, you got your review in before I updated!
preppypunk1991- It totally made sense, and I thank you very much. Believe me, it gets interesting. Very interesting.
jordananne- Aww, thank you. That was so sweet. I'm glad you're excited, and I hope you're not too bummed out that Trust was ending.
Elvira- Ello again! I hope you're a constant reviewer on this one (I know you got into Trust late in the game). I'm glad you like it, and I look foward to your reviews.
WATTERS- I'm glad you like the story. Keep up the reviews!
Look at that! The whole gang is basically back! I thought I was losing you all when Trust finished, but we're all reunited again. Everyone go read the story while I go cry some happy tears. I love reunions! ; )
Chapter 2- Meg
It had been a week since Courtney and Jason had received the terrible news, and neither had thought about it anymore, both eager to just push it to the back of their minds and not be forced to live in the horror of it. Jason had been swamped with work lately, both legal and illegal, and Courtney had been dealing with her own problems with the foundation. Yet work had cleared up for her, and she was often by herself and missing her husband. Finding herself alone yet again when she woke up one morning, she decided to shower and dress and then go to Kelly's to visit her father and get some breakfast. When Courtney walked in, the diner was experiencing a mad rush, so she took a seat by the counter and patiently waited for her father by nursing a cup of coffee. By the time her father was able to talk to her, the diner had cleared and Courtney's coffee had gotten so cold, penguins would have been comfortable living in it. Pushing the mug aside, Courtney sighed and perched her elbows on the counter, perching her head on her hands.
"How are you doing Pumpkin?" questioned Mike, looking at his sad looking daughter.
He knew the reason behind her melancholy mood, and for a moment he became angry with Jason for leaving his wife to be so depressed while working. Mike blamed Jason anyway for Courtney's inability to have children. He and Jason had been at each others throats lately, and it drove Courtney insane.
"I'm fine daddy" she answered, her eyes tilting downward.
"You sure?" he asked quietly.
"I'm sure, I just have a bit of a headache" she answered as she listened to the sounds of the restaurant around her.
There was the clinking of plates and forks, the buzz of light conversation, the sound of a baby whimpering and crying, and the sizzling of the food coming from the kitchen. It was the usual diner sounds that Courtney had become so used to. Pushing some hair off of her face, she listened intently to the crying baby, wishing so badly that she had a baby of her own. Suddenly, a thought struck her. She turned her head sharply and scanned the diner.
"What's the matter sweetie?" questioned Mike, seeing her odd action.
"Daddy, am I going crazy or is a baby crying?" she asked him rather seriously.
"No, there's a baby crying. But that's common Pumpkin" said Mike softly as he realized just how heartbroken his daughter was.
"Dad, I'm serious. Look around. I don't see a baby" said Courtney.
Mike's head shot up as he surveyed the diner, similar to what his daughter had done only moments before. Both were out of their seats and walking around in an attempt to find the baby in question in a matter of a second. Courtney walked over to the back corner of the diner and looked under the tables. Standing up, she gasped before bending back down. She emerged seconds later with a baby carrier complete with a little child and a small diaper bag.
"Daddy?" she questioned slowly, staring in disbelief at the little girl in front of her.
Placing the carrier on the table, she and Mike both stared at the baby for a second. She was beautiful, with blonde curls and stunning blue eyes. She looked right at Courtney and stopped crying, breaking into a wide, toothless grin, giving off a little gurgle. Courtney and Mike exchanged looks before focusing on the baby again.
"How long do you think she was here?" asked Mike.
"I have no idea" answered Courtney.
Before she could stop herself, Courtney reached into the carrier and unstrapped the baby, lifting the blonde cutie out of it and holding her in her arms. Balancing her on one hip, she looked over at the girl before the baby wrapped her arms around Courtney's neck, digging her face into Courtney's shoulder. Mike unzipped the baby bag, pulling out an empty bottle, a pacifier, a spare diaper, and a baby blanket, embroidered with the name Meg.
"Meg" whispered Courtney. "It fits" she said, brushing back the baby's curls.
"What kind of parent just abandons their child?" asked Mike, prompting Courtney to raise one eyebrow at him. "That was totally different. I didn't leave either you or Sonny on a diner floor. I left you with your mothers" he countered.
"Daddy, what do we do with her?" asked Courtney.
"I don't know. I guess we should take her down to the PCPD, let them handle it" said Mike.
"Alright, I guess" said Courtney, staring at the little girl who was now asleep in her arms. "I'll take her, you need to work"
"You sure?" asked Mike.
"Yeah, it's no problem" said Courtney as Mike packed up the diaper bag again. Slipping it on to her shoulder, she kissed her father goodbye and headed down to the PCPD with Meg still asleep in the crook of her arms.
By the time Courtney made it down to the PCPD, she had fallen head over heals in love wit the little baby girl in her arms. Brushing away her adoration for Meg, she purposefully strode into the police station and walked over to the cop sitting at the front desk. Today, the man was Lucky Spencer, and he sat there, just doing paperwork. Looking up, he saw Courtney with Meg in her arms.
"Courtney! When did you get a baby?" he exclaimed. "And Jason isn't here. If you're expecting him to be, just let me know so I can start on the paperwork" said Lucky with a sigh.
"No, I'm not here about Jason. I'm actually here about this baby. I found her. She was abandoned at Kelly's" said Courtney.
"Abandoned?" asked Lucky in shock.
"She was just sitting in her carrier under one of the corner tables" said Courtney, adjusting a sleeping Meg in her arms.
"Any identification?" asked Lucky.
"Yeah, there was a bag next to her with some minimal necessities. And there was a baby blanket with the name Meg stitched in" said Courtney, handing Lucky the bag.
Looking through it, Lucky sighed and looked as the girl began to stir in Courtney's arms. Opening her eyes, Lucky saw the beautiful blue orbs looking back at him as a small fist reached out and wiped at them. The baby looked exactly like Courtney and Jason, an oddity and a coincidence on a grand scale.
"We'll put out alerts and do everything we can. We will try our hardest to find her mother" said Lucky. "For now, I'll take her" said Lucky, reaching out his arms for Meg.
But Courtney wasn't so willing to let go. Clutching the little girl to her body, she timidly looked around the station.
"What will you do with her until her mother's located" asked Courtney.
"We'll hold her here at the station until someone from child services comes. Then, they'll probably find a foster home for her" said Lucky.
"How long will it take for child services to come?" asked Courtney.
"A few hours probably"
"And then they're just going to put her with some random people?" questioned Courtney.
"That is the idea of a foster home" said Lucky.
"I can't let that happen" whispered Courtney. "Lucky, she's just an innocent baby. To have to spend a few hours in this place where criminals are brought in at alarming rates, and then to be placed in a home with people who could be abusive or terrible is simply unacceptable" said Courtney.
"What are you suggesting?" asked Lucky.
"I'll take her home with me" said Courtney.
"Wait a second, you want me to let her go live with a known mobster and hitman?" asked Lucky in disbelief.
"Jason is the perfect father. He loves children, and they love him. He will be perfect when it comes to taking care of Meg until her mother is located" said Courtney.
"I don't know" said Lucky.
"You know me. And you know that I will be a good mother" said Courtney.
"I guess" said Lucky, although he was still unsure.
"Just out of curiosity, what happens when they locate her mother and it turns out that she's a crack or heroine addict who thinks her daughter is better off living in a dumpster?" asked Courtney.
"Then we give her to social services and she is put up for adoption" said Lucky.
"Interesting" said Courtney before turning on her heel and walking away, Meg still in her arms.
"Courtney, don't make me regret this" called Lucky. "I'll pull on the right strings to make this happen, but when we locate her mother, you are going to have to give her back" warned Lucky.
"I know" said Courtney. "Thanks" she called back over her shoulder as she sprinted from the PCPD.
Courtney took a deep breath before walking into the Corinthos penthouse. Calling for Carly, the woman came down and stared in shock at the baby in Courtney's arms.
"I didn't know you and Jason were…expecting" said Carly, trying to remember if Courtney had been pregnant and she managed to somehow forget or something.
"I found her abandoned in Kelly's" explained Carly.
"Thank god" said Carly, but when she looked at the expression of horror on her best friends face, she clarified. "Not that the baby was abandoned, but that you weren't pregnant. Because I didn't remember you being pregnant, and then I thought I was going crazy for a minute and that never has good results" said Carly with a smile.
"Nope, you're not going crazy Carly. Anyway, I brought her to the PCPD but Lucky said they would out her in foster care until they located her mother. And I couldn't just let her go with random strangers" explained Courtney.
"Of course you couldn't" agreed Carly. "I completely understand"
"Thanks, I'm glad that someone does. I have a feeling Sonny's going to kill me"
"Tell him that she's like a puppy. She followed you home" said Carly with a smile.
"This isn't a joke Carly. I didn't think. I just got attached to Meg-that's her name- and I didn't even think about how Sonny's going to react, or Jason for that matter"
"I'm sure they'll be fine about it. You have a foundation for children, that's what you do. You help kids. And you've seen the horrors of foster care first hand, and you weren't about to let this innocent baby that you could help go through that. That's not stupid. That's noble" comforted Carly.
"I guess your right" said Courtney. "Do you have any thing of Morgan or Michael's around here still? Like a crib, or a changing table. Just some old stuff that we can use" said Courtney, adjusting Meg in her arms.
"Honey, why use hand-me-downs when we can get all new stuff" said Carly, the familiar glint returning to her eye. "Let's go shopping" she gasped, literally clapping her hands together in delight.
Courtney stood back, still holding Meg, as she watched Carly command her own little army of guards. With the men working on their side, the crib, high chair, changing table, and all of the other assorted things were assembled and put in their proper places rather quickly. Carly had already arranged to repaint the guest room to decorate it for the baby, and Courtney feared that Carly was getting too attached to Meg, just like she was. Carly brushed her off, saying she was just excited to have a little girl around but Courtney knew the truth. Carly had fallen in love with her enchanting smile and capturing laugh, similar to Courtney herself.
Once the room was assembled and the painter's appointment was confirmed, Carly spread a blanket down on the floor of the living room in the Morgan penthouse and the two girls sat and played with Meg as she admired all of her new toys. The baby seemed ecstatic, and Courtney's belief that she had been denied these simple pleasures previously were basically confirmed. Courtney looked at Meg and decided in that moment that the little girl was perfect. It was easy for Courtney to forget that she would have to give back this baby soon. Especially because of the striking similarities the baby bore to her and Jason. The blue eyes belonged to both he and Courtney, and the bright blonde hair was obviously Courtney. The baby even seemed to have the same face shape as Jason, and their features were similar.
Brushing some curls off of Meg's forehead, Courtney sat and contemplated the best way to tell Jason that she had found a baby. It wasn't a conversation they had every day. Carly was right, it was like having a puppy. They both wanted one, but there was the knowledge of how much work one would be. After they had given Rosie up, they knew how painful it was. They had loved that dog, but they couldn't raise her with all of the problems they were having. And that was just a dog. Giving up a baby would be ten times worse. Unsure of what to do, Courtney brushed those thoughts from her mind and instead focused on the perfect little girl in front of her.
A/N: I decided to explain Rosie's dissapearence. I don't think they ever went into it on the show, and that always bothered me. So, I killed two birds with one stone. I know that there was no Jason in that chapter, but look for his reaction to Meg next chapter.