A/N Really quick, I just wanted to say, although at this point in the story, it may seem like Jason and Courtney are not going to happen, I promise you that they are. So all you Journey fans, hang in there :)

Chapter 3

Courtney anxiously tapped her fingers on the armrest, as she waited for the plane to take off. She wasn't exactly superstitious, but first the cab breaking down, and now missing the plane? It was like fate didn't want her to reach Port Charles. Plus, now that it actually boiled down to it, maybe she was just a little scared of flying.

"Nervous much?" Zander asked, jokingly from the seat next to her. Not only had he convinced the lady at the front desk to refund their tickets, but he also persuaded her to get them seats right next to each other.

"Well, it's just that I've never flown before. I mean, what if the plane crashes or something?"

"Okay, I think someone is letting her imagination get ahead of itself," he said, just as the intercom announced that it was time for everyone to fasten their seatbelts. The plane started moving, slowly at first, and then faster. All of a sudden, it seemed like the land had tilted sideways, and then Courtney realized it wasn't the land, but the plane. She decided that she had had enough with looking out the window, and squeezed her eyes shut. After what seemed like forever, she finally opened them and took a peak out the window. Everywhere she looked, it was blue, a deep blue, with little wisps of white here and there where the clouds were. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. "Whoa," she whispered, breathless.

"Hey, do you think you could let go of my hand now? I think I've lost all feeling," Zander's voice came from what seemed like really far away.

"Huh?" Courtney asked, confused. She looked over at him, and realized that all this time, she had been clinging on to his hand for dear life. "Oh, sorry," she said, immediately dropping it. She could already feel the blush starting from the back of her neck up to the cheeks. Why do I always blush so easily? she thought inwardly.

The flight was peaceful for a while. Night soon fell, the sky going black and the stars starting to glow, making the vision outside all the more beautiful. They got their food, which wasn't all that great, but the novelty of eating plane food for the first time was not lost on Courtney. Later that night, they played a movie, but Courtney lost attention within the first half hour. She opened a worn out copy of her favorite book, The Great Gatsby, and started to read it for what seemed like the 100th time. A few minutes later, she felt a small thump on her shoulder. She looked over to see that Zander had fallen asleep…on her. She pushed his head off as delicately as she could, but five minutes later, it was back on her shoulder again. She finally decided to just leave it there. Besides, he looked so cute when he was sleeping, like a little kid. She started to feel her eyelids get heavy as well, and before she could control herself, felt sleep pull her down into its soft world.

Courtney was awaken by the sound of screaming. She blinked her eyes several times for the fuzzy images in front of her to clear up. When they finally did, her heart nearly jumped into her throat. Standing at the front of the plane were three men, all very tall, very nervous, and holding guns. One of them held a gun to the head of a very frightened looking air hostess.

"Nobody move. This plane is under siege."

Chapter 3

The plane was tilting again. Two hours after they had left Atlantic City, it was finally landing at Port Charles Airport. As it slowed down and landed on the ground, Courtney couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. As long as they were on solid ground, she felt much safer. Next to her, Jason laughed.

"Let me guess, it's your first time flying."

"How did you know?" Courtney asked, surprised. "Am I that obvious?"

"No," Jason said, laughing again. "It's just, that's exactly how I felt the first time I flew."

Courtney smiled at him. Through the course of two hours, she and Jason had done nothing but talk. Well, she had done nothing but talk. He had mostly listened. It was the first time anyone had actually cared what she had to say. She liked talking to him, even if he was hiding something from her. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe the man just didn't like his job. Yeah, that must be it. She was just imagining things.

As the plane landed, and the passengers started getting off, Courtney felt a strange sensation. A feeling tugging at her heart strings. She didn't want to leave Jason. She wanted to keep on talking to him. Should I give him my phone number? she thought. But what if he turns out to be some kind of weirdo. I mean, you hardly know this guy. You don't even know what he does for a living. Do you really want to give him your phone number? As she looked at Jason again, she had a really hard time believing he was weirdo. Okay, so maybe he's not a weirdo, but I should be careful. Courtney made a rash decision then. She decided to leave it up to fate. Since it was fate that put her in the seat next to Jason, if she was truly meant to see him again, she would.

They walked out into the airport together, and finally, it was the moment Courtney had been dreading. It was time to say goodbye. Before she could say anything, Jason turned to her.

"Bye Courtney," he said sticking out his hand. "It was really nice talking to you." His eyes seemed to sparkle as she shook his hand.

"It was nice meeting you too, Jason. Who knows, maybe we'll see each other around town."

"Maybe," Jason said, as he started to walk off in one direction. Courtney stood there for a few seconds, looking at his retreating back, then went in the opposite direction, towards the pay phones. She dug through her purse, looking for the little card.

Damn it, where is that stupid thing, she wondered. In a few seconds, her fingers enclosed around what she was looking for. She pulled out the wrinkled, dirty business card out, and flipped it over, looking at the phone number she had scribbled on the back. It was the emergency phone number her mom had given her in case something happened. Courtney had tried it a couple of times before, at Atlantic City, after Janine had been gone well over two weeks. Both times she had gotten an answering machine. She didn't know why, maybe it was because she was feeling so lucky, but she decided to give the number one last try. She heard it ringing once, twice, three times. She was just about to hang up when a female voice on the other end went, "Hello?"

"Mom? It's me, Courtney. Mommy, I'm in Port Charles. I came to find you because I was worried. I mean, you said that you would be back in a week, and that was seven weeks ago, and I was starting to get worried that you weren't coming back, and…" She was cut off by Janine sighing.

"Honey, I told you I would be back. I mean, I know that I was a few weeks late, but I would have come home eventually. You really shouldn't be here, but now that you are, I guess I have a little explaining to do. Why don't you meet me at this address, and I'll tell you everything there?" She then proceeded to give Courtney the address of a penthouse at some Harborview Towers and then hung up.

Courtney checked her pockets. She had used the last of her change on that Snickers bar. Damn, she thought. Now I have to walk all the way. She asked someone for directions to Harborview Towers and realizing it wasn't too far from the airport, began to walk there.

She knocked on the heavy wooden doors, with the letters PH written in fancy golden letters. The door swung open on the second knock, and Courtney found herself staring straight into the big brown eyes of a dark man wearing a business suit and holding a glass of amber colored liquid.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked. She had never seen brown eyes look so hard. They were so sharp, they were almost cutting into her. Courtney felt as if this man knew all her deepest secrets with just that one look.

"Umm…I'm Courtney Matthews. I'm looking for my mom, Janine." Her voice came out higher than she expected, making her sound like a scared little girl.

"Janine? Janine has a daughter?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come in. Where are my manners. So…Courtney is it? Why don't you make yourself comfortable on the couch while I call Janine? I'm Sonny Corinthos, by the way." The man flashed her the most dazzling smile, with two deep dimples glistening in his cheeks. What had she been scared of again? Giving it a second thought, Courtney decided there was nothing harsh about his eyes at all. In fact, they seemed to practically glow right now.

As soon as he finished talking, there was a knock on the door. He pulled it open, to reveal Janine standing on the other side. "Ahh, speak of the devil…" he said, quietly.

"Mom," Courtney said, jumping from the couch. She ran and hugged her mother, tightly. "I missed you so much."

"I know, baby, I'm sorry." Janine looked over at Sonny. "This was a bad idea to tell you to meet me here. Let's go," she said, grabbing her hand and starting to pull her towards the doors.

"Hold on a minute," the man said, holding up a hand. It was then that Courtney noticed the men. Three massive men blocking the door, dressed in business suits and each holding a small handgun that was barely visible. Why hadn't she noticed them before?

"You're not going anywhere, Janine. Not without explaining. You have a daughter? I think that's something you failed to mention at our last…meeting." The hard look was back in his eyes again, and there wasn't even a trace of the man who had been standing before Courtney a second ago, flashing his dimples.

"Mom, what's going on?" Courtney asked, confused. Janine ignored her question, and instead talked to Sonny.

"I don't have to answer anything, you gangster, you criminal!"

"How dare you come into my house and talk to my like this? You're lucky you're a woman, otherwise, I would have killed you already." He said this in a calm voice, not the least bit disturbed by the threat he had just made. It was the creepiest thing Courtney had even witnessed.

Just then, a man barged into the room. An old man, wearing a tee shirt, jacket, and old, worn out jeans. "Sonny, what's going on? Janine was with me, and all of a sudden, she had to go see you. I didn't know you two even…" he trailed off midsentence.

Courtney had to blink several times to make sure she wasn't imagining what was standing before her eyes.

"Daddy?" she said. She could already feel her eyes starting to fill with tears. "Daddy, is that really you?"