Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

A/N 2: Alright, here we go…This fic is AU and set in the future. It contains an OC, which I've never used before, but is necessary for the story. Everything that has happened with Journey has occurred in this fic right up to the anniversary of the miscarriage.

Summary: Things aren't always what they appear to be. Sometimes, the "perfect" marriage isn't perfect. Who do you turn to when the world collapses around you?

She Will Be Loved Ch. 5:

Maybe redemption has stories to tell. Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell. Where can you run to escape from yourself? Where're you gonna go? Salvation is here. I dare you to move.

Courtney stood quietly in the doorframe that lead to the parlor of Jason's Penthouse. She let a small smile creep on her face when she noticed Hannah and Olivia fast asleep on the couch with Jason smack dab in the middle. His own eyes were fluttering closed and Courtney took this as the perfect opportunity to just observe. It had been a little less than six months since they moved in and everything had been going surprisingly smooth. Jason had been more than accommodating and she often found herself wondering what she had done to deserve such an ideal man. He had bent over backwards to make the girls comfortable, even going as far as painting his guest room purple because Olivia asked him to. Jason the enforcer Morgan has a purple room in his home, the thought alone made her giggle. Hannah absolutely adored him and spent every chance that she could snuggled in his protective arms. As for herself, well that was an entirely different story.

Each morning she awoke praying that things wouldn't be the same. She hoped upon hope that the fluttering in her stomach would cease and she could view him as a friend and friend only, but that just wasn't the case. Instead, her attraction for him grew as he became more and more of a fixture in her and her daughter's lives. There was no explaining why she let herself have these feelings, but knew that they weren't going away. It was like a whole new longing that she wasn't accustomed to. It was so much different than the first time she fell for him, but yet oddly familiar. There wasn't a way to explain it except that she needed to be around him constantly no matter how much it hurt not to touch him or be able to express her feelings for him.

What would happen if she told him everything? Would he accept or run away in disgust? Could she really take that sort of chance? Absolutely not, her mind screamed. She couldn't take losing him and neither could Hannah or Olivia. They finally had the respectable father figure they needed and what kind of mother would she be if she took that away?

"You alright?" Jason's quiet whisper fluttered through the air and quickly shook her out of the trance-like state.

"Just thinking…" She smiled and watched as he carefully slid out from under the girls. He contemplated moving them, but decided against it and reached for the afghan that lay lazily across the back of the black leather couch. He adjusted it ever so slightly so that each girl was wrapped in it's warmth before sliding past Courtney into the small galley kitchen. The soft brush of his arm across her chest sent a jolt of electricity that she tried desperately to ignore. It's too soon for these kind of feelings.

"Want one?" He offered her a cool bottle of beer from the fridge. She shook her head and he shrugged as he cracked the one in his possession open. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

"Are you sure? You've been acting kind of weird lately. Doug hasn't tried to contact you, has he?"

"Nope," she assured. The sound of her husband's name sounded foreign to her ears. It had been months since they had spoken of him and even longer since he tried to interact with her. The last she heard of him was when he sent her the divorce papers three months ago. She had signed them and sent them back but was still waiting for it to be finalized. Each day the paranoia subsided, but never completely disappeared. She found it hard to believe that he would just pack it up and leave her and their daughters alone for good. It was odd, but she kind of hoped for the day that he would resurface because at least then she could stop looking over her shoulder on the street.

"Courtney?" Jason looked at her somewhat perplexed.

"Sorry. Was I zoning out again?" She felt her face redden with embarrassment, but quickly shook it off when he offered her one of he award winning smiles.

"He's never coming near you or those girls." He assured and she nodded half-heartedly.

"I know." She replied. "It's just…I worry. What if he's planning something?"

"Let him plan all he wants. You're with me now and don't think for a second that I would ever let Brady have the upper hand on you."

"You know when we first got together, he wasn't the slime that Sonny thought he was. At one point, he was a great guy and I'm sure he loved me." Jason stayed silent and waited for her to continue on. He knew that this was something she had to get out even if it wasn't something that he particularly wanted to listen to. "Then everything changed. Nothing was ever enough for him. I could care less whether he hurt me, but I was terrified of the day he would raise his hand to Olivia. Hannah, you know, she's still so young and would sleep right through it. But not Olivia. No, she would throw herself right in the middle of it and…"

"Stop it, Courtney." He reached out to wipe away the tears that were rapidly cascading down her cheeks. "You got out of there and that's all that matters." She nodded in agreement but that did little to ease her sadness. She felt his strong arms wrap around her shoulders in an effort to console her. Courtney had remained so strong since she returned and this was first time he had ever really seen her break down and talk about the tragic events of her marriage.

"This is stupid," she murmured into his chest. "I'm sorry." She tried to pull away but found herself still encompassed in his embrace.

"It's okay to cry every once in a while. I promise not to tell anybody." He said the last part lightly.

"Yeah well the same can be said for you, Jase."

"I don't cry, Courtney." He laughed and was met with a shake of her head.

"I didn't mean that, but you could stand to let go of the emotion you have bottled up in you," she reasoned.

"I don't have emotion "bottled up" in me."

"Don't try and lie to me, Jase. I know how much this thing with Penny is bothering you." She said, but was met with a shake of his head. Penny had finally signed the divorce papers, but showed up at the proceedings with a rock the size of Texas on the ring finger of her left hand.

"Marco proposed," Penny had informed him with a sly smile. "I said yes."

"Congratulations," Jason had managed to get out through gritted teeth before stalking out the door. He had told Courtney, but never elaborated on how it made him feel.

"Penny moved on. It's no big deal…" He tried.

"Bullshit."

"Damn it, Courtney! What goes on between me and my ex wife is none of your concern, so mind your own business." She was taken aback by the anger he directed towards her.

"Sorry. I was just trying to help."

"Well, when I want your help I'll ask for it," he growled before exiting. The soft slam of the front door signaled his departure from the Penthouse. Courtney stood in shock of the events that had just occurred. What had she done? She only wanted to help him like he helped her moments before. She knew that he was never good at opening up to people, but for some reason she thought that maybe it would be different because it was her. At one point, he shared everything with her.

However, that was a long time ago. Neither one of them were the same people that they were back then, which led her to believe that's what she was striving for. Maybe subconsciously she thought that one conversation could send them on a path to becoming what they once were. Naïve? Yes, but was it really that crazy? Was it really so wrong for her to want what they once had?

"Momma?" She noticed a sleep-eyed Olivia standing in front of her.

"What are you doing up, baby? You have school in the morning."

"I know. Where's Jason?" The little girl tried to search him out in the small room, but came up empty.

"He just went out for a little while. Let's get you up to bed." Courtney quickly changed the subject as she ushered her daughter in the direction of her bedroom.

"He said that he would read me a story."

"Well, how about I read you a story?" Courtney tried desperately to appease her eldest daughter.

"Will you make funny voices like Jason does?"

"I'll try," she assured finally getting the little girl on trek towards her bed.

Jason wandered along the empty streets of Port Charles. It was a brisk February night that left most other citizens curled up in the warmth of their homes, but not him. Why had he snapped at her? She was only trying to offer him some comfort. However, he didn't want her comfort. He didn't want her to see his vulnerability. She had her own problems without having to worry about his as well. A sharp giggle caught his attention and out of the corner of his eye he noticed a happy couple walking out of Kelly's a few paces in front of him. Apparently, he wasn't the only person stupid enough to brave the cold. He felt his stomach turn with jealousy as he observed how joyous the two people seemed. The girl was snuggled deep in her boyfriend's embrace trying to ward out the cool air.

For some unknown reason, memories of him and Courtney flooded his mind. Living with her was becoming more and more difficult. Every day he was faced with the hard task of trying discern what they once had to what they had now. There were times when it was as if they slipped back into married life and nothing had changed between them. That was usually when he had to take a step back and remind himself exactly how different things were, because if he didn't there was a good chance that he would take her into his arms without even thinking of the consequences. It was such a bittersweet situation that he was dealing with. He loved having her, Olivia and Hannah with him, but at the same time found himself wishing that they truly were his family. He couldn't help but feeling like a filler in place of their real husband/father. They deserved someone better than Doug to trace their roots too. At the same time, he knew that there was nothing he could do to change it, except offer them a life that Doug couldn't even if it meant losing himself in the process.

The Penthouse was dark when he finally slithered home. Jason had almost expected Courtney to be up and waiting. Almost. Deep down in the cackles of his heart he knew better. It was no longer her job to stay up all night and wait for him. A small crash caught hold of his attention leading him towards the kitchen. He reached around to the back of his waist feeling the cold steel under his finger tips. He quietly treaded across the parlor and stopped in front of the swinging door entrance to the dining area. He pushed it open just enough to sneak a peek and was pleasantly surprised to find Courtney rifling through the fridge. He could have walked away, gone to bed and finally put the hellacious day to rest. But something drew him towards the blonde.

"Hey," He watched as she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of another voice.

"Jesus Jason! You scared the shit out of me!" She turned around with an annoyed look on her face, which only caused a smile of delight on his own. "I didn't even hear you come in…"

"What are you still doing up?" He asked despite already knowing the answer.

"I was hungry," she answered lamely before turning back towards the counter.

"I'm sorry about earlier."

"Yeah, well I'm sorry for being too pushy."

"Truce?"

"Truce." She agreed with a smile before offering him half of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that she had just finished making. "You owe Olivia a bedtime story by the way. I tried, but she informed me that I was not nearly as good as you in the voice department. My wicked witch sounded too "nice" or something along those lines."

"Well you see, there's an art to storytelling." He joked.

"Oh yeah? Maybe you'll have to teach me someday…" She turned towards him with a grin.

"I'll never share my secrets," he bantered back.

"You used to share everything with me…" she replied lowly. The mood of the room changed in an instant as the air became thick with tension.

"You used to love me," he let the words slip past his lips without even thinking. He saw a look of shock come across her face and immediately wished that he could take it back.

"I still do…" She breathed with her eyes downcast. Long strands of blonde hair were blocking a complete view of her face, but he could see her cheeks reddening slightly.

"This isn't a good idea…" He whispered, carefully pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Then why does it feel so right?" Courtney asked with confusion as her index finger reached up to trace the outline of his lips. "I've been dealing with these feelings for so long now, Jase. I hoped and prayed for the day that they would go away, but it's nowhere in sight."

"Courtney…" He let her name linger in a weak attempt to stop his emotions from showing through. He felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her and try as he might he couldn't suppress it any longer. Before either could contemplate the consequences, his hands were running through her hair as she tore at the soft cotton of his shirt. "Bedroom," he managed to utter out between kisses.

There were no thoughts as they lay on his soft satin sheets a few hours later. Neither could say anything in fear of wrecking the moment and forcing the other to finally realize what had just occurred. Instead, Courtney stay encircled in his embrace trying her hardest not to think about her daughters who lay asleep on the floor above them. Jason in return forced away all the feelings of worry that were swirling in his stomach at the idea of losing the three women in his life that meant most to him.

A/N: I know it seems to be moving on a little fast, but I have big plans for the story and want to be able to incorporate them without turning it into a 60 chapter series. But knowing me, it will probably turn into that anyways... Song credit goes to Switchfoot and their fabolous song Dare You To Move. Feedback is always welcomed, so drop me a line.